Ryan Snouffer Wins New York City Amateur
By Anthony Spaulding, New Jersey Herald
Ryan Snouffer can check off one of his big goals for his summer golf season.
The 21-year-old Jefferson native won his first three-round event of his career after capturing the New York City Amateur championship on Sunday, May 29, at La Tourette Golf Course in Staten Island, N.Y.
In the two-day tournament held Saturday and Sunday, Snouffer shot an astounding 10-under-par three-round total of 206. He fired a 3-under 69 in the first round Saturday, then shot a 2-under 70 in the second round and concluded his performance with an eye-popping 5-under 67 in the final round.
When reached Tuesday for a telephone interview, Snouffer still couldn't help but feel ecstatic about earning this win because it was a monumental milestone for his development.
"This was a big feat for me in a lot of ways," Snouffer said. "Just being able to understand that I am capable of doing things like this was huge. I had never done it before. It was eye-opening because of the way I performed consistently at a high level for three rounds under pressure and how I executed when I had to execute.
"This was a huge accomplishment for me going forward in my career."
Before this year, Snouffer , who just graduated from Seton Hall University, had only won two one-day events as an amateur. Snouffer won the Brae Burn Invitational by shooting 6-under par over the course of two rounds for his first win of his career and took the Trump Invitational by going 7-under in two rounds.
As good as these were, Snouffer was still searching for that elusive win in a major three-round tournament after coming up shy in a few events last year.
In the Ike Championship, he led after the first round and going into the 36-hole finale after shooting 3-under. Then after losing the lead in the second round by shooting 5-over, Snouffer bounced back to grab his third by going 2-under in the third round.
In the 95th NJSGA Open Championship at Rockaway River Country Club in Denville, Snouffer played in the final group and was within one stroke of taking the lead in it. However, a 3-over-par finish in the final round prevented him from winning the tournament.
At the Metropolitan Open Championship in Mamaroneck, N.Y., Snouffer showed how dominant of a golfer he could be when he has everything working for him, as he fired a 5-under 65 on Winged Foot's East Course in the opening round.
In doing so, he hit 17 of the course's 18 greens and took a two-shot lead into the second round in a field filled with top pros and amateurs from New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, including Green Township native and pro golfer Pat Wilson, who played in the U.S. Open.
But, he wound up shooting a 7-over 77 in the second round and a 12-over 82 in the last round to end 14-over for the championship.
"The hardest thing for me was having those hiccups during a tournament," Snouffer said. "I would play good one round, then I would struggle the next round and then kind of get it back."
This time, Snouffer shot lights-out from start to finish.
He put up his 69 in the opening round to finish the day in second place and only one shot off the lead. Then in the second round, he shot his 70 to take a one-shot lead heading into the last 18 holes of the 36-hole finale.
In the final round, he had held the lead by himself until Trevor Randolph made eagle on their 10th hole, which was the par-5 first hole of La Tourette, to tie him. They stayed as co-leaders through the 14th hole, which they both bogeyed.
Then, Snouffer had a breakthrough.
On the 15th hole, the par-4 sixth, Snouffer managed to chip-in for birdie on a hole that had a front-pin placement and a huge slope to take the lead. After that birdie, Snouffer's lead increased to two strokes after Randolph made a bogey on the hole.
Snouffer couldn't believe that he made his birdie and that Randolph took bogey.
"It was crazy," Snouffer said. "I had it run up the side of the green, then it stopped and trickled down all the way to the hole. It was basically like Tigers Woods' chip shot at the Masters (in 2005 on the 16th hole). I didn't even think I would make par and I thought the shot was going to cost me the tournament, but I made it. ... And when he bogeyed, that was a two-shot swing.
"It was insane."
After that dramatic turn of events, Snouffer sealed the championship win in the best way possible.
He made a tap-in birdie on the next hole -- a par 4 -- after seeing his second shot "bounce in the cup and pop out." Then, he converted an 8-foot eagle putt on the 17th hole (La Tourette's 497-yard par-5 eighth hole) after hitting a pitching wedge onto the green to up his lead to five strokes.
Though he finished the round with a par on the last hole, Snouffer was able to walk off the course with a whole new level of confidence because he achieved this win.
"This was something I needed to understand what I am capable of doing in golf," Snouffer said. "A couple of weeks ago, I was debating what I wanted to do with my future, but this solidified where I want to go in the game."
With this goal checked off, Snouffer now has another big one in his sights, as he wants to qualify for the U.S. Open for the first time. Snouffer will have a chance to do that Monday when he plays in the U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit.
He qualified for that tournament after tying for first in the U.S. Open local qualifier at Panther Valley Golf & Country Club by shooting 4-under par. In that one-day event, he tied with Wilson for co-medalist honors.
"All that's on my mind is making the U.S. Open," Snouffer said. "That's what I want more than anything and this tournament (the NYC Amateur) just tells me I can do it, play against some great players and if I play my game, I can dominate a pretty good field."
