U.S. Am: Burge makes a surge

Writing from Olympia Fields, Illinois

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Alex Burge is the forgotten member of Illinois’ golf team. The Bloomington resident is the Fighting Illini who didn’t get to fight last season, when the Illini won the Big Ten and advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.

He’s making up for that disappointment. Earlier this summer, he won the CDGA Amateur  and annexed medalist honors to boot. Now, he’s barged into the match-play field of 64 players for the 115th U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club.

Burge, now in masters studies at Illinois, said he didn’t turn pro because his game needs honing. With the opportunity to practice at the team’s new facility in Champaign, Burge may be better than he thinks.

Tuesday on Olympia’s North Course, he added a 1-over-par 71 to Monday’s even-par 70 on the South to total 1-over 141, eight strokes behind medalist Brett Coletta, an Australian who went around the North in 4-under 66 to total 7-under 133 for 36 holes.

Burge’s effort was good for a tie for 25th when play was suspended because of darkness, and a berth in match play. His opponent won’t be known until Wednesday morning, when the second stroke play round concludes, along with the almost-inevitable playoff for the final spots.

“It’s a grind out here,” Burge said. “Just hit greens was my goal. I didn’t care if I was 35 feet away.”

That was a prudent play, given the deep rough – about three inches, and thick after a downpour late Monday night that delayed the start of Tuesday’s activity – and the other disasters that can befall one straying from the fairways and greens.

“I thought right around even (par) would be in for sure,” Burge said. “I want to shoot as low as I can just to shoot a low number, but once you get to match play, it’s anyone’s game.”

Burge went 4-0 in matches to win the CDGA Amateur at Knollwood Club, so he’s not unfamiliar with the mano-a-mano battles to come. Before that, he’d played on the Illinois team that took second in the NCAAs in 2013. But Mike Small red-shirted him after his junior year.

“Sitting out last year wasn’t the most fun thing to do, but I think it’ll pay off in the future,” Burge said. “I thought an extra year playing with coach (Small), playing and learning, just growing more can only help.”

Burge and Illinois Open winner David Cooke were the only Illinoisans to advance to match play from a group of 12.

Cooke also scored 141, adding an even-par 70 on the North. He birdied the par-4 16th to get back to 1-over at a time when it appeared 2-over 142 would be the score needed to make the playoff for match play. Later, the wind blew and the scores went up, shoving the likely cut to 143 before play was suspended for the day.

“I was on the bubble,” Cooke said of his nine-foot birdie putt on the 16th. “I knew I needed to get at least one or two back coming in. The 16th was the last good look I’d have.”

The par-3 17th hole was stretched to 240 yards and the par-4 ninth to 466, the cup back on the top shelf.

The big surprise among the state contingent was Northbrook’s Nick Hardy. The Illinois sophomore-to-be fired a 7-over 77 on North to blow himself out of the tournament at 5-over 145.

Other Illinois scores that failed to make the grade included Roselle’s Dan Stringfellow (73-72–145, +5), Western Springs’ Daniel Hudson (76-70–146, +6), Arlington Heights’ Doug Ghim (76-70–146, +6), Lake Bluff’s Andrew Price (75-73, 148, +8), Knoxville’s Mack Foster (79-76–155, +15), Marion’s Jordan Lewis (80-81–161, +21), and, next to last in the field of 312, St. Charles’ Jordan Wetsch (89-77–166, +26). Yet to finish were Bloomington’s Todd Mitchell (3-over overall, 1-under on his opening nine) and Crystal Lake’s Ethan Farnam (12-over overall, 1-over with one hole to play).

Around Olympia Fields

The horn blew to suspend play for darkness at 7:11 p.m. The last group to finish on the South Course putted out in the gloaming at 7:25 p.m. There are 54 players left to finish. ... George Cunningham of Tucson aced the par-3 14th on the South Course en route to a 4-under 66 for 3-under 137. ... Notable trunk-slammers – as the late Phil Kosin would have said – included mid-amateur notable Nathan Smith (145), 2013 Western Amateur champion and 2015 British Open low amateur Jordan Niebrugge (146), Fighting Illini team member Charlie Danielson (147), and, in the morning, Western Amateur runner-up Aaron Wise (T127 at suspension, 6-over with nine to play). ... And Hogan didn’t make it either. Jonny Hogan of Santa Barbara, Calif., that is. He shot 149. ... On the bubble: World No. 1 amateur Jon Rahm-Rodriguez and 2014 Western Amateur winner Beau Hossler (T56 at suspension, 2-over 143). ... The deluge late Monday night that shoved back the start of play on Tuesday brought the total for the eight days since the USGA took over the course to three inches, grounds superintendent Sam MacKenzie said. ... The delay was only 90 minutes because MacKenzie’s ace staff was all over the place before dawn, picking up debris, doing squeegee work on greens, and repairing bunkers. As a result, aside from a bit of standing water in the rough, there was no way to tell it had rained at all.

– Tim Cronin