The amateurs that were lucky enough to get the chance to play at St. Andrews this weekend, made the most of their time there. Nine amateurs were in the field when the week started.
Five of them made the cut, which when you are playing in a major championship is an accomplishment in of itself, but four were in the top 30.
UAB’s Paul Dunne was looking to improve upon missing cut at last years Open, and he did a lot more than that. Dunne was in a three way time for the lead going into Monday’s final round, and was looking to become the first amateur to win the Open since 1930.
However, six bogeys and one double in his final round kept him from this historical moment.
McCormack Medal winner, Oliver Chniederjans, made the most out of his Open debut finishing tied for 12th. The recent Georgia Tech grad finished his amateur career with a five under round Monday, nine under for the tournament.
According to his Twitter, the first tournament he will compete in as a pro is the Canadian Open, this coming weekend.
Jordan Niedbrugge finished best among the amateurs this week, winning the Silver Medal. This is given to the leading amateur after the final round. The Oklahoma State student finished tied for sixth at 11 under. Niedbrugge told ESPN, “The top accomplishment I’ve had so far, just the silver medal in a major championship, especially at St. Andrews. It’s definitely a dream come true.”
Even though none of these amateurs took home the Claret Jug this week, they showed everyone just what was coming for this new wave of golfers. As if Jordan Spieth wasn’t enough.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
