Annual Crump Cup

As spirited and coveted amateur tournaments go, the Crump Cup at vaunted Pine Valley continues to shine brightest. After being sidelined by the pandemic in 2020, it was held for the 96th time last week and both Matt Parziale of Thorny Lea GC and Bobby Leopold of Coventry just missed qualifying for the first flight. After shooting 78-74 to settle into the second flight, Parziale beat Will Davenport, 2 and 1, before losing in the second round to Bill Williamson, 3 and 1. Leopold won three games to make it to the final of the third flight, but got beaten by Charles Waddell, 1 up. Herbie Aikens of Kingston competed but did not make it into match play. In the championship flight, Mike Muehr started as the last of 16 seeds, but plowed through the medalist and three other foes to win the Crump Cup for the fourth time.

Falling short in Q School

A trio of locals failed to make it out of a first-stage test in the annual Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament at Kinderlou Forest in Valdosta, Ga. Nick Pandelena of Atkinson, N.H., and Ian Thimble of Hyde Park each shot 295 and Owen Quinn of Holden was at 302.

Warren off to solid start

Several other first-stage sites are under way in the KFT Qualifying Tournament and Shawn Warren shot 69 Tuesday to get into a positive mood at Winter Garden, Fla. The Falmouth, Maine, professional is presently in a tie for 25th . . . . . At Mobile, Ala., former University of Hartford golfer Paul Pastore is tied for second after an opening 65. Cape Cod native Jon Mayer will need to post some low rounds after opening with 73 . . . . . In St. George, Utah, Max Theodorakis of Danbury, Conn., opened with 67, Matthew Paradis of Hooksett, N.H., had 75.

Men’s college golf: Welch is solid

Patrick Welch, a senior from Providence, continued his resurgence with rounds of 74-72-71 to finish T-11 and help Oklahoma to a team win in the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational in Carrollton, Texas. The Sooners won the title by closing with a 7-under team score to finish at 3-under, one better than Texas. Welch struggled with his game at the end of last season but has played nicely in the early phase of the 2021-22 schedule . . . . . At the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields CC in Illinois, Stanford finished fourth. Sophomore standout Michael Thorbjornsen (71-70-69 – 210) was joint seventh for the Cardinal.

Men’s college golf: Whitney shines

Playing 36 holes with splendid consistency – an eagle, four birdies, four bogeys – freshman Ethan Whitney of Westminster finished at 2-under 140 to finish fourth and help Temple win the Cornell Invitational in Watchung, N.J. Siena College finished seventh but got solid efforts from Jack Tobin of Southborough (76-70, T-17) and Brody Yates of Essex County, Vt. (71-70, T-5).

Fast start before the storm rolls in

John McNeill, 60, won the weather-shortened New England Senior Amateur at Manchester CC in Manchester Center, Vt. His 4-under 68 in Round 1 held up when dangerous weather dominated the second day. A trio of Connecticut golfers – Bob Murphy of Brownson, Bill Hermanson of the Black Hall Club, and Dave Jones of Mohegan Sun GC – shared second at level par.

U.S. Mid-Amateur an island affair

Should you be on Nantucket later this week, or perhaps in an adventurous mood for a high-speed ferry ride, spectators will be admitted free of charge to watch the 40th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. Rounds 1 and 2 will be held Saturday and Sunday at both Sankaty Head Golf Club and Miacomet Golf Course. After those two rounds of stroke-play qualifying are held, the low 64 will move on to match play, strictly at Sankaty Head.

A field of 264 competitors, 15 of them with New England ties, will be teeing it up: Doug Clapp, Billy Fourcier, Joe Harney, Michael Harrington, Nick Maccario, Cam Moniz, Ross Nicholson, Danny Oh, Matt Parziale, James Pleat, Stephen Quararone, Sam Russell, Glendon Sutton, Kyle Vincze, and Arthur Zelmati.

It’s the first time the Mid-Am has been held in Massachusetts, but it’s the 58thUSGA championship here. We won’t have to wait too long for championships 59 and 60, either, because next year both the U.S. Open (The Country Club) and Senior Amateur (The Kittansett Club) will be in our neighborhood.