Past Champions
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1989
Chris Patton, a 21-year old senior at Clemson University, defeated Danny Green, 3 and 1, at the Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Playing in his first Amateur, Patton went ahead by three holes at the end of the first 18, and held his lead through the afternoon round. At the time the match had ended, Patton stood at even par. Patton had played well all week. He reached match play with a two-round score of 142, five strokes off Eoghan O'Connell's medalist total of 137. He won his first two matches by scores of 2 and 1, and 5 and 4. He cleared his biggest hurdle in the quarterfinal round, against Michael Podolak, of Ox bow, North Dakota. Patton and Podolak were all square after 18 holes and then halved the first extra hole with double bogeys. Patton, however, won the 20th with a par. He went on to defeat Mike Brannan, in the semifinals, 2 and 1. Walker Cup players were, for the most part, eliminated early in match play. O'Connell, who had played for Great Britain and Ireland a week earlier, was eliminated in the second round by Brannan. Phil Mickelson, from the United States Walker Cup team, who qualified at 138, was defeated in the first round of match play by Ted Himka, of Reston, Washington. Jay Sigel, playing in his home area, was the last survivor among the Walker Cup players. Twice the Amateur champion, Sigel, 45, lost an extra hole match to Green in the quarterfinals. |
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