McDonald, Sides set for quarterfinal showdown at OGA State Amateur

It will be a test of will in the quarterfinals of the Oklahoma Golf Association State Amateur Championship, as defending champion William McDonald of Oklahoma City meets uber talented Will Sides of Tulsa Thursday morning at The Patriot in Owasso.

McDonald advanced Wednesday with a 6 and 5 rout of Joseph Crisostomo of Enid, and then a hard-fought 3 and 2 victory over 15-year Emerson Majma of Edmond. Sides rolled into the quarterfinals with a 6 and 4 win over Chase Blaser of Edmond and a 5 and 3 victory over Austin Quinten of Tulsa.

Quinten got through his morning match in 21 holes over John Helzer of Edmond. Told Sides was waiting for his next match as soon as he had lunch, his response was “Oh great!”

Also advancing to the quarterfinals was No. 1 seed Dylan Teeter of Bixby, who fired a 62 in qualifying on Tuesday. Teeter downed Michael Day of Edmond 3 and 2 and Connor Cryer of Tipton 4 and 3. He will face Christian Johnson, an Oral Roberts University golfer who defeated Tyler Hunt of Tulsa 3 and 2 and JR Hurley of Norman 5 and 4.

A third quarterfinal match pits CJ Phillips of Edmond against Cooper Watson of Lawton.and the fourth match has Mesa Falleur of Muskogee against Jesse Rouse of Durant.

Notes: One of the most remarkable events of the tournament occurred in the qualifying round Tuesday when eight golfers finished at 1-under par for the final seven spots. One of those eight was Delbert Brooks of Tulsa, only he collapsed late in his round with severe pain from a kidney stone. He was taken to an emergency room, throwing up repeatedly. He said he was yelling loudly in the ER until finally being administered several pain medications.

Contacted by OGA officials to see if he intended to return for the playoff, Brooks said he would do his best and arrived 15 minutes before the playoff began. He survived that when 2024 OGA Stroke Play Champion Preston Richardson made a bogey on the first hole. With the kidney stone still not passed, he returned Wednesday to face Falleur in the first round and battled gamely before losing 1 up to a birdie on the final hole.

For Tulsan Jamie Voegeli, there will be no repeat of his magical run to the 2020 championship also held at The Patriot. However he did have one consolation in his opening round loss to University of Oklahoma golfer Connor Henry of Fort Worth. That was the chance to chat extensively with J.J. Henry, Connor’s father and a five-time PGA Tour winner and a member of the U.S. team for the 2006 Ryder Cup. He was serving as caddy for Connor, who lost in the second round to Cooper Watson.

“That was pretty cool,” Voegeli said. “He was a really nice guy and had some good stories.”

– Ken MacLeod

112th OGA State Amateur Championship
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 – Friday, July 26, 2024
Edmond
The Patriot

Round of 32
Dylan Teeter, Bixby def. Michael Day, Edmond 3 and 2
Conner Cryer, Tipton def. Cameron Surles, Broken Arrow 5 and 3
Christian Johnson, Edmond def. Tyler Hunt, Tulsa 3 and 2
JR Hurley, Norman def. Bryant Polhill, Edmond 3 and 2
Cooper Watson, Lawton def. Mike Gotcher, Broken Arrow 2 up
Connor Henry, Fort Worth, def. Jamie Voegeli, Tulsa 1 up
C.J. Phillips, Edmond def.  Matthew Smith, Oklahoma City 2 and 1
Coleman Sides, Tulsa, def. Nick Friedrichsen, Bixby 19 holes
Austin Quinten, Tulsa, def. John Helzer, Edmond 21 holes
William Sides, Tulsa def. Chase Blaser, Edmond 6 and 4
Emerson Majma, Edmond def. Jack Pfister, Edmond 2 and 1
William McDonald, Oklahoma City def. Joseph Crisostomo, Enid 6 and 5
Mesa Falleur, Muskogee def. Delbert Brooks, Tulsa 1 up
Conrad Walcher, Edmond def. Luke Morgan, Guthrie 1 up
Jerry Rouse, Durant, def. Parker Rose, Stigler 5 and 3
Jace Chaney, Ardmore, def. Kyle Hudelson, Edmond 3 and 1

Round of 16

Teeter def. Cryer 4 and 3
Johnson def. Hurley 5 and 4
Watson def. Henry 4 and 2
Phillips def. Coleman Sides 3 and 2
Will Sides def. Quinten 5 and 3
McDonald def. Majma 3 and 2
Falleur def. Walcher 4 and 3
Rouse def. Chaney 2 and 1