 Round of 64 Serves Up Early USA-. |
Round of 64 Serves Up Early USA-GB&I Preview at Baltimore C.C.
Aug. 29-Sept. 3, 2026, Baltimore Country Club, Lutherville, Md.
With the Walker Cup looming this weekend in the Republic of Ireland, Monday’s Round of 64 at the 71st U.S. Senior Amateur at Baltimore Country Club featured a pair of matches with a familiar USA vs. Great Britain Ireland feel. Was this perhaps some foreshadowing of what’s to come at Lahinch?
The marquee matchup between Jody Fanagan (Republic of Ireland) and Georgian Bob Royak ended up being a slightly lopsided affair, with the 2019 champion rolling to a 5-and-4 victory.
While the two traded pars on the opening hole, Royak, 66, of Alpharetta, Ga., converted a birdie putt on No. 2 to take a quick lead he would never relinquish.
Making his 10th U.S. Senior Amateur appearance, Royak capitalized on Fanagan’s bogey on No. 7 to extend his lead. Fanagan, the 2023 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up and a member of the victorious 1995 GB&I Walker Cup Team when he paired twice in foursomes with future three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, struggled against back-to-back birdies on the par-3 ninth and par-4 10th from Royak. It was all USA from there, with the Georgian eventually closing out the match on the 14th green.
“Jody is a great player,” said Royak of his opponent. “He didn’t give me a whole lot. I knew I had to make a few birdies along the way, but it was the best I’ve played since I got here. I’m starting to get a feel for the course.”
David Vaclav, 59 of Flat Rock, Mich., delivered a dominant performance over another Irishman, Gerard Connolly, in the third match of the day. Making his U.S. Senior Amateur debut, Vaclav won the first five holes of the match to quickly build a commanding lead. Connolly, also making his championship debut, cut into the deficit with back-to-back wins on Nos. 8 and 9. Vaclav answered with a win on the par-4 10th before hitting an 8-iron to 12 feet and converting the uphill birdie putt on the par-3 13th to regain a 5-up advantage with five to play.
Connolly won No. 14 to extend the match, but Vaclav closed out his 4-and-3 victory one hole later. Vaclav, who made a hole-in-one during qualifying for the championship, advances to the Round of 32 to face Tony Wise on Tuesday morning. His son, Tyler, was on the bag for stroke play and Monday’s opening match but, had to return home for work. Vaclav will eschew a caddie for however long he stays in the championship.
“I kind of lost it there for a couple holes,” said Vaclav about the middle of his match. “At the end of the front nine and the beginning of the back nine, I probably lost my edge a little bit mentally. It took me a while to fight and try to get it back. Golf is a hard game. I fought through the end, but I had to work hard on the second nine. He was playing much better.”
Also advancing to the Round of 32 is longtime PGA Tour caddie Corby Segal, who at 55 years old is making his championship debut. But getting through this match wasn’t easy as the Southern Californian nearly lost all of a 5-up lead down the stretch against Greg Kennedy, 57, of Peachtree, Ga.
Segal wasted little time taking control of the match, winning three of the first four holes with pars. The Santa Clarita, Calif., resident added the first birdie of the match on the par-4 seventh, stretching his advantage to 4 up.
Kennedy’s first birdie came on the 10th hole, cutting his deficit to three, before Segal appeared to put the match out of reach with a winning par on the 11th and a winning birdie on the 12th to extend his lead to 5 up. But Kennedy refused to go quietly, winning the 14th and 15th holes with birdies before taking the 16th and 17th to trim the deficit to 1 down heading to the final hole.
After watching a match that had seemed all but decided turn into a battle on the 18th, Segal finally stopped the bleeding. A par was good enough to earn a Tuesday morning tee time against North Carolinian Steve Harwell in the Round of 32.
“I feel like I had him dormie with a lot of holes to play and I didn’t close it out like I should have,” said Segal. “And then he started playing really good, and then when I had to clutch up and had a good eight iron into the last hole, I did, and I put pressure back on him, and I was able to get away with it.”
Segal is no stranger to high-level golf, though he usually experiences it from the other side of the ball. Segal was on Charlie Wi’s bag at this summer’s U.S. Senior Open, where Wi, a PGA Tour Champions member, held the first-round lead. He has also caddied for Briny Baird, Brandt Jobe, Tom Hoge and 2012 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Brandon Hagy.
This week, Segal has his 17-year-old son, Dallas, on the bag. It’s fitting for Segal, who is competing in his 17th USGA championship. A reinstated amateur, Segal began his professional career in 1995 after playing collegiately at Cal State Northridge before returning to amateur golf. He was a quarterfinalist at the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur, reached the Round of 16 in 2014 and competed in the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.
Also reaching the Round of 32 was 71-year-old Buzz Fly, of Memphis, Tenn., who ousted Joel B Johnson, 1 up.
What’s Next?
Match play continues on Tuesday with the Rounds of 32 and 16. The first match is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. EDT, with the Round of 16 slated to start at 1 p.m. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Wednesday, with the 18-hole championship match on Thursday. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.
Notable
- The 13-for-3 playoff took three holes to complete. D Scott Mackesy was the first player to advance to match play as the No. 62 seed after posting the lone birdie on the first hole. Maryland resident Marc Ehudin and Zambia’s Niketan Desai both advanced as the Nos. 63 and 64 seed, respectively. Defending champion, Michael McCoy, and 2025 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up, Greg Sanders, both failed to advance.
- Mackesy and Desai continued their momentum into the Round of 64, defeating 2024 champion Louis Brown and stroke-play medalist Trae Cassell, respectively.
- California led the way with the most match-play qualifiers (9), followed by Georgia with eight and Florida with five.
- Five USGA champions advanced to the Round of 32: Tim Hogarth, Jack Larkin Sr., Bob Royak, Jeff Wilson and Todd White. Hogarth won the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links, Larkin the 1979 U.S. Junior Amateur, while Royak (2019), Wilson (2018) and White (2023) are U.S. Senior Amateur champions. White also won the 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title with current USA Walker Cup captain Nathan Smith.
- John Wright won his match against Randy Haag on the 19th hole. It was the first of two matches to extend beyond regulation. Andy Bernatovicz and John Brellenthin were the last match on the course, with Bernatovicz prevailing on the 19th hole.
- Bob Royak posted the day’s largest margin of victory, winning 5-and-4 over Jody Fanagan.
- Cassell became the first medalist to lose in the opening round since Tim Hogarth in 2021 at the Country Club of Detroit.
- No. 16 seed, Tony Wise, won his match, 3 and 2 over Chris Congdon. Wise lettered in three sports at Georgetown (Ky.) College: football, golf and basketball.
- Mark Small of Frankfort, Ill., is playing with extra motivation this week. His brother Scott, who lived in Lutherville for 25 years, passed away last summer. The opportunity to compete in his brother’s longtime hometown and reconnect with lifelong friends has added special meaning to Small’s week. He defeated won against Ray Morton, 3 and 2.
Quotable
“I’m very proud. It’s hard to get into the tournament, and I managed to qualify by winning the Canadian Seniors last year. This experience has been pretty special. Representing Canada and my hometown, it’s good.” – Don Martone on the opportunity to represent his country
“We lost him last summer. There was a neat thing that was on his golf bag, it was a bag tag from this course. I didn’t know it was from this course. I saved it because it was his nickname, The Music Man. And when I saw it was this course that was a sign that I need to be here.” – Mark Small on his unique connection to Baltimore Country Club
“Mark has been on my bag. He’s a good buddy of mine from my club at home. He’s been on my bag for a number of these and a couple of Senior Opens along the way. I really trust his judgment, what clubs to pull, the yardage and everything like that. We’re a good team.” – Royak on his caddie and friend, Mark Montgomery
“No. It’s funny, this is my fifth USGA event, and I had never won a match. I made it to match play in two U.S. Amateurs and a U.S. Junior, and I was beaten in the first round in all three of them. I’ve had some success at the state level in match play, though.” – Michael Ketcham on his previous match play experiences
“I want to immediately take a rest, get a little bite to eat, and just kind of cool down. You know, I went out last year, hit a bunch of balls, tried to stay loose, and that was a major mistake.” – Tony Wise on changing his game plan from last year
