Last year the 2020 Ohio Amateur Champion, Austin Greaser, from Vandalia, finished runner-up in the prestigious Western Amateur and also lost in the final match of the U.S. Amateur at Oakmont to MSU’s James Piot, 2022 is a different story, however.
Greaser, who will be starting his senior season at North Carolina this fall. entered the 2022 Western Amateur at Exmoor Country Club in Chicago, as the 15th seed by surviving a seven players for two spots playoff in the medal play portion of the event. He then defeated the No. 2 seed, Belgium’s Matthis Besard, the No. 7 seed Kelly Chinn from Great Falls, Virginia, the No. 3 seed William Mouw, from California and the No. 4 seed Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, from Argentina and a senior at Arkansas, 1 up in the final.
“This is what you prepare for, this is what you practice for, this is what you dream of,” Greaser said. “I think I’m going to have to get some sleep before it hits me what happened this week, because I am exhausted.”
First played at Glen View Club in 1899, the Western Amateur is the world’s third-oldest amateur championship, behind only the British Amateur (1855) and the U.S. Amateur (1895). It regularly attracts the top players from across the country and around the world. Past champions include, another Buckeye native, Jack Nicklaus, as well as, Tiger Woods.
