ST. LOUIS — Chad Niezing (Manchester), the 2021 Missouri Amateur Runner-up, adds his name to Missouri golf history, taking home the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship with a 2 & 1 win at Bellerive Country Club. 

Niezing went 35 holes with opponent Sam Migdal, and held the lead for the majority of the match. 

He started the 36-hole match at a steady pace, only falling 1 down to Migdal on hole 8. He capitalized on a bogey by Migdal on 9 to square it away at the first turn. He took control on the back 9, and finished the first round of 18 at 3 up over Migdal. Niezing never lost his lead, even with three bogies on the second back nine. Migdal closed in on Niezing on hole 16 and went into 17, 1 up. 

In a storybook finish, Niezing sinks one in from 90 yards out on hole 17 to win the match and the Missouri Amateur Championship. 

Niezing began the tournament strong, advancing out of stroke play as the No. 9 seed. He took his preceding matches 7 & 6 (round of 64), 4 & 2 (round of 32), 2 & 1 (round of 16) and 2 & 1 (quarterfinal). 

In the semifinal, Niezing was 2 up at the turn. His opponent, Alex Locke, squared it away on the 13th hole with a par putt. Niezing responded with a birdie putt on 17 to gain the lead once again and win the match 1 up. 

He joins an illustrious list of former champions including MGA president Wayne Fredrick and PGA Tour champion Tom Watson.

The MGA would like to thank Bellerive Country Club and their staff for graciously hosting the event. 

Our next men’s event is the Stroke Play Championship at Dalhousie Golf Club in Cape Girardeau on July 25. 

For final results from the Missouri Amateur Championship visit: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3368198

For more information on the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship, visit: https://www.mogolf.org/2022/06/missouri-state-amateur-championship-to-be-held-at-bellerive-country-club-june-20-25/ 

###

Down to the final two at the Missouri Amateur Championship

ST. LOUIS – Two St. Louis natives remain in the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship after playing the quarterfinal and semifinal matches Friday.

Sam Migdal (St. Louis) and Chad Niezing (Manchester) both battled through a full 18 holes. Niezing won 1 up over Alex Locke and Migdal won 2 up over Dawson Meek. 

Niezing led through the front nine holes at 2 up over Alex Locke. He held the lead until the 13th hole when Locke capitalized on a mistake to take the match to all square. Niezing sunk a birdie putt on 17 to gain the lead with one hole left. On the final hole of the day, Niezing and Locke both made a par putt, which left Niezing up 1 to advance to the championship match. 

Niezing entered into match play as the No. 9 seed. He took his proceeding matches 7 & 6 (round of 64), 4 & 2 (round of 32), 2 & 1 (round of 16) and 2 & 1 (quarterfinal). 

On the other side of the bracket, Migdal made that turn down 2 holes to Meek, who held the lead until the 15th hole when Midgal  shot par and Meek double bogeyed. Migdal grabbed the lead on hole 16. On the final hole of the day, Migdal sank a putt for birdie to extend his lead to 2 up and secure the trip to the championship match. 

Migdal entered into match play as the No. 6 seed. He took his proceeding matches 4 & 3 (round of 64), 1 up (round of 32), 1 up (round of 16) and 1 up (quarterfinal). 

This is Niezing’s second year in a row advancing to the championship match. Migdal won the championship in 2016 and was the runner-up in 2017. The match will begin at 9 a.m. with a 36-hole match format.

Congratulations to Semifinal Medalists Dawson Meek (Ozark) and Alex Locke (Springfield). 

For final results from day five, visit: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3368198

For more information on the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship, visit: https://www.mogolf.org/2022/06/missouri-state-amateur-championship-to-be-held-at-bellerive-country-club-june-20-25/ 

###

16 players move onto the quarterfinals at the Missouri Amateur Championship

ST. LOUIS — Day four of the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship began this morning with a round of 32 golfers going head-to head in match play. Stroke play medalists Brad Nurski took down his opponent 8 & 6 to advance to the round of 16. 

