Franklin's Steven Mann measures his distance while competing in the 70th U.S. Senior Amateur in San Antonio
photo by USGA/Ted Pio Roda
When Steven Mann made it into the match play bracket of last year’s U.S. Senior Amateur held at The Honors Course, there was a sense of satisfaction. His goal entering his first USGA event was primarily to advance beyond the opening two days of stroke play qualifying as well as making mental notes for future return visits.
Mann’s stay was short-lived, losing his Round of 64 match by a 3 and 2 score after dropping his first three holes against Bryan Norton of Kansas. He was unable to pull any closer than 2 down the rest of the match, leaving Mann with a sour taste when driving back to Franklin on how his initial appearance ended.
One year later, Mann proved that he learned from last year’s experience. Entering Monday’s Round of 64 match as the No. 7 seed at San Antonio’s Oak Hills Country Club, Mann was paired against Andrew Whitacre of Texas who advanced to last year’s quarterfinals before losing in 19 holes to eventual champion Louis Brown.
Mann flipped the script from his opening match at The Honors Course. He took an early 3 up lead through five holes with a pair of pars and a bogey to bolster his confidence. Mann then won three straight holes starting at No. 8 with two pars and a birdie to increase his advantage to 6 up, eventually closing out the 6 and 4 victory with a final birdie at 14.
“I knew he would be tough because he made it to the Final Eight last year,” Mann said. “He didn't have his best stuff and made a couple of early mistakes and I hit it okay to be able to take advantage. It was good for me because I got down last year, so it was a completely different feeling. It made it more comfortable for sure, and then I had a little stretch where I played really good and hit a lot of greens. I’m happy with the outcome for sure.”
Making the shift from stroke play into a match play mindset can be challenging, but Mann was able to navigate the transition with ease especially after gaining the advantage early.
“In stroke play, you're just trying to not make any big numbers and make birdies when you can,” Mann said. “Your goal is just to be one of the top 64 so you tend to play more cautiously. When you hit match play, you start out with a mentality of being more aggressive. Today was a little bit more like stroke play for me because I got off to such a lead early. I reverted back to that stroke play mentality to not make any mistakes in order to maintain my lead.”
Mann will face 39th seed Joe Alfieri of Lutz, Fla. in his Round of 32 match at 9:10 a.m. CDT Tuesday, with the winner going back out in the afternoon for the Round of 16.
Monday’s results did see the early exit of the past two U.S. Senior Amateur winners. Brown, a Marietta, Ga. resident, lost in 19 holes to Tommy Brennan of Covington, La., while 2023 champion Todd White fell by a 2 and 1 score to fellow Spartanburg, S.C. native Mike Spousa.
For complete results, go to U.S. Senior Amateur.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com