FRENCH LICK, Ind. – A pair of solid
performances on Wednesday has Texas in
position to win a record-fourth USGA Men’s
State Team Championship, as it will head
into the final round with a three-stroke lead
over Iowa and Illinois at the par-72, 6,891
yard Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.
Texas tallied a score of 5-under 139 for a
two-round total of 5-under 283. Iowa, the
first-round leader, shot a 1-over 145, while
Illinois climbed up the leader board with a
3-under 141.
The Men’s State Team Championship
consists of 54 holes of stroke play, with the
two lowest of three individual scores
counting as the team total for the round.
The team with the lowest aggregate score
following the final round is the champion.
The championship is conducted biennially by
the United States Golf Association. The
men’s and women’s competitions are held in
alternating years. Each state is responsible
for selecting its team and the players must
reside in that state to be eligible. All 50
states, the District of Columbia and Puerto
Rico are represented in the 2014 field.
Colby Harwell, of Robinson, Texas, had a
bogey-free outward nine – he started on the
10th hole – and then mixed in four birdies
coming home to post a 3-under 69, one of
only three sub-70 rounds recorded in Round
2.
“I finally started making a few putts today
and was able to read the greens a little bit
better than I did yesterday,” said Harwell,
who made a 10-foot putt to save par on No.
9. “I’ve really hit the ball well off the tee
and I’ve only missed a couple of fairways,
and my driver’s been really solid, so that’s
been a big thing with my game.”
Harwell’s teammate, Zach Atkinson,
rebounded from a first-round 81 to fire a 2-
under 70 and give Texas a chance to we
championship for the first time since it won
back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2007. Texas
has won more Men’s State Team titles than
any other state and should it win the
championship on Thursday, the Lone Star
State would surpass the Georgia women for
the most titles – men or women – in State
Team history.
“It means the world. It’s what you play for,
and it’s what we’ve played all year for,” said
Atkinson, who has advanced to the Round of
16 in both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-
Amateur and is representing Texas for the
first time. “It’s an honor to represent Texas
and bring a good team out here and have
some fun and play well on top of that, so
we’re going to go out there and give it our
best tomorrow.”
Iowa’s Gene Elliott carded five birdies for
the second consecutive round, and on
Wednesday he kept mistakes to a minimum,
with back-to-back bogeys on holes 7 and 8,
his 16th and 17th of the day, the only
blemishes in what was an otherwise solid 69
to keep the team in contention.
“I got tired coming in, it’s a hilly golf course
and it’s not easy to walk, said Elliott, a
veteran of 26 USGA championships. “I got
careless with a couple of putts, but if you’d
have told me I’d shoot 69 starting the day,
I’d have jumped at it. We’ll see what we can
do as a team, and see what we can do
tomorrow.”
Iowa is trying to win the championship for
the first time after finishing as the runner-
up in 2012. J.D. Anderson was the second
counting score for the Hawkeye State,
posting a 4-over 76. Last year’s U.S. Mid-
Amateur champion Mike McCoy, who posted
the low score (70) for Iowa on Tuesday,
shot a non-counting 77.
Elliott’s round was highlighted by a 50-foot
birdie putt on the par-5 third and an
approach shot on No. 12 that left him a tap-
in for birdie. As impressive as his play was
on Wednesday, his score had the potential
to be even lower. Elliott was 5 under for the
round through 12 holes, and had a
makeable birdie putt on the par-4 fifth, his
attempt just rolling over the edge of the
hole. Additionally, he missed a 6-footer for
eagle on the par-5 14th after a 3-wood
approach. He enters the final round with the
low individual score among all competitors
at 4-under 140.
Illinois was paced by Kyle Nathan, who fired
a 2-under 70. Nathan, 30, a reinstated
amateur, was buoyed by sharp iron play,
with all three of his birdies coming after
approach shots to 8 feet or closer. He and
Blake Johnson will look to teammate and
2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up Todd
Mitchell, who has played for Illinois three
times and has helped the squad to two top-
five finishes, for veteran leadership on
Thursday. Mitchell was the second counting
score on Wednesday with a 71.
“I think it’s really exciting. Todd has [been
in this position] before, so I’m sure we’ll ask
him tonight for some leadership in that
respect,” Nathan said. “It should be a lot of
fun. You can’t ask for anything more than to
play with some friends and try to win a golf
tournament.”
Missouri will enter the final round in fourth
place after a second consecutive even-par
144, putting it five strokes back of Texas.
Missouri continued to be led by Richard
“Skip” Berkmeyer, who has been one of the
most consistent players in the field. After
carding a 71 on Tuesday in a round that
featured three birdies and two bogeys, the
Wildwood resident posted the same number
on Wednesday, a round that included birdies
on holes 3 and 14 for the second straight
day. The Show Me State is looking to
improve upon its best finish in the
championship, a tie for seventh in 2003.
“I’m just happy our team is at even par,
that should give us a chance tomorrow, and
all you want is a chance,” said Berkmeyer,
an eight-time U.S. Mid-Amateur competitor.