During the round of 32, a number of higher seeds fell in upsets. No. 25 seed Nicklaus Mason (Shawnee) defeated his opponent, No. 8 Thomas Henson (Hermann) 2 up. No. 28 Yuta Tsai, collegiate golfer for the University of Missouri, took down No. 5 Addison White (Nixa) 2 & 1. No. 44 Alex McCulla (Quincy) beat No. 12 Chris Brokenbrow (St. Louis) 2 & 1

No. 62 Ian McCrary,  University of Missouri, St. Louis golfer, defeated No. 35 Kaden Macha (Iola) 5 & 4. Finally, No. 46 Brad Carpenter (Washington) upset his opponent No. 14 Justin Bryant (St. Louis) 2 & 1. 

The 16 golfers that won their matches this morning moved onto the round of 16. Tee times began at 1:30 p.m. for the eight matches. 

Ian McCrary and Brad Carpenter were tied through 18 holes. Ian McCrary ended up on top after 22 holes. No. 50 Hank Lierz upset No. 2 Presten Richardson 1 up to move onto the quarterfinals. 

Congratulations to the eight golfers moving on to the quarterfinal round tomorrow morning: Brad Nurski, Chad Niezing, Alex Locke, Yuta Tsai, Hank Lierz, Dawson Meek, Sam Migdal and Ian McCrary. 

The quarterfinal round will commence tomorrow at 8 a.m. Match winners will advance to the semifinal round following the completion of the quarterfinal round. 

For final results from day four and match pairings for tomorrow, visit: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3368198

For more information on the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship, visit: https://www.mogolf.org/2022/06/missouri-state-amateur-championship-to-be-held-at-bellerive-country-club-june-20-25/

###

64 players have been cut to 32 as we move onto to round two of match play

ST. LOUIS — The player field at the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship sits at 32 following the first day of match play at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis. 

After shooting the low score for stroke play during rounds one and two, No. 1 seed Brad Nurski closed his round with a victory. He beat his opponent 2 & 1 to continue his run for another Missouri Amateur Championship title.

At the close of competition, 13 underdogs took victories, including No. 54 Hunter Parrish (Columbia) taking down No. 11 Ryan Schuenke (Palmrya) 4 & 3, No. 61 Jeffrey Johnston (St. Joseph) defeating No. 4 Cameron Vanleer (Beaufort) 5 & 3, and No. 55 Zach Decker upsetting No. 10 Peter Weaver 4 & 3. 

There were four matches that were forced to 19 holes to determine the winner. Ian McCrany (Overland Park, Kan.) upset Max Kreikemeier (Chesterfield) on the 19th hole. Tyran Titus (Springfield) beat out Gage Brauns (Columbia) on the 19th hole after he won with a par. Three-time Amateur Champion Skip Berkmeyer (Town and Country) was defeated by Tony Gumper (Saint Charles) with a birdie on the 19th hole. After a 23 hole round, Adam Pfeiffer (Quincy) came out on top over Warren Crow (Kansas City). 

Thursday’s round of 32 will begin at 8 a.m. The match winners will then compete in a round of 16 to try and advance onto the quarterfinals taking place Friday morning. 

For final results from day three and match pairings for tomorrow, visit: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/3368198

For more information on the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship, visit: https://www.mogolf.org/2022/06/missouri-state-amateur-championship-to-be-held-at-bellerive-country-club-june-20-25/ 

###

ABOUT MGA:

The Missouri Golf Association is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the best interests and true spirit of the game of golf throughout the State of Missouri. The Missouri Golf Association was started in St. Louis in 1905 to run the Amateur Championship. Four founding clubs would be the ones in existence in St. Louis in those early years – St. Louis Country Club, Algonquin Golf Club, Glen Echo Golf Club and Normandie Golf Club. Four years later, the invite-only Missouri Amateur was held in Kansas City at Evanston Club. 1911 marked the real organization of the MGA with Bonner Miller as Secretary and Executive Director. Ever since then, the MGA has striven to provide tournaments and spaces for Missouri golfers to sharpen their skills and enjoy the game. 

Media Contact:

Elle Wilkinson

Communications Intern

elle.wilkinson@sbcglobal.net