The RI Amateur came down to two putts. Here's how Mike Calef clinched his victory

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5 hours ago

BARRINGTON — Mike Calef was able to coax home the two putts he absolutely needed to make on Friday.
Not much else was finding the hole for him during the afternoon 18 in the title match at the 120th State Amateur at Rhode Island Country Club. The tables turned just in time for Calef to deny Jake Bauer what would have been a rally to his second championship.
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Calef rolled in the tying birdie on the 34th hole and a clutch par to win the 35th, edging his way in front. A solid par from the right rough on the 36th — the uphill par-4 18th that climbs back toward Nayatt Road — clinched a 1-up victory for Calef against a fellow competitor with Portsmouth ties.
Bauer lost the first three holes in the morning 18, didn't take his first lead until the 23rd hole and retained that advantage as the action shifted to the shores of Narragansett Bay. The left-hander got up and down out of a greenside bunker to stay 1 up at the par-4 15th, but Calef took the initiative from left of the cup on the following hole.
'Putts weren't really dropping for me, but we just kind of stuck with it,' Calef said. 'Finally made a really good one on 16 — that was great. And then to make one on 17 was fantastic.'
Both players hit the green in regulation at the 401-yard par-4. Bauer missed his birdie chance while going first. Calef was up next with an opportunity on a similar line to his putt in the morning 18, and this time he played a touch less break. He pumped his right fist as the ball disappeared into the cup, and Calef was level going to the signature par-3 17th.
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'I wanted to play a little less break anyway,' Calef said. 'The wind was going to move it to the left. I played a straight putt.'
Both players came up short of the elevated green at the following 145-yard tester, with Bauer finding the front bunker and Calef sitting down in some thick rough. Bauer finished about 15 feet below the hole after blasting out and Calef chipped to four feet above, setting up a slippery par putt. Bauer couldn't knock his home while settling for bogey and Calef — with some help from caddie Bob Murphy — managed to find the bottom again.
'He might be the best green reader I've ever met,' Calef said. 'And I've played with some good ones.'
Calef started the morning 18 on fire, including a spectacular birdie putt at the par-4 second that curled at least five feet from left to right. Bauer eventually cut the deficit to 1 up before a bogey at the 18th sent him into the lunch break on a sour note. It seemed like Calef could have a chance to pull away early.
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Bauer had plenty to say about that on the back side, starting with a sharp birdie at the downhill par-4 first and playing nicely from there. He jumped ahead with a routine two-putt at the par-3 fifth and again with a nice birdie at the par-5 12th. Bauer jabbed the air with his left fist while connecting from about 20 feet right of the hole, and Calef faced a bit of a gut check into the last few holes.
'If I was making bogeys and doubles, the train could have come off the tracks quickly,' Calef said. 'I was playing steady golf out here. That was my plan; Jake was just playing better.'
Murphy nearly wasn't around for the conclusion on this ideal weather day that featured clear views of all three nearby bridges. His son, Matt, is getting married this weekend, and this was initially scheduled to be strict family time. Calef kept making his way through the 32-man match play field and Murphy kept pushing off his expected departure — including an extra stolen hour on the final day.
'We didn't know if he was going to leave on 15 or on 16,' Calef said. 'He said, 'All right, I've got to go on 17.' Then he said, 'No, I'll go on 18.' '
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Bauer extended the drama to the limit while attempting to match the crown he earned in 2018. Calef instead became the 18th man to win the Amateur here and the third in the last four decades, joining Billy Andrade (1983) and Brad Valois (2006). He outlasted a match-play field that included eight past champions and persevered through some scorching weather over the opening three days, adding this victory to the pair of state amateur titles he captured in Massachusetts in 2012 and 2013.
'There's so much history here,' Calef said. 'To have a little bit of my piece of history here at Rhode Island Country Club, I'm ecstatic for that.'
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Mike Calef beats Jake Bauer to win the RI Amateur on June 27