Sam Stevens rallies for 19-hole victory, advances to Kansas Amateur quarterfinals

From the vantage point on the tee box of the 189-yard, par 3 No. 17 on Friday at Wichita Country Club, Spencer Christian appeared to have planted his tee shot 10 feet from the hole.

It could have been the finishing blow to Sam Stevens, his time in the 105th Kansas Amateur facing a looming expiration date up against a 1-shot deficit with two holes left in their round-of-16 match.

“It’s just one of those situations where you try to forget about what’s going on because there’s so much pressure,” Stevens said. “I felt like I had a really good number, 181 yards, downwind, so I could swing firm with a full 8-iron. It was just a perfect number.”

From the moment he connected with the ball there was never a doubt whether it was on target, only how far away it would land. And when the ball plopped onto the green and settled some five feet from the hole, Stevens released the pent-up nerves with a vigorous fist pump.

“I was holding my breath when it was in the air,” Stevens said. “But when it landed, I knew mine was closer and I got pretty fired up.”

After Christian left his birdie putt short, Stevens made his to level the score. Each player settled for par on No. 18 and Stevens won the playoff on the first hole, landing his approach shot five feet away once again to set up the winning birdie.

Christian, a mid-amateur who has played frequently with Stevens in the past, marveled at the 19-year-old’s courage to attempt — and execute — shots of that magnitude.

“Big-time players hit big-time shots,” Christian said. “And Sam is definitely a big-time player.”

It was the first bit of adversity Stevens had faced this week. After burning through the course during stroke-play qualifying, besting the field by four strokes, Stevens had buried his first two opponents of match play opponents under a flurry of birdies.

And it appeared Christian would be his third victim of the sort, as Stevens piled on three birdies to go up three holes by No. 7.

But Christian kept grinding, capitalizing on a Stevens bogey on No. 8 and then stringing together three birdies in four holes to rally and put the Oklahoma State sophomore-to-be in a 1-hole deficit after his last birdie on No. 16.

Then Stevens one-upped him on No. 17 and Christian left a 15-footer on the green of No. 18 just short. Even after the conclusion of the round, Christian still couldn’t believe the would-have-been winning putt didn’t drop.

“I thought I had that one, I really did,” Christian said. “I left it a revolution short.”

Christian was genuinely happy for Stevens, who he says he will have his full support as he advances to play Topeka’s Ronnie McHenry in the quarterfinals Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m.

“It’s hard to play against a guy who you’re just a fan of,” Christian said. “He’s such a good dude. I thought I could win this tournament, but a part of me wanted him to win this after all he’s gone through. I really would like to see him win it.”

Chapman’s new swing a success — Since working with Josh Cook, an instructor at Wichita Country Club, Tyler Chapman has seen a noticeable difference in his swing.

The new look has Chapman through to a quarterfinal matchup against Max Lazzo on Saturday morning after closing out Colby Yates, 3 and 1, and Cole Dillon, 4 and 3, on Friday.

“(Cook) has helped me understand what I need to do to swing well,” Chapman said. “And the biggest thing is if it does start going bad during a round, I know now what I need to do to self-correct so I’m not out there just guessing.”

Chapman didn’t have to conjure many birdies on Friday, as he collected three against Yates and won all three holes for a 2-hole cushion that he rode out to victory.

In his match against Dillon, Chapman opened with two birdies on the first four holes and then took a 4-hole advantage after Dillon bogeyed Nos. 5 and 6. That radically changed Chapman’s strategy for the rest of the round.

“After that point, I was just aiming for the middle of the green every time,” Chapman said. “Today par was a good score, so I was taking that every time.”

Lazzo rallies to stay alive — All Max Lazzo wanted coming into this week was to make it to match play.

“I didn’t care what seed or who I played, I just wanted one match,” Lazzo said. “Put me against somebody and see what I’ve got.”

Lazzo, a 2010 Kapaun Mount Carmel graduate, did just that, advancing to match play and, after a pair of thrilling victories on Friday, survived to the quarterfinals. Not bad for a golfer who had never once qualified for match play in past performances.

“It’s been a crazy week, that’s for sure,” Lazzo said. “To make it this far is pretty sweet, it’s probably exceeded my expectations. But I’m playing good right now, so I’m going to try to keep it going and see what happens tomorrow.”

Lazzo let a 3-hole lead slip away in his first match Friday, as Alex Higgs clawed back and forced an extra hole. But Lazzo stuck his approach shot on No. 1 close to the pin and holed his birdie putt, his sixth of the round, for the win in 19 holes.

In his second match, against Travis Mays, Lazzo faced a 2-hole deficit at the turn, but rallied with three birdies on the back-9 to come back and close out Mays in 17 holes.

Notes — This will be the deepest Kansas Amateur run for six of the remaining eight golfers, as Sam Stevens (2013 and 2014 runner-up) and Chase Hanna (2013 champion) are the only golfers with weekend experience. Ronnie McHenry, Bradley Lane, Benjamin Hargrave, Tyler Chapman, Max Lazzo, and Matt Green are all making their best showing in this tournament.… Extra holes were required in three of the eight matches in the round of 16, as Stevens defeated Christian in 19, the same amount it took Ryan Argotsinger to win over Benjamin Hargrave, and Bradley Lane outlasted Andrew Beckler in 22.… Notable names that were eliminated in the round of 32 included Conrad Roberts, the No. 2 seed, Wichita’s Jeff Bell, the No. 4 seed, and Bryan Norton, the tournament’s three-time and defending champion. After playing near-flawless golf through the first three days, all three took at least four bogeys in their respective matches that led to their defeats.… The match of the day also took place in the round of 32, as K-State’s Matt Green held off mid-amateur veteran Steve Groom in 17 holes. Green registered seven birdies and no bogeys, while Groom took the loss despite being 5-under through 17 with six birdies of his own. Twelve of the 17 holes were won with birdies. Green birdied five holes in his next match, a 14-hole victory over Sam Wempe, to advance to the quarterfinals.… The strangest round of the day came from Bel Aire’s Craig Howell, who lost his second-round match to Andy Spencer in 20 holes. Howell finished with an nine birdies, the most of any golfer in a round this week, but shot just even-par after taking four bogeys and three double-bogeys.

This story was originally published July 24, 2015 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Sam Stevens rallies for 19-hole victory, advances to Kansas Amateur quarterfinals."