Menon, Cook weather the storm, earn tickets to U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst in qualifier at Bidermann

   Nate Menon was the 2015 PIAA Class AA champion as a junior at Wyomissing, but passed up the scholastic postseason as a senior to play in an American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) invitational.

   He was headed for Stanford, which is in the big leagues of Division I college golf and in the big leagues academically as well, which makes it a win-win for a talented golfer.

   Menon disappeared a little at Stanford, suffering a torn calf muscle three days before his freshman season was to start in the fall of 2017. This spring he started to resurface as the Cardinal made a late surge that ultimately resulted in an NCAA Championship at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.

   In the Pac-12 Championship, teams have six players and score five, a departure from the usual five-score-four format. My theory has always been that the Pac-12 coaches look at the conference championship as one last chance to test their depth, to decide who is going to be that often critical fifth guy for the regionals and the NCAA Championship.

   Menon finished tied for 23^rd individually at Eugene Country Club and helped the Cardinal claim the Pac-12 team title. But when Stanford hosted the Stanford Regional a couple of weeks later, Menon was not among the starting five.

   Guessing from afar, it looked like Stanford head coach Conrad Ray went with Henry Shimp, a junior from Charlotte, N.C., instead. And that decision paid some serious dividends when Shimp pulled out a 2 and 1 victory over Spencer Soosman in the Cardinal’s 3-2 win over Texas in the Final Match at the Blessings.

   It was a key win that made Shimp, Stanford, Ray and Menon NCAA champions – forever.

Menon hasn’t forgotten how to play, either. He proved that point with rounds of 67 and 69 over two days last week in a Golf Association of Philadelphia-administered qualifier at Bidermann Golf Club in Wilmington, Del. for an 8-under 136 total that earned him a ticket to the U.S. Amateur at the Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. next month.

   Menon shared medalist honors with Conestoga High product Michael Cook, who plays out of Applebrook Golf Club. Cook, who completed a solid college career at Drexel this spring, opened with a 3-under 69 over the 6,836-yard, par-72 Bidermann layout and added a 5-under 67 to match Menon’s 8-under 136 total.

   Menon and Cook grabbed the only two tickets available for Pinehurst. The qualifier was scheduled to be 36 holes last Monday, but play was suspended in the afternoon when the previous weekend’s brutal heat wave finally broke with an outbreak of violent weather.

   The 20-year-old Menon, who plays out of LedgeRock Golf Club, returned to Bidermann Tuesday with a one-shot lead and facing a 96-yard approach to the 361-yard, par-4 first hole, his 10^th of the round. He wedged it to 12 feet and converted the birdie try.

   The 23-year-old Cook had striped his tee shot on the third hole at Bidermann just before the siren sounded Monday afternoon. He was 97 yards away and did a little extra sand wedge practice during his warmup for the resumption of play. He knocked his approach to 10 feet and made the birdie putt.

Both players solidified their qualifying efforts by making birdie at the 332-yard, par-4 seventh, the 34^th hole for both of them.

   Menon nearly drove the green and hit a bump-and-run to four feet and made the birdie putt. Cook lofted a wedge to six feet and made his birdie try.

   “It feels really good,” Menon told the GAP website. “I’ve been close the last couple of years. To finally finish it off and get through to Pinehurst is really exciting.

   “I was first alternate (in 2017 and 2018). Being able to not have to make a decision as to whether you’re going down (to the U.S. Amateur host site) is nice. The U.S. Amateur is the pinnacle of amateur golf.”

   I suspect Menon still harbors some ambitions of a pro golf career. Cook, on the other hand, had to ask for an extra half-day from his internship at Penn Mutual Asset Management to complete his second round and was graciously granted it.

   But both are headed for one of America’s golf meccas, Pinehurst, where qualifying for match play on the No. 2 Course, a Donald Ross classic, and the newly renovated No. 4 Course will get under way Aug. 12.

   Little Mill Country Club’s Zach Arsenault, a developer in Camden, N.J., and Matt Smith of Yorklyn, Del. were the first and second alternates, respectively, as each came up a shot short of forcing a playoff with 7-under 137 totals.

   Arsenault earned a trip to last year’s U.S. Amateur at the Pebble Beach Golf Links by claiming medalist honors in a qualifier at Laurel Creek Country Club. He failed to reach match play at Pebble Beach. He followed up a solid 3-under 69 with a 4-under 68 at Bidermann.

   Smith, a recent Yale graduate, matched Menon’s opening-round 67, but a 2-under 70 in the afternoon left him at 137.

   I looped for Smith in a practice round on Stonewall’s Old Course for the 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifier held at the ’Wall and was impressed with his game. He said he always thought his athletic future was in baseball, but then realized golf might be a better choice.

   He got into some events as a senior at Yale, but was unable to crack the starting lineup on a fairly loaded roster. Nice to see him playing some really solid golf at Bidermann.

   Canadian Eric Shea, a junior at Southern Wesleyan, had fired a sparkling 6-under 66 in the opening round, but fell back with a 76 that left him in a tie for fifth at with Chance Watson of Banner Elk, N.C. at 2-under 142, five shots behind Arsenault and Smith. Watson, who completed his college career at Appalachian State this spring, opened with a 4-under 68, but couldn’t sustain his first-round momentum, adding a 2-over 74.

   Zachary Barbin of the golfing Barbin family of Elkton, Md. finished alone in seventh place at 1-under 143 after adding an even-par 72 to his opening-round 71. Barbin is a junior on a Liberty golf team that had risen into the Golfstat top 25 by the start of the NCAA postseason this spring.

   Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Marty McGuckin and Radnor Valley Country Club’s Carey Bina were among three players tied for eighth at even-par 144.

   McGuckin, the Bert Linton Inter-Ac League champion in 2015 as a senior at Malvern Prep, had opened with a 74 and added a 2-under 70. McGuