Minnesotans May, Arnett and Fischer Headed to U.S. Junior Amateur

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By Nick Hunter
nick@mngolf.org
 
 
  MAPLE PLAINE, Minn. – Helped by three birdies over his final nine holes Wednesday at Pioneer Creek Golf Course, Henry May carded a 5-under par 67 to earn medalist honors as well as a spot in his first USGA event, the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
 
May edged John Fischer and St. Thomas Academy teammate Brady Arnett by two strokes as Wednesday’s qualifier hosted a field of 84 players competing for three spots to this year’s national championship, played July 16-21 at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.
 
After rolling in three birdies on his front nine Wednesday, May admitted that butterflies played a factor down the stretch as he closed in on his first national championship bid.
 
“I was super nervous and had some shaky shots but managed to bounce back and get up-and-down for good pars,” May said Wednesday. “I had a steady start and felt like I had a good shot. I was trying to stay in the moment and play shot by shot, trying to have some fun to keep my mind off the numbers.”
 
With tee times pushed back to allow the course time to dry after considerable rainfall over the past four days, May’s best birdie of the day came after his tee shot at the 11^th found water in the left fairway bunker. Taking relief, May hit the “8-iron of his life” to 12 feet and made the putt to get to 4-under for the round.
 
Hitting a wedge to eight feet at the 12^th, May converted his putt to move to 5-under before taking a step back with bogey at the 13^th. He would bounce right back by sticking his approach at the 14^th inside of six feet, making birdie to pace the field at 5-under to punch his ticket to Baltusrol next month.
 
“I don’t know what it’s going to entail—I’ll see when I get there, but it’s pretty cool to qualify,” May said. “I thought I played really well at the [U.S. Amateur] qualifier last year and it gave me a ton of confidence the rest of the season. I was around the top of the leaderboard for nine holes but it still gave me a lot of confidence.
 
“I think having a caddy today helped a ton because it’s somebody to talk to and you don’t just fire at every pin. It was a tough course with a lot of tucked pins. I made some smart shots and even though I had wedges in, I wasn’t going straight at holes at times, but playing to six feet and giving myself good looks for birdie. I capitalized on those and that was the difference.”
 
Earning a trip to his first USGA event as well with a round of 3-under par 69 Wednesday, Arnett rolled in a 15-footer for birdie on his opening hole before carding eight consecutive pars to turn at 1-under.
 
Pitching to three feet at the par-5 first hole, Arnett converted his birdie chance to move to 2-under before missing a 6-footer for par at the fifth. He would rebound by sinking a 15-footer for birdie on the ensuing hole and added another birdie on his final hole to card a 3-under par 69.
 
“I was happy with how I played, but figured I needed to make a few more birdies on the back side,” Arnett said. “I had 68 in mind at the beginning of the day and was hoping for an eagle on the last hole. I thought at the beginning of the day that I would have to make a ton of birdies, but I stayed patient—that’s been my mindset for the last few years. Stay patient, it’ll come and to trust my game and that was the difference maker.
 
“I’ve tried to qualify for this the last three years—this is something I’ve had circled on my calendar and it’s been a goal of mine for a long time. I’m really happy that I get to go play in the real thing. Some of the best players in the world have played well in this event and it would be great to try to do the same.”
 
Starting off on the wrong foot Wednesday, Fischer made a three-putt bogey on the opening hole, but answered by rolling in his birdie look from eight feet at the par-4 fourth. Finding some momentum late on his outward nine, Fischer hit his approach inside of 10 feet at the seventh before sticking his tee shot inside of two feet at the par-3 to pick up a pair of birdies and turn at 2-under.
 
At the par-4 15^th, Fischer again watched his approach snuggle inside of three feet for his final birdie of the round to put him into a tie for second place at 69 to claim the final qualifying position to his first national tournament next month.
 
“I hit the ball really straight today—I only missed two greens and I had a lot of two-putts, but made some birdies when I had the chance,” Fisher said Wednesday. “I was happy with the way I hit the ball and didn’t really have any bad shots.
 
“It feels to qualify. It gives me a lot more confidence playing in tournaments.
 
Baltusrol will host its first U.S. Junior Amateur, but 15^th USGA championship overall next month with the most recent being the 200 U.S. Amateur won by Jeff Quinney. Baltusrol hosted the 2016 PGA Championship won by Jimmy Walker. Built in 1895, the A.W. Tillinghast design will host 156 players from nearly 3,700 entries to this year’s tournament.
 
Notable U.S. Junior Amateur winners include: Johnny Miller (1964); David Duval (1989); Tiger Woods (1991-93); Hunter Mahan (1999) and Jordan Spieth (2009, 2011).