Zach Walsh (Forest Hills Country Club) curled in a 25-foot putt on the 18th hole to capture the St. Louis District Golf Association 2024 Grieedieck Men’s Championship at Meadowbrook Country Club on Sunday, July 21 in Ballwin, Mo. The 23-year-old Chesterfield native slipped past three-time champion Chris Kovach (Old Hickory Golf Club) 1-up in match play to claim the trophy.
Walsh acknowledged the putt from the fringe was challenging, “ I thought about chipping it, but as I looked at it a second time from the other side, I took an extra second at the hole, and it came off way better off the fringe. I’d been leaving putts short all day, so it was nice to see one go in.”
It was the eighth time that Meadowbrook hosted the tournament, but first since 2019 when Kovach grabbed the title. He previously won back-to-back in 2018-19.
It was a nip-and-tuck battle all afternoon as Walsh went 1-up five times, but each time the 7th-seed Kovach responded to tie the match. The 12-seed, Walsh jumped out immediately as Kovach bogeyed the first hole, but Kovach birdied at No. 4 to tie it.
When Kovach lost a ball in the rough by the lake at No. 6, Walsh birdied to again grab the lead. Kovach responded with a birdie on No. 9 to even it up.
Kovach conceded the hole on No. 11 after hitting in the left rough, and again Walsh was 1-up. Kovach turned the tables immediately with a 15-foot birdie putt at No. 12 to knot the match.
As Kovach was struggling off the tee, Walsh tried to maintain focus. “Chris hung in there,” Walsh said. “It’s hard not to pay attention to his shots, but the less I do that, I was able to capitalize.”
On Hole 14, Kovach hit over the green into the rough, was forced to play a provisional and ended up conceding the hole as Walsh was again 1-up. Kovach then hit a spectacular shot out of the trees in the right rough on No. 15 to the right fringe. When Walsh bogeyed, the match again was square.
Kovach bogeyed No. 16 to hand Walsh the advantage, but the former champ drained another 15-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to take the decision to the 18th.
It was the first tournament win for Walsh since he claimed an AJGA Qualifier in Lawrence, Kan., when he was entering his senior year in high school at Chaminade. “It’s been a lot of learning,” he said. “My saying today was ‘process over prize.’ I’ve done a lot of work to keep myself in the moment through box breathing. Your mind is going to wander, but the only thing you can do is stay in the moment. I had doubts out there, but I just tried to keep rolling with what was going on.”
When match play began Saturday morning, Walsh, who just graduated from Loyola University in Chicago, had the unenviable task of playing younger brother Ryan, the No. 5 seed. It came about because of Zach’s honesty over the 2-day stroke scores. “I signed for a 73, but online it was 72, so I had to call in to make sure everything was squared away correctly.”
Zach prevailed 4 & 3, but it wasn’t easy. “We’re pretty close,” Zach said. “We grew up playing together, played in high school (Chaminade) together and played at Loyola for two years. Our goal was to play each other in the final. We had a great match, and he drained a putt on the first hole, so I had some thoughts that maybe it’s his day. But I told myself to keep myself in the moment. It was a good match all day, and he was a good sport.”
Was the pressure off after ousting Ryan? “Not really, no, because he’s pretty good. I know there’s a lot of other really good players in the field. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was relieved to beat him, because he’s a really good player.”
Ryan went on to caddy for Zach for the next two rounds and helped his brother advance. “He helped keep me in the moment,” Zach explained. “He was cleaning my clubs, reminding me to say in the moment and just enjoy the opportunity. He was definitely a part of this, for sure.”
In Sunday morning’s semifinals, Walsh topped No. 9 Alex Cusumano (Norwood Hills Country Club) 6 & 5. Kovach bested No. 6 David Schilp Jr. (Bogey Hills Country Club) 4 & 2.
(SATURDAY)
In Saturday morning’s first round of march play, 16th-seed Carsen Silliman (Dalhousie Golf Club) upset No. 1 seed and medalist Joe Migdal (Persimmon Woods Golf Club) 4 & 2. It set the stage for a day that saw none of the top five seeds advance to Sunday’s semifinals.
No. 9 Alex Cusumano (Norwood Hills Country Club) topped fellow Norwood Hills member No. 8 Jimmy Siegfried 3 & 2, and then ended Silliman’s quest for the trophy 2-up in the afternoon.
Medalist runner-up No. 2 Blake Skornia (Algonquin Golf Club) was ousted Saturday morning by 15th-seed Bryan Bohme (Meadowbrook Country Club) 2-up, who couldn’t carry that momentum on his home course through the afternoon by dropping a 1-up decision to No. 7 Chris Kovach. In the morning session, Kovach dispatched No. 10 Brian Lovett (Bellerive Country Club) 2-up.
Third-seed Drew Panger (Glen Echo Country Club) knocked out AJ Porter (Winghaven Country Club) 2 & 1, but fell to No. 6 David Schilp Jr. (Bogey Hills Country Club) 2-up in the afternoon. Earlier, Schilp eliminated No. 11 Sean Brennan (Westborough Country Club) 1-up.
No. 4 Chad Niezing (Meadowbrook Country Club) handled Ryan McNeil (Persimmon Woods Country Club) 4 & 2, but also couldn’t use the home course to his advantage in a 3 & 2 decision to Zach Walsh.
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