Franklin's Steven Mann earned the No. 7 seed entering Monday's U.S. Senior Amateur match play
photo by USGA/Ted Pio Roda
Unforced errors can be the source of sleepless nights for many golfers, tormented with regret over the shots that got away. Avoiding such calamity was one of the chief goals on Steven Mann’s checklist entering this week’s 70th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.
After a successful weekend of two rounds of stroke play qualifying, so far so good for the Franklin native in achieving his goal.
Mann shot even par 71 on Sunday at San Antonio’s Oak Hills Country Club, completing his two days at 2-under 140 to tie for 6th place. After opening with four pars, he birdied the par-5 fifth hole. A bogey at seven was followed with another birdie at eight, making the turn in 34. His final nine featured eight pars and a bogey at 13 to place himself in a favorable No. 7 seeding for match play.
The Round of 64 will take place on Monday, followed by both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches on Tuesday. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches are scheduled for Wednesday, with the 18-hole championship match being staged on Thursday.
“When we talked the other day, I said the key was not giving away any shots, and I’ve been able to do that,” Mann said. “I’ve putted as good or better than I’ve ever putted in my life these past two days. It’s been good to see them go in because these greens are really tricky, fast Bermuda which I’m not used to.”
After a 12-man playoff to determine the final five spots in the match play bracket, Mann will take on 58th seed Andrew Whitacre of The Woodlands, Texas in his opening duel scheduled to tee off at 11:50 a.m. CDT.
“I feel good going into match play,” Mann said. “The driver has been pretty good, but I need to clean up a few things with my short irons. I’m playing good and excited about going into match play. This golf course is way different than what we played on last year (at The Honors Course), but hopefully I’ll be able to continue doing what I did these past two days.”
Mann fell in his opening match last year by a 3 and 2 count as the No. 45 seed. Whitacre earned his spot at No. 59 by virtue of a playoff, then went on to win three matches before losing to eventual champion Louis Brown in their quarterfinal showdown that went 19 holes.
England’s John Kemp earned medalist honors at 7-under 135 after finishing as co-medalist in 2024 at The Honors Course.
Franklin’s Billy Green missed by one shot of making the playoff, improving by four strokes on Sunday with a 2-over 73 to finish at 8-over 150. Green carded three birdies on his round along with five bogeys.
Arnold Cunningham of Nashville shot 80 on Sunday to finish at 16-over 158, while Brentwood’s Beau Fields finished at 17-over 159 after turning in a 79.
For live scoring, go to U.S. Senior Amateur.
Morristown’s Bunch Has Solid Week at U.S. Senior Women’s Open
For three days, Morristown’s Ashli Bunch found herself in the conversation of candidates in position to pull off a win at the U.S. Senior Women’s Open. But a rough start to Sunday’s final round at San Diego Country Club took her out of contention.
Entering the day three shots off the lead and in a 4th place tie, Bunch found trouble from the outset on Sunday. Five bogeys and a double bogey across her first seven holes led to a disappointing 85, closing her week’s work tied for 22nd at 11-over 303.
After posting a 2-over 75 in Thursday’s first round, Bunch shot 4-under 69 the next day to pull within two shots of the lead. A 1-over 75 on Saturday kept her within range, but Sunday’s round left her well behind winner Becky Morgan of Wales and her aggregate of 7-under 285.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Morristown's Ashli Bunch had a solid week at the U.S. Senior Women's Amateur
photo by USGA/Steven Gibbons