John Clare had to work long and hard to make it to the United States Amateur, the oldest national golf championship.
And the West Genesee High School graduate, who is about to start his junior year at Le Moyne College, got his chance to shine when 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying got underway last Monday at Olympia Fields Country Club, near Chicago.
In all, 312 golfers teed off at Olympia Fields, looking to finish among the top 64 that would advance to match play. Both the winner and the runner-up would earn exemptions into the 2016 Masters and U.S. Open.
Clare got into the field during a summer where he won a pair of elite local events, the Central New York Open and Gerry Ashe Memorial, and tied for third at the Syracuse District Golf Association Amateur Championship.
Before all that, though, Clare took part in the U.S. Amateur Qualifier, held at Colgate University’s Seven Oaks course, the same venue where the Section III state qualifier takes place each May.
Two spots were available, and with a 36-hole score of 143, Clare was in second place behind Ontario’s Austin James (140) until another Ontario golfer, Blair Hamilton, overtook him late to claim the runner-up spot at 141.
Though he didn’t win a spot at Seven Oaks, Clare was the first alternate, just as he was in 2014, when he was unable to make it. Then, in early August, when a spot in the field opened up thanks to another golfer’s withdrawal, Clare moved up and earned the invitation to Olympia Fields.
There was no glamour involved in the trip. Clare took turns with his mother and brother driving the 10 hours from Syracuse to Chicago, with his father later flying to the tournament from New York City.
Clare opened at even par for his first nine holes (he teed off on the back nine of the South Course at Olympia Fields), a solid start that included one bogey, one birdie and seven consecutive pars.
But a triple bogey on the 1st hole (his 10th of the day) proved costly. Two more bogeys followed, and Clare finished with a 75, three shots behind New Hartford’s Derek Bard, the other Central New York golfer in the field.
A day later, needing a low round to advance out of stroke play, Clare went to Olympia Fields’ North Course (which hosted the 2003 U.S. Open) and, with a late tee time, made just one birdie, on the 5th hole. Five bogeys, plus a double bogey, left him with a total of 76 and a two-day score of 151, eight shots above the projected cut of 143.
Bard, meanwhile, followed up his 72 with a 70 and, at 142, made it to match play, where a magical run ensued. Coming from behind in four consecutive matches, Bard made it all the way to the finals, earning a possible invitation to the 2016 Masters at Augusta National.
