Sam Stevens makes side trip home to defend his Kansas Amateur title

Sam Stevens is spending his summer doing what talented golfers at prestigious college programs do.

Stevens, a Wichita native and rising junior at Oklahoma State, has crisscrossed the country to compete in some of the nation’s premier amateur tournaments. With three top-10 finishes and a 12th at last week’s Trans-Mississippi Championship in San Francisco, the results have been promising.

None of it, however, has lessened Stevens’ anticipation and enthusiasm for the 106th Kansas Amateur, which begins Tuesday in Garden City. Stevens, a 20-year-old who graduated from Kapaun Mount Carmel, will try to defend the title he won last July at his home course, Wichita Country Club.

“Oh, for sure,” Stevens said when asked if the Kansas Amateur carried the same weight for him as in past years. “There’s no lack of wanting to win just because I’ve won it now.”

A field of 174 golfers ranging in ages from 13 to 66 will begin stroke-play qualifying Tuesday at Buffalo Dunes and The Golf Club at Southwind. After playing 18 holes at both courses, the top 64 will move on to match play, which starts Thursday at Southwind.

The six-day event concludes with a 36-hole final next Sunday.

One of three former champions in the field, Stevens has endured the grind to reach the championship match each of the last three years. In 2013, he finished second to Leawood’s Chase Hanna, who now plays at Kansas. Mission Hills’ Bryan Norton, a reinstated amateur with PGA Tour experience, stopped Stevens in the 2014 final.

Last year, Stevens outlasted Kansas State golfer Matt Green 1-up in the championship match to add to his family’s rich history in the Kansas Amateur. His father, Charlie, won the 2010 title. Grandfather Johnny captured the 1960 and ’61 titles and his great uncle Jack won in 1974.

“There’s definitely some pressure as a defending champion, but I think this year will be a little different kind of pressure,” Stevens said. “I still want to win it pretty badly, but I should be able to go out and just play.”

Stevens used momentum from last year’s victory and a U.S. Amateur match-play appearance as a springboard to a good start to his sophomore season at Oklahoma State. After experiencing some ups and downs this spring, he helped the Cowboys win a regional title and tie for 10th at the NCAA Championships.

In June, Stevens tied for 10th at the Monroe Invitational in New York. He tied for seventh at the Southwestern Amateur in Arizona, then duplicated the finish a week later at the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island.

Stevens’ most recent tournament was the Trans-Miss at The Olympic Club, host to five U.S. Opens. He posted a 72-hole total of 283, including a 3-under 67 in the final round. Among those he defeated was Collin Morikawa, the 2015 Trans-Miss champion who tied for second in last month’s Air Capital Classic at Crestview Country Club.

For Stevens, who is 206th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the opportunities to compete in those national events is nice, but not an end-all.

“A lot of those guys that play amateur golf, not all of them play in their state ams unless it’s a bigger one like California or Texas,” Stevens said. “I don’t see why they wouldn’t. It’s always a fun tournament for me. Hanging out with buds and seeing a bunch of people you maybe only see once a year, that’s fun.”

While much of the strength of the Kansas Amateur field comes from college-age players like Stevens, previous champions have included seniors and mid-amateurs. Stevens will try to navigate his way past all of them to become the first golfer to win back-to-back Kansas Amateurs since former PGA Tour player Matt Gogel in 1992-93.

“Good golf is pretty similar no matter who it comes from,” Stevens said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a top amateur or just another kid from Kansas. It’s not like I’ll go in thinking all I’ve got to do is show up. Not at all.”

This story was originally published July 16, 2016 at 2:20 PM with the headline "Sam Stevens makes side trip home to defend his Kansas Amateur title."