Dec. 6, 2006
John Kelly's summer began in late April with a win at the Ozark Invitational followed by a runner-up finish at the Phil Cotton Championship. In July, Kelly won the Missouri Stroke Play Championship. Pretty solid summer for the University of Missouri golf team member, two wins and a runner-up finish. How about adding one more accolade to the `06 summer resume, a runner-up finish in the oldest championship in golf, the United States Amateur?
Riding a wave of momentum from his play earlier in the summer, John Kelly, a senior golf team member at the University of Missouri, competed in his first United States Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota. This was Kelly's first successful trip to the US Amateur after five previous failed attempts and he made sure it was a memorable one.
Joining his teammate, Peter Malnati, who also qualified, Kelly put together two rounds of solid stroke play to earn a spot in the match play field of 64. Malnati failed to make match play, but he saw something in Kelly that he knew could be special, so instead of packing his bags and going back to Columbia and classes, Malnati stuck around to watch his teammate.
The premonition proved right as Kelly won his first two matches, but the magic didn't end there. Kelly, a relative nobody on the national golf scene, who played the underdog role all week, rolled off three more match play, wins to advance to the finals. In these three matches Kelly defeated some notable company: Jon McLean, son of famed golf instructor, Jim McLean. Trip Kuehne, runner-up to Tiger Woods in the '94 US Amateur and two-time Walker Cupper and Ryan Yip who advanced to the quarterfinals in the '05 US Amateur.
The final match pitted Kelly against Scotland's, Richie Ramsey. It was a hard fought match from the beginning as Kelly closed Ramsey's lead to 1 up after 21 holes, but unfortunately that was as close as Kelly would get eventually conceding Ramsey's birdie putt on the 34th hole to lose 4 & 2. It had been a magical week that Kelly would have liked to close out with a championship, but a runner-up finish in the oldest championship in golf is a pretty nice consolation prize. A trip to play in the 2007 United States Open and a likely invitation to the Masters may ease the pain slightly as well. Congratulations to John on a truly historical accomplishment, and best of luck for continued success during your senior campaign.
The Missouri Golf Association is a non - profit organization whose purpose is to promote the best interest and true sprit of the game of golf throughout the State of Missouri. The MGA conducts several statewide championships each year. These include the Senior Four-Ball, the Missouri Amateur, Junior Amateur, Junior Match play, Four-Ball, Senior Amateur, Mid Amateur, and the Hieronymus Cup Matches. These events are open to all amateur golfers in Missouri who meet the eligibility requirements. The MGA is also in conjunction with the USGA, offers the GHIN (Golf Handicap and information Network) Member Service, which is used by over 250 golf courses in the State of Missouri.