Bull, Larson and Ordway Survive U.S. Mid-Amateur Qualifying

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WAYZATA, Minn. - Jesse Bull fired a bogey-free six-under-par 65 to earn medalist honors at Woodhill Country Club and a spot into the U.S. Mid-Amateur, September 9-14, at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Scarborough, N.Y.

Bull has not played in a lot of golf tournaments this summer but played a very steady round hitting 17 of 18 greens in regulation and not putting himself into trouble throughout the entire round. 

“I was excited to play because I have not played a lot of tournaments this year. I have played well at times this year and I haven’t played well so I kind of just got out here and figured it out. Today was a very simple day and I was really happy with the day,” Bull said following the round.

Bull had six birdies on the day – three on each nine – encapsulated by his back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes. 

“I birdied 15 and 16 both with 20-footers so that late in the round to get a couple of putts to go in almost made me feel like I had added padding [to the lead], like I got something that I shouldn’t have.”

Bull has qualified for USGA events before and specifically the U.S. Mid-Amateur but the feeling of qualifying never gets old.

“I am excited, I’ve been there before, they’re fun tournaments because at the Mid-Am you get much more camaraderie. You meet the guys, you talk to the guys and a lot of the guys are in the same position of working and with a family and kids.

“You have a little more commonality for the most part and I find it much better from that aspect so I think it will be a fun tournament.”

Joining Bull at the championship in September is Jesse Larson who carded a three-under-par 68 to earn one of three qualifying spots. Larson had a tumultuous round with seven birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey.

Bull gained confidence early in round making a six-foot par putt on the first hole.

“It started right away, I had about a six-footer on one and had to play it a couple of balls outside of the hole and I hit it right in the center. From there, I could tell that I had a good feel for the speed of the greens and I was reading them well and had a really good putting day,” Larson explained following his round.
Larson would card three birdies on the third, fourth and fifth and got a fortuitous bounce on the six hole.

“I was really fortunate on six, I blocked my tee shot and I was in bounds by about six inches. So I got out of there with only a bogey and played really solid from there.”

He would make the turn at two-under-par and birdied three of his first four holes on the back nine to reach six-under for the day. He would stumble on the 16th and 18th holes making double bogey and bogey, respectively, to finish the round at 3-under-par and into a qualifying spot.

As with Bull, Larson has qualified for USGA events before, but it is always special to qualify for one.

“It’s just a treat. This is my fifth USGA event, my third Mid-Am and every single one is special – I’m just super excited right now.”

George Ordway earned the final qualifying spot after surviving a six-hole playoff over Tony Vincelli for the last spot. Ordway and Vincelli both fired two-under-par 69s to get into the two-man playoff.

Ordway, a member at Woodhill Country Club, who does not have a lot of experience in playoffs before this, used course knowledge to his advantage.

“I haven’t been a part of many of these before so I tried to leverage my course knowledge and not make any crazy mistakes. I just tried to play the same way I was playing during the round because it was working,” Ordway said after the playoff.

Ordway played a near flawless round to get him into the playoff with three birdies and one bogey. He would not make any detrimental mistakes in the playoff and would win the sixth playoff hole (the ninth hole) with a two-putt par to advance to the national championship.

This is the second time Ordway has qualified for the U.S. Mid-Amateur which should give him more confidence entering the event.

“This will be my second Mid-Am so I am very excited. There’s a lot of good golfers out there and I would love to make it to match-play. Hopefully being out there once before will help out.”

Tony Vincelli fell in the six-hole playoff and earned the first alternate spot while Jason Pendleton survived a 3-for-1 playoff with a birdie on the first playoff hole.