“You’ve got to play your own game. It’s
team golf, but at the same time, you’ve got
to do what you do. It’s out there if you hit
good shots, but if you don’t, Pete Dye is
going to make you pay.”
Florida posted a 2-over 146 and sits in fifth
position, , six strokes behind Texas.
Vermont’s Bryan Smith carded the low
round of the day, posting five birdies
against one bogey for a 4-under 68, which
matched the lowest individual round of the
championship. Louisiana’s Brandon Aydlett,
Smith’s fellow competitor for the first two
rounds, posted a 68 on Tuesday, as did
Virginia’s Justin Young.
Scott Lipsky is a manager of websites and
digital platforms. Email him at
slipsky@usga.org.
TOURNAMENT OVERVIEW &
STATS
The location may be best known as the
hometown of
basketball legend Larry Bird of the Boston
Celtics.
But during the warm months of the season,
French
Lick boasts some wonderful golf. This week
some of
the country's best amateurs will be there
playing
the
biennial USGA Men's State Team
Championship.
It's hard to pick a winner in the unique
"three-count-two" format, where a hot
golfer (and even better two hot golfers) can
seriously
impact a team's performance. In 2012, for
example,
New York won the title and Joey Saladino's
scores
never counted. And if you follow the
amateur
game
you know that Saladino, 34, is an excellent
player
with many titles in the Met section under his
belt.
But young guns Max Buckley and Mike Miller
were
firing on all cylinders that week in New
Jersey.
This year, players will compete at the
Pete
Dye
course at French Lick Springs Resort. More
than
a
few of our readers have asked about the
criteria
to
be part of a team, given some of the
youthful
competitors in the 2014 field. Contrary to
popular
belief, the State Team is not a mid-amateur
event; it
merely excludes players currently enrolled
in
college
from being part of a "state's team."
Some states might have the philosophy of
not
bringing teenagers to the event, but others
obviously
do not.
That means that Florida has hotshot Sam Horsfield on the
team.
If
he's on his game (he once shot 59 at the
Orlando
City and won the 2013 Florida State Am by
11
shots,
setting a low age record too) look for some
low
numbers from the England-born player. The
same
goes for Will Grimmer of Ohio,
the
youngest competitor in the 2014 US Open
at age
17.
If you're anywhere near French Lick,
Indiana
and want to enjoy watching the best in the
amateur
game practice their craft, we suggest
making a
day
trip this week to watch the USGA State
Team.
Please
read on for a USGA fact sheet and state-by-
state
team breakdown.
They’re All
Here: For the third consecutive
time,
and
seventh time in the 11 playings of the
championship,
all 50 states, the District of Columbia and
Puerto
Rico have entered a team.
11 For 11:Keith
Decker, of
Virginia, is the only competitor to have
played in
all
11 USGA Men's State Team
Championships.
Average Age of
Competitors: 35.7
Oldest Player In
Field: John
Sajevic, Nebraska- 58 (3/5/56)
Youngest Player In
Field: Andrew Chin, Hawaii- 15
(12/1/98)
Father/Son Teammates In
Field: John and Andrew Sajevic,
Nebraska
USGA Champions In Field (4):
Michael McCoy, Iowa (2013 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Nathan Smith, Pennsylvania
(2003,
2009,
2010, 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur); Tim
Hogarth,
California (1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links);
Scott
Harvey, North Carolina (2014 U.S. Mid-
Amateur)
USGA Men’s State Champions
In Field (4):Keith Decker, Virginia
(1995);
Sean Knapp, Pennsylvania (2009); Nathan
Smith,
Pennsylvania (2009); Bryan Norton, Kansas
(2010)
USGA Runners-Up In Field
(7):
Bill Williamson, Ohio (2013 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Todd Mitchell, Illinois (2008 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Tim Spitz, New York (2009 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Tim Hogarth, California (2010
U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Brad Nurski, Missouri (2014 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Kenny Cook, Indiana (2011 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur); Bryan Norton, Kansas (2003 U.S.
Mid-
Amateur; 2014 U.S. Senior Amateur)
Recent Championship
Experience: 57 players in the field
competed in at least one USGA
championship in
2014, with the U.S. Mid-Amateur having the
most
Men’s State Team competitors in the field
(34).
2014 U.S. Open Competitors
In
Field
(1): Will Grimmer, Ohio
2014 U.S. Senior Open
Competitors
In Field (3): Tom Brandes,
Washington;
Michael McCoy, Iowa; Bryan Norton,
Kansas
USA Walker Cup Competitors
In
Field
(2):Nathan Smith, Pennsylvania
(2009,
2011, 2013); Todd White, South Carolina
(2013)
World Amateur Team
Championship
Competitors In Field (3):Erick J.
Morales,
Puerto Rico (2004, 2012); Jeronimo Esteve,
Puerto
Rico (2012, 2014); Edward Figueroa, Puerto
Rico
(2014)
Player Notes (By State):