There will be no Georgia Tech three-peat at the U.S. Amateur, but the Yellow Jackets run at golf’s premier amateur tournament ended grudgingly.
Before Ross Steelman has hit his first shot that counts in the Tech ledger, the junior transfer from Missouri established one personal connection to the Jackets’ golfing legacy.
If it’s U.S. Am time, then it naturally follows that a Tech player has to be rattling around and making noise in match play. Into that role stepped Steelman, who transferred in this summer just in time to pick up on the vibe established by 2019 Amateur winner Andy Ogletree and 2020 champion Tyler Strafaci – both Jackets. (And don’t forget Matt Kuchar in 1997. Oh, and there’s that Bobby Jones fellow, too, five times).
Steelman fell just short of the weekend, making it to the final eight before falling to North Carolina junior Austin Greaser in a quarterfinal match Friday, 2 and 1.
A second-team All-SEC player as a sophomore at Missouri, Steelman entered this Amateur as the medalist from the qualifying event in Rome. With a pair of college victories to his credit and some strong showings this year, he cracked the top 100 in the world amateur ranking (98th). And after a coaching change at Missouri, Steelman, who is from Columbia, Mo., decided to strike out from home, attracted by the reputation of the Tech program and coach Bruce Heppler.
While he has yet to play an event for Tech, he made use of the resources there in advance of the Amateur. “I talked to Andy Ogletree some about the Am, about just staying patient and keeping rested and always believing in myself. Those were the big things he was telling me,” Steelman said after his first match Friday.
“Coach Heppler is a great resource as well,” he added. “He’s seen so many guys do it and has so much experience, and I was able to lean on him for some advice. And it helped this week.”
Surviving stroke play early in the week, he won the first two rounds of match play, setting up a long day Friday at Oakmont (Pa.) at the rain-plagued tournament. The field faced double duty this day to get back on schedule.
In his Round of 16 match early in the day, Steelman found himself against Florida junior Ricky Castillo, the world’s fifth-ranked amateur and recent Walker Cup contestant. It turned out to be Steelman’s briefest match to that point. Tied through the first 11 holes, Steelman took the lead with a birdie on the par-5 No. 12 and won two of the next four holes with pars to close out Castillo 3 and 2.
After a brief lunch break it was back out to face Greaser, an All-ACC player from last season who had dominated his Round of 16 opponent, 6 and 4. The break cooled him off not one bit.
With birdies on his first two holes, Greaser seized the lead, and was 3-up after three holes when Steelman stumbled to a bogey 5 on No. 3. While he brought it back to being just 1-down on the back nine, Steelman never could draw even. He fell 2-down with a bogey on 16. Needing to win the closing two holes to extend the match, Steelman birdied the par-4 17th. But Greaser answered with a birdie of his own to close him out.
“I was able to get it pretty tight down the stretch,” Steelman said afterward. “Missed a makable putt on 15 to square it up, and then got a bad break plug in the front bunker on 16. And he made a good birdie on top of me on 17 to win.”
With two seasons of eligibility remaining – three if he exercises the COVID-19 exemption – Steelman has time to re-establish a Tech theme at the Amateur, should he wish and should the golfing fates allow.
Certainly the Oakmont experience is bound to boost him going forward. “I’ve known I’m a good player for a while,” he said. “Just being able to prove it on a big stage like this is awesome. Just a lot of momentum to build on, a lot of good shots, a lot of good putts.
“I played really well. Just got to beat today, and that happens.”
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