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Udelhofen ties for 21st in State Amateur
Platteville native was tied for second after Day 2
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SAUKVILLE — Area golfers had a relatively strong showing at the 112th Wisconsin State Amateur Championship held July 22–25 at “The Bog.”

Meeting the qualifying standards to play in this year’s tournament were Platteville’s Josh Udelhofen, Hazel Green’s Josh Smith, Cuba City’s Alex Stewart and Lancaster’s Zach Hentrich.

The four-day, 72-hole tournament concluded last Thursday with 19-year-old Jordan Niebrugge of Mequon taking home the title with a 6-under-par 282 (69-66-71-76), which was one stroke better than good friend Charlie Danielson of Osceola (283–72-74-68-69).

Niebrugge, who is going to be a sophomore at Oklahoma State University, became the first golfer since Mark Wilson, to win an individual high school state championship, a Wisconsin State Open title, a WSGA Match Play title and now the State Amateur title.

Prior to winning the recent State Amateur, Niebrugge won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship the week before, securing an invitation to the 2014 Masters.

For the first two days Platteville’s Udelhofen was right in contention with Niebrugge, and on the third day was paired with Wisconsin’s latest phenom.

Udelhofen, a 2010 graduate of PHS, and a soon-to-be senior at Clarke University, sat in a three-way tie for first place after Monday’s opening round with a 69 on the par-72 course.

Unfortunately he hit four balls into the water hazards on the first day of competition, but had five birdies and an eagle on the day as well to card a score of 3-under par.

Udelhofen is a two-time Midwest Collegiate Conference all-conference selection and three-time Clarke MVP, was named a PING NAIA third-team All-American just last month.

He fell into a tie for second place after shooting a 1-over-par 73 when Niebrugge blistered the course for a 6-under-par 66 to take a seven-stroke lead into round three.

Udelhofen fell out of title contention with an 83 on Wednesday, but the Platteville lefty bounced back with a final round 77 to finish in a tie for 21st place.

Smith’s 2-over-par, opening-round of 74 put him in a tie for 33rd place after the first day, while Stewart’s 75 had him tied for 42nd.

Smith shot an 80 on Tuesday and was tied for 53rd, making the cut with a 10-over-par score of 154.
Lancaster’s Hentrich struggled on the first day of competition, shooting an 84, which had him tied for 144th out of 168 competitors.

With the cut projected to be between 156 and 157, Stewart shot an 81 on the second day and was among a group of nine golfers that finished right at 156 to earn a spot in the field of 71 that qualified for Wednesday and Thursday.
Hentrich missed the cut after shooting 85 on the second day, giving him a two-day score of 169. He  finished tied for 142nd.

Smith shot a final round 73, putting him at 306 (+18) for the tournament, and tied for 34th place.

Stewart shot an 81 on Thursday and finished at 321 (+33), tied for 64th place.