Hunter Stewart Surges In Final Round To Win 54th Northeast Amateur

Northeast Amateur Press Release

By Paul Kenyon

EAST PROVIDENCE – Hunter Stewart can begin making plans to spend time in England in September.

The first-team All-American at Vanderbilt all but wrapped up a spot on this year’s United States Walker Cup team on Saturday when he swept to victory in the 54th Northeast Amateur at Wannamoisett Country Club.

Stewart began the day in a tie for the lead and pulled away as he rolled to a 4-under 65 and won by four over Baylor All-American Kyle Jones. Stewart had birdies on 6 and 7 to begin taking control then turned it into a romp with birds at 13, 14 and 15.

“I won the Players (Amateur) a couple years ago. I’ve won a couple big college events, but this is right there at the top with them,” he said. “Its’ definitely one of the majors of amateurs golf. It’s a privilege to win this event. It’s a great honor.”

Stewart came in ranked either third or fourth in the nation in amateur rankings, depending on which rankings are used. He joined Brandt Snedeker, who is having a big week just up the road in The Travelers Championship, as the only first-team All-Americans ever at Vanderbilt. He already has represented the United States in the Palmer Cup matches for collegians and looked to be in good shape to make the Walker Cup team even before play began in the Northeast.

With what he did at Wanamoisett, he is now all but a sure thing for coach Spider Miller’s team. Miller was at Wannamoisett taking in the action to help select his squad for the match at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England, Sept. 12-13. Miller, in fact, followed Stewart for part of both the second and third rounds. Stewart would not focus on his chances, although he made it clear the Walker Cup is his goal. It is the reason he will not turn pro until the fall.

“I know this doesn’t hurt my chances. I’ve just got to keep playing solid golf,” he said.

“It’s kind of what I’ve been working for for two years now. Any time you have an opportunity (to represent your country) it’s truly an honor. To do it at the Palmer Cup was pretty special. People have told me that the Walker Cup is even more special than that. It’s one of the highest honors in amateur golf. It’s the culmination of two solid years of play. It would be a validation of the last year and a half or two years,” he said.

Entering the final round in a tie for the lead presents many players with a challenge all by itself. Stewart said he learned from last week, when he was one shot off the lead at the midway point at Sunnehanna.

“I watched the scoreboards and I ended up tied for eighth. Watching the scoreboard just doesn’t work for me,” he related. “Here I kept my head down and just focused on playing golf the way I know how.”

“I had complete control today,” he said. “I was pleased how I was able to do it.”

Stewart, who lives in Nicholasville, Ky., and is an admitted UK hoop fanatic (along with Vanderbilt), has actually cut back on his swing to control his game better. A rugged, strongly built guy, he now wants to win with control, not power. “This is a special place. The golf course is in fantastic condition. It’s just a really fun track with lots of tough short shots, which is something I love,” he said. “I love a golf course with tough short shots and this golf course presents a lot of those.”

The one player who ended up giving Stewart the toughest challenge was Jones.

The Baylor All-America, who came to Wannamoisett directly from the U.S. Open, closed with a sparkling 63 to surge into second. He began the day in a tie for 12th, six off the lead, and put together a bogey-free round with three birdies on each side.

He was not surprised that it was not enough to catch Stewart.

“I knew with Hunter out front, he’s such a solid player, he was going to have a good day today,” Jones said. “I knew he was going to have a good day.”

Jones had an interesting take on his last two events, having come in from Chambers Bay.

“Going from Chambers Bay to this, it’s the two ends of the world,” he said. “Chambers Bay, you’ve heard all about it about how hard it was and about the greens. But for me, it was my first Open. I really enjoyed it. “Coming here I looked out on the course and thought, `Man it’s really nice to see green grass again. . . The greens here are pure,” he said.

Jones, also a Palmer Cup selection, is very much in the picture for a Walker Cup team as well. His fate likely will depend on what happens over the next month. Stewart, on the other hand, is all but home free.