Both U.S. Senior Amateur finalists came to Old Warson Country Club this week with fond memories of the club. Dave Ryan qualified for his first USGA championship there (the 1986 U.S. Amateur) and Matt Sughrue played in his first U.S. Mid-Amateur on the Robert Trent Jones Jr. layout in 1999. In fact, Sughrue has a memento from that championship on the wall in his office – an image of the par-4 14th hole.
No. 14 played a pivotal role in Ryan’s 2-up victory over Sughrue, because Sughrue’s 4-foot birdie putt spun almost completely around the hole and failed to drop, preserving Ryan’s 1-up lead after Sughrue had won the three previous holes. But Sughrue won’t take that memory from this week.