One for the ages: Dylan Menante rewrites the record books at the Northeast Amateur
EAST PROVIDENCE — No player has ever dominated a single edition of the Northeast Amateur like Dylan Menante.
Saturday saw the California native rewrite the record book on the 60th anniversary of this Elite Amateur Golf Series event, and it might be just as long before we see another performance like this at Wannamoisett Country Club.
Menante finished the four-day tournament at 19-under par, nine shots clear of what is annually one of the premier national fields in the game. Karl Vilips was a distant second at 10-under despite a strong final day and North Carolina high schooler Caleb Surratt surged into third place at 8-under.
Margin of victory, consecutive holes without a bogey, the low score after 36, 54 and 72 holes — all of those marks now belong to or are shared by Menante and previous champions. Peter Uihlein and Justin Suh held the prior tournament-best at 15-under, winning in 2011 and 2018, respectively.
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“This is one of the best amateur tournaments in the summer,” Menante said. “It’s just really cool to be part of the history.”
Menante becomes the sixth player to capture multiple titles at this event. Inaugural champion Dick Siderowf won in 1962 and added another in 1966. West Warwick native Ronnie Quinn went back-to-back in 1964 and 1965.
It was a different level of competition by the time future Ryder Cup winner John Cook claimed consecutive crowns in 1978 and 1979 — his second victory was also by nine strokes and came over Hal Sutton. Decorated amateur and future PGA Tour Champions standout Jay Sigel took home three titles in 1984, 1985 and 1991. Luke Donald went back-to-back in 2000 and 2001 on his way to becoming the future No. 1 professional player in the world.
“That’s really cool to compare myself to those guys,” Menante said. “They’ve obviously made a name for themselves.”
Menante carded 23 birdies against just four bogeys for the week. He’s played eight tournament rounds at this venerable Donald Ross layout over two years — they've all been under par. He’s the fourth different winner to card four rounds under par on his way to capturing the gleaming crystal trophy, and Menante is now the only player to do it twice.
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“To consistently do that for a span of four rounds is pretty incredible,” said Attleboro native and club member Davis Chatfield, who finished in a four-way tie for 15th at 1-under. “It’s pretty special. I don’t think anyone else saw that out there except for him.”
Menante went a span of 66 holes without dropping a shot, a run that started in his third round last year and ended six holes into his third round this year. He extended that to an 89-hole span in which he made just two bogeys, one that lasted until a mistake at the par-4 11th on Saturday. There were just seven total rounds of 5-under 64 or better this week — Menante posted three of them.
“I think my putter was probably by far the best in the field — three or four better than the guy next to me in strokes gained putting,” Menante said. “Speed was unbelievable the first three days.”
Menante was 9-under while taking home the 2021 edition by two strokes. Jerry Ji pushed the team national champion at Pepperdine all the way to the end. It was a casual stroll up the par-4 18th for Menante this time, and he stuffed a 54-degree wedge to inside two feet for one last easy birdie.
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North Carolina will be home for Menante in 2022-23 — he's transferring ahead of the fall season. The Tar Heels are bringing in a consensus top-20 amateur who will play for the United States in his second Palmer Cup next weekend in Switzerland. Menante won a pair of college tournaments with the Waves last year and was an honorable mention Ping All-American.
“I was kind of struggling those last three or four events in college,” Menante said. “I didn’t really know where my mind was going. Now that kind of puts me on the right track and shows me my game is good enough to be here.”
Patrick Welch finished in a fourth-way tie for 10th place at 3-under, carding a third straight round under par. Welch finished with consecutive 1-under 68s and continued to bury the difficulties that resulted in a missed cut here last year. The former multi-sport standout at Classical will enter a graduate year at Oklahoma in a few short months.
“I hit it really well — hit a lot of greens,” Welch said. “I had a lot of chances for birdie and I didn’t putt my best. I made three or four birdies each day, but I definitely left a few out there.”
Chatfield put together his best round of the week on Saturday, carding a 2-under 67. All but one of his four birdies came on the more forgiving back nine, including his third of the week at the par-5 17th. Chatfield’s remaining summer highlights include a return to the U.S. Amateur — he reached the Round of 16 at Bandon Dunes in 2020 and was a quarterfinalist at Oakmont in 2021.
“I could have scored a lot better,” Chatfield said. “Could I have caught Dylan? Probably not, but that’s a whole other story.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On Twitter: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Dylan Menante wins Northeast Amateur golf tournament at 19-under par
