Shamrock Principal Competes in USGA Senior Amateur
October 12, 2004

The members of the Saint Patrick High School golf team aren't the only Shamrocks enjoying success on the links this fall.

Dr. Joseph Schmidt, the school's principal, recently competed in the United States Golf Association Senior Amateur Championships at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, California.

A record 2,420 golfers entered this year's Senior Amateur Championships, with their eyes on a trip to California. Schmidt earned his spot in the final field of 154 by shooting a 74 in sectional qualifying at Skokie Country Club on September 7th.

Schmidt's score of 74 was good for second place and a trip to Los Angeles. The USGA Senior Amateur features two rounds of stroke play. Following stroke play, the golfers with the low 64 scores advance to the match play portion of the championships. The match play portion consists head to head competition, with the victor moving on to the next round. Six rounds of match play are necessary to crown a champion.

In stroke play, Schmidt got off to a shaky start, posting bogeys on five of his first six holes. A birdie on the 7th hole seemed to get Schmidt's game on track, and he posted a nine-over-par score of 79 in his opening round.

The following day Schmidt came out of the gate strong, and he was one under par through seven holes, with birdies on both the first and fifth holes. Schmidt ran into trouble with back-to-back double-bogeys on nine and ten, but he righted the ship, finishing with a six-over-par 76.

Schmidt's two-day total of 155 earned him the 54th seed in the match play portion of the championships, and a match against the 11th seed, Ronnie Tumlin of St. Augustine, Florida.

Schmidt played well in the match with pars on eight of his first nine holes, but he still found himself five down at the turn. Tumlin jumped out to an early lead, posting birdies on 2, 3, 6, and 7, and he never looked back, cruising to a 6 and 5 victory.

Dr. Joseph Schmidt
Principal