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Gunning for nationals
Missoula's Colin Gunstream shoots 2-under to win U.S. Junior Am qualifier
By BILL BIGHAUS
Of The Gazette Staff
LAUREL - Colin Gunstream's busy summer of golf just got a lot busier.
The 16-year-old from Missoula is headed to the top junior tournament in the country.
Gunstream qualified for the 62nd U. S. Junior Amateur on Monday afternoon by winning an energy-sapping 36-hole sectional qualifier at Laurel Golf Club.
He earned the championship medal by shooting a 2-under-par 142 (70-72) and triumphed by five strokes over the field of 18 golfers. The juniors came from five different states and one Canadian province to compete for the one berth to the July 20-25 national tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Gunstream, who will be a junior at Missoula Hellgate in the fall, never trailed after playing the morning 18 holes in 2-under 70. He started the afternoon round with a 3-shot lead and nobody got any closer than two shots the rest of the way.
"I wasn't expecting this, to be honest with you," Gunstream said of winning it all. "I kind of came in here just thinking 'all right, let's see what you can do and see how you play.'
"This is definitely my biggest win in a while. It feels very good."
Brian Jung of Coquitlam, British Columbia, and McCoy Willey of St. George, Utah, tied for second at 3-over 147. Jung, 16, beat Willey in a one-hole playoff to earn first alternate status to the U.S. Junior Amateur, which is a tournament that Tiger Woods won three times.
Michael Bekken of Blacksburg, Va., was fourth at 152, while Brandon McIver of Billings and Ryan Donahue of Paradise Valley, Ariz., tied for fifth at 153.
"I just knew I had to play my own game," said Gunstream, who drove the ball well, excelled on several of his approach shots and rolled in some timely birdie putts. "It's kind of hard not to be counting numbers in the middle of your round, but I knew that if I was 3-up that I shouldn't think it was over because that can go away quickly."
Especially on a tree-lined Laurel course that was stretched out to 6,951 yards for the qualifier, and challenged the juniors with some fast greens and tough pin placements. The golfers also had to contend with 90-degree heat in the afternoon, along with a brief windstorm that left some small branches in the fairway and made a few of the holes seem like wind tunnels.
"After that first round, I didn't know if I was going to get through the second," Gunstream said. "It was so hot and so humid. I don't mind playing in heat, but it was nice to get a break (between rounds). It was definitely very challenging to try and start out well (on the second 18)."
Gunstream failed to advance to the U.S. Junior Amateur last year after shooting rounds of 82 and 73 at a sectional qualifier in Spokane, Wash.
"Last year was such a train wreck ... I didn't play very well," he said. "But I knew I could take that experience into today."
This time around, he really prospered behind some accurate long iron and wedge shots into the greens.
"I was giving myself chances," Gunstream said. "I didn't make everything, but I made enough to where I was playing good enough."
He got his overall score down to 3-under on a couple of occasions in the afternoon, following birdies on holes five and 10. His final birdie on the day came on No. 15, where he rolled in a curling, 12-foot downhill putt.
"The last thing I wanted to do was blow it by," Gunstream said. "I just knew to get the speed right and the break should take care of itself."
He carded three birdies during his morning round and had four more during the afternoon.
Besides the U.S. Junior Amateur, Gunstream's golf calendar this summer also includes this weekend's Fourth of July Tournament in Whitefish. Then he is headed to the Junior World Golf Championships at Torrey Pines in San Diego in mid-July.
He was planning to play in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in late July, but will now go to the U.S. Junior Amateur instead.
In August, there's the Montana-Alberta Ryder Cup competition in Lethbridge.
"It feels like I will be living in hotels and living on airplanes," Gunstream said with a grin. "It's normally not this hectic, but I was just able to qualify for a lot of tournaments. I love it."
Gunning for nationals
Missoula's Colin Gunstream shoots 2-under to win U.S. Junior Am qualifier
By BILL BIGHAUS
Of The Gazette Staff
LAUREL - Colin Gunstream's busy summer of golf just got a lot busier.
The 16-year-old from Missoula is headed to the top junior tournament in the country.
Gunstream qualified for the 62nd U. S. Junior Amateur on Monday afternoon by winning an energy-sapping 36-hole sectional qualifier at Laurel Golf Club.
He earned the championship medal by shooting a 2-under-par 142 (70-72) and triumphed by five strokes over the field of 18 golfers. The juniors came from five different states and one Canadian province to compete for the one berth to the July 20-25 national tournament at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
The 5-foot-9, 160-pound Gunstream, who will be a junior at Missoula Hellgate in the fall, never trailed after playing the morning 18 holes in 2-under 70. He started the afternoon round with a 3-shot lead and nobody got any closer than two shots the rest of the way.
"I wasn't expecting this, to be honest with you," Gunstream said of winning it all. "I kind of came in here just thinking 'all right, let's see what you can do and see how you play.'
"This is definitely my biggest win in a while. It feels very good."
Brian Jung of Coquitlam, British Columbia, and McCoy Willey of St. George, Utah, tied for second at 3-over 147. Jung, 16, beat Willey in a one-hole playoff to earn first alternate status to the U.S. Junior Amateur, which is a tournament that Tiger Woods won three times.
Michael Bekken of Blacksburg, Va., was fourth at 152, while Brandon McIver of Billings and Ryan Donahue of Paradise Valley, Ariz., tied for fifth at 153.
"I just knew I had to play my own game," said Gunstream, who drove the ball well, excelled on several of his approach shots and rolled in some timely birdie putts. "It's kind of hard not to be counting numbers in the middle of your round, but I knew that if I was 3-up that I shouldn't think it was over because that can go away quickly."
Especially on a tree-lined Laurel course that was stretched out to 6,951 yards for the qualifier, and challenged the juniors with some fast greens and tough pin placements. The golfers also had to contend with 90-degree heat in the afternoon, along with a brief windstorm that left some small branches in the fairway and made a few of the holes seem like wind tunnels.
"After that first round, I didn't know if I was going to get through the second," Gunstream said. "It was so hot and so humid. I don't mind playing in heat, but it was nice to get a break (between rounds). It was definitely very challenging to try and start out well (on the second 18)."
Gunstream failed to advance to the U.S. Junior Amateur last year after shooting rounds of 82 and 73 at a sectional qualifier in Spokane, Wash.
"Last year was such a train wreck ... I didn't play very well," he said. "But I knew I could take that experience into today."
This time around, he really prospered behind some accurate long iron and wedge shots into the greens.
"I was giving myself chances," Gunstream said. "I didn't make everything, but I made enough to where I was playing good enough."
He got his overall score down to 3-under on a couple of occasions in the afternoon, following birdies on holes five and 10. His final birdie on the day came on No. 15, where he rolled in a curling, 12-foot downhill putt.
"The last thing I wanted to do was blow it by," Gunstream said. "I just knew to get the speed right and the break should take care of itself."
He carded three birdies during his morning round and had four more during the afternoon.
Besides the U.S. Junior Amateur, Gunstream's golf calendar this summer also includes this weekend's Fourth of July Tournament in Whitefish. Then he is headed to the Junior World Golf Championships at Torrey Pines in San Diego in mid-July.
He was planning to play in the Optimist International Junior Golf Championships in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in late July, but will now go to the U.S. Junior Amateur instead.
In August, there's the Montana-Alberta Ryder Cup competition in Lethbridge.
"It feels like I will be living in hotels and living on airplanes," Gunstream said with a grin. "It's normally not this hectic, but I was just able to qualify for a lot of tournaments. I love it."
