Tracy Tames The Western
GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS | Relative unknown Ethan
Tracy shocked the world of amateur golf when
he took down world No. 1 Patrick Cantlay to
win the Western Amateur at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Ill. The senior at the University of Arkansas beat Cantlay 1-up Saturday
afternoon in a tight 18-hole encounter.
Neither competitor was able to get more
than a 1-up advantage at any point, which was
all-square through 12 holes. Tracy birdied
the par- 3 13th, and the two matched
scores on the remaining holes. After
almost hitting his tee shot out of
bounds on the final hole, Tracy holed a
10-foot par putt to secure the title.
Tracy opened the
stroke-play portion of
the tournament with
a 3-over-par 74, and
then rallied by shooting
6 under over the next 54
holes to finish at 3-under-par
281, good for a T11 finish and a second
Sweet Sixteen berth. Cantlay also
opened poorly, shooting 1-over 72. He
had to make par on the 72nd hole to force
a two-for-one playoff, which he won.
Tracy beat Derek Ernst, 3 and 2, in the
first-round match, staging an impressive
comeback from a 3-down deficit, and then
took out Texas prep phenom Jordan Spieth,
2 and 1, in the quarterfinals. Tracy slipped
past Cheng-Tsung Pan in the semifinals,
making birdie on the 15th hole and hanging on for victory.
Cantlay opened his match-play run
by ousting stroke-play medalist Chris Williams
in the first round, 3 and 2, and then outdueling
world No. 2 Peter Uihlein in a 19-hole match,
1-up. He edged Jeffrey Kang on Saturday morn-
ing, 1-up, to set up the championship match.
