Few players, if any, have had better summers than Ethan Fang. The Oklahoma State standout helped the Cowboys to an NCAA Championship in late May before flying across the pond and becoming the first American to win the British Amateur in nearly 20 years. After narrowly missing the cut at The Open, Fang co-medaled at this week’s Western Amateur before storming through to the final with convincing wins over Huge Le Goff and Jacob Modleski, plus a hard-fought 3-and-1 result against Ben James.
Like James, Fang is already on the U.S. Walker Cup team that will compete at Cypress Point this September. So, too, are Jackson Koivun, Michael La Sasso and Preston Stout, which leaves five spots still up for grabs.
But on Saturday afternoon at Skokie Country Club, Jase Summy entered the chat.
Summy, a rising senior at Oklahoma, dominated Fang, 6 and 5, to win the 123rd edition of the Western Amateur and tie the championship record for largest margin of victory in a final, equaling 6-and-5 marks by Phelps B. Hoyt (1901 over Bruce D. Smith) and John Klauk (2002 over Adam Rubinson).
“This is the biggest win of my life – by far,” Summy said. “I knew my game was there, but I hadn’t quite broken through. Today, I did.”
Fang, ranked third in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, took just one hole against Summy, whom he grew up playing junior golf against in Texas. Fresh off a 19-hole victory over Florida’s Zack Swanwick, Summy won five of the last six to end things before the 14th hole.
“It was a good week,” Fang said. “Stroke play went great, and I was proud to co-medal. I did my best to stay focused, but I got a little tired and a little loose near the end. It didn’t go my way, but that’s golf.”
Summy is projected to rise to seventh in the world, and with a T-3 at the Southern Amateur and T-12 at the Northeast Amateur this summer following a junior season that included a win and six other top-10s, he should feel confident about getting the call for Cypress. The final five Walker Cuppers are named after the U.S. Amateur, which begins a week from Monday at Olympic Club in San Francisco.
With his win, Summy also received a sponsor exemption into next summer’s NV5 Invitational, the Korn Ferry Tour stop outside of Chicago.
“This was a long, tough week,” Summy added. “I prepared the right way, mentally and physically. I know I’m on the right path.”
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