Saturday’s schedule 36-hole last of the 76th U.S. Junior Beginner at Oakland Hills is the proper time to throw rankings out the window.
On one facet, there’s Tyler Watts, the 16-year-old from Huntsville, Alabama, who is just not solely ranked seventh within the AJGA junior rankings however No. 121 within the World Beginner Golf Rating. He’s a member of the inaugural U.S. Nationwide Junior Staff and has a number of prime nationwide finishes, together with wins on the Jones Cup Junior and Southern Junior, plus runners-up on the Terra Cotta Beginner and AJGA Mayakoba Invitational.
On the opposite is Trevor Gutschewski, who has the pedigree because the son of three-time Korn Ferry Tour winner and present PGA Tour professional Scott Gutschewski and a scholarship to the College of Florida in hand; he’ll formally signal later this 12 months and be a part of the Gators subsequent fall. However relating to rankings, the 17-year-old from Omaha, Nebraska, is effectively behind Watts, at No. 508 in AJGA and No. 3,570 in WAGR.
Not that Gutschewski places any inventory in these sorts of numbers.
He’s a troublesome child who bombs the ball and flushes his irons with the most effective of ‘em, a match-play champion already because the winner of this 12 months’s Nebraska State Junior Match Play.
“I don’t actually really feel like an underdog in any respect,” Gutschewski mentioned earlier this week after he took down stroke-play medalist Blades Brown, who had a T-26 on the PGA Tour a couple of months in the past. “I imply, I feel my sport is simply pretty much as good as anyone else out right here. If I play effectively, I can grasp with anyone.”
Three wins later, together with a 2-and-1 victory over China’s Xihaun Chang (No. 39 in WAGR, tops within the 262-player area), and Gutschewski has confirmed it. The one time he’s trailed this championship was in Friday morning’s quarterfinals, the place he fell 2 down via two holes to Dallas’ Brooks Simmons. Gutschewski gained every of the following two holes and ultimately gained, 1 up.
Towards Chang, Gutschewski led 2 up via 12 holes however discovered the match tied up after 15. However Chang’s drive discovered the water on the brief par-4 sixteenth gap and a double bogey handed Gutschewski the lead for good.
He now will get Watts, the No. 2 seed, who knocked out top-ranked junior Miles Russell within the quarters earlier than posting a 3-and-2 semifinal victory over Stanford signee Jay Leng, a two-time AJGA first-team All-American. A win Saturday and Watts would change into the second U.S. Junior champion in 4 years to hail from Huntsville, Alabama, becoming a member of 2021 champ Nick Dunlap, who’s now a U.S. Beginner winner and two-time PGA Tour victor.
Watts, who broke Gordon Sargent’s file as youngest Alabama State Beginner champion final 12 months, has but to verbally commit, so he unsurprisingly has almost each prime faculty coach within the nation after the proficient 2026 lefty, a number of of whom are nonetheless following him at Oakland Hills.
Florida head coach J.C. Deacon’s friends are additionally seeing what they’re about to be up towards, too.
Gutschewski, like Watts, is often reserved together with his phrases. “Feels good. No different solution to put it,” he mentioned after punching his ticket to the championship match. He’d slightly let his sport do the speaking.
But, with phrase that he and Watts could be throwing out the primary pitches on the Detroit Tigers sport on Friday evening, Gutschewski couldn’t assist however playfully toss an early fastball up close to Watts’ chin.
“I set to work on getting my arm prepared,” Gutschewski mentioned. “I really feel like I received to throw out a sooner pitch than Tyler immediately. Strike some worry into him earlier than the primary tee tomorrow.”
Watts, although, didn’t flinch. He’s barely performed baseball, extra whiffle ball than something.
“I’ll simply lob it to the plate,” he mentioned.
