Housen Leads Five U.S. Senior Amateur Qualifiers from Alpine
DEMAREST, N.J. (July 25, 2022) – An even-par 72 secured Chris Housen of Manasquan, N.J., medalist honors in Monday’s U.S. Senior Amateur Championship sectional qualifier, while the remaining four spots were decided in a playoff on Tuesday morning after dangerous weather suspended play three times on Monday.
Related: Results
The first suspension of play came just before the afternoon wave began to tee off at 12:30 p.m., with play resuming at 2 p.m. Early scores showed that Alpine would be a stern test, with 1-over 73s from Tom Yellin of New York, N.Y., and Jim Hamburger of Clinton Corners, N.Y., standing as the low scores in the morning wave.
Play was then suspended for approximately 20 minutes on two occasions due to distant lightning strikes.
Playing in the next-to-last group, Housen tallied the low score to avoid coming back on Tuesday, as six players ended up carding 73s on the day. Past U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Ken Bakst of Baiting Hollow, N.Y., Harris Podvey of West Caldwell, N.J., Amrish Patel of Belleville, N.J., and Marc Coleman of Syosset, N.Y., all posted 73s in the afternoon wave. Bakst's 73 included a hole-in-one on the 130-yard par-3 fifth hole.
On Tuesday morning, Bakst, Yellin, Hamburger and Podvey all earned the final four qualifying spots. Coleman took first alternate and Patel second alternate.
“I hit the ball pretty well,” said Housen, who won the MGA’s Father & Son Championship in 1996 and 2008 with his father, Bob. “I hit a lot of greens and had good lag putting. I got them right around the hole, so I didn’t really have to struggle on any three-, four-, five-footers. So, it was overall a pretty solid day.”
Putting certainly proved to be key for Housen, and a recent change may have provided just the spark he needed to move on to The Kittansett Club in Marion, Mass., for the August 24 - September 1 championship.
“I had been struggling with putting a lot,” he explained. “I just put this old putter back in the bag. This thing hasn’t been out of the garage in about five years. I took it out two days ago and I hit a putt on the first hole and I was like, ‘Wow, that felt good.’”
Housen also felt comfortable at Alpine, having played it previously and with it having similarities to his home club.
“I had played here before and I’m a member of Manasquan River, and Manasquan has a lot of hills and undulations,” said Housen. “Our first 11 holes are very similar to this, so I felt like I was home a little bit.”
Housen has qualified for two U.S. Mid-Amateurs in the past and upon reaching the senior age of 55, had set his sights on qualifying for the Senior Amateur.
“This was a bucket list,” said Housen. “I just wanted to qualify. It had been a long time and I wasn’t sure if I’d play in another, so I’m really, really happy.”