Ryan Mccormick Seeks To Defend State Amateur Crown At Canoe Brook
The 112th New Jersey State Golf Association Amateur Championship will be hosted by the Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit for an eighth time when it hosts a field of 100 golfers, beginning Tuesday, June 4 through Thursday, June 6.
The field includes six former champions, including defending champion and 2012 NJSGA Amateur Player of the Year Ryan McCormick of Suburban. The event will take place over Canoe Brook’s par-72, 7,115-yard North Course.
The six former champions are McCormick (2012), Brian Komline of Black Oak (2010), Michael Deo of Black Oak (2009), Tom Gramigna of Tavistock (2008), Allan Small of Fairmount (2004), and Michael Hyland of Little Mill (1998)
The State Amateur at Baltusrol was really a coming out party for McCormick, a Middletown resident, in what would be an epic summer for him.
The 20-year-old golfer then went on to win Met Amateur in August and was the low amateur at the Met Open in Plainfield after being tied for the lead with two holes to play.
At the State Amateur, he recorded back-to-back rounds of 2-under-par 70 and 5-under-par 67 for a record 72-hole total of 12-under-par 276 to win the 111th State Amateur Championship by five strokes. McCormick recorded rounds of 68-71-67-70.
McCormick, a junior at St. John´s University, became the first to shoot below par in each round. His 276 total bettered the marks for lowest score of 281 (-3) by Paul Antonucci at Shore Oaks in 1992 and 283 (-5) by Robert Bradley at White Beeches in 1995. The State Amateur has been a stroke-play event since 1971.
Charlie Edler, 20, of Rumson (72-71-69-69-281), the 2011 MGA Junior champion, and Komline, 38, of Black Oak (72-71-69-69-281), last year’s NJSGA Mid-Amateur champion, tied for the runner-up spot. Brandon Dalinka, 19, of The Ridge at Back Brook (67-74-74-71-286), the first-round leader, was alone in fourth place, 10 shots behind McCormick (68-71-67-70-276). All three players are in this year’s field.
McCormick´s afternoon round over Baltusrol´s Lower Course, where Phil Mickelson won a PGA Championship and where Jack Nicklaus won two U.S. Opens, included an eagle on the par-5 opening hole, three birdies and three bogeys. His lead was never below three shots in the afternoon.
“I don’t think about repeating. I’m more looking at this as an event I want to win,” said McCormick, who the New York City Amateur last year for a second time and was third there this year. He is seeking to be the first repeat winner since the late Jeff Thomas won in 1990 and ‘91.
“Last year, it was awesome to win. I was able to perform under the gun. I just want to go out and do the best I can.”
The victory came just three days after his father, Mark McCormick, the eighth-year head professional at Suburban Golf Club, qualified for the U.S. Open in San Francisco. He did it by qualifying at Canoe Brook. A week after winning the State Amateur, McCormick had another thrill when he was inside the ropes as his father played a practice round with Mickelson.
“I love Canoe Brook. I’m excited about the Amateur being there, especially at the North Course. It’s a real championship course and always in good shape,” McCorrmick said. “I’ve gotten to play there quite a bit. My father used to take me there for U.S. Open sectional qualifying each year and I got to see a lot of PGA Tour players.
“The North Course suits me well. I’ve always like putting on the greens. You’ve got to play smart and drive it well, which I feel I’m doing right now.”
McCormick, 20, became only the fifth player in history to win the NJSGA and MGA Amateurs in the same year and the first since 1949. He also was within one stroke of winning the Met Open, but nonetheless won low amateur honors. He would have become the first golfer ever to win all three in the same summer.
“This is probably my last summer as an amateur,” he said. “I’m playing some real good national amateur events. I don’t put pressure on myself to win. I just set goals, to just go out there and have fun. I was a little too inconsistent last summer. I felt I could have done even better.
“On days when I don’t have my “A” game, I can still get the most out of my game. I’m working on the same things, my putting and my wedges, and driving the ball when I have to. I’m just trying to get better every day.”
McCormick’s summer schedule includes Sunnehanna Amateur in Johnston, Pa., the North-South Amateur in Pinehurst, the Player’s Amateur in Hilton Head and the Southern Amateur in Houston.
About the NJSGA
In accordance with the mission statement, the New Jersey State Golf Association, a non-profit organization of member clubs and courses, is dedicated to serving golf in New Jersey. Founded in 1900, the NJSGA was formed for the purpose of promoting and conserving the true spirit of the game throughout the state. Now in its 112th year, the NJSGA has continued to grow and serves more than 275 clubs, courses and organizations representing more than 100,000 golfers throughout the state. It conducts 23 men’s and women’s tournaments, offers handicapping service (GHIN), has donated more than $8 million through its Caddie Scholarship Foundation and promotes the growth of golf through its Youth Foundation.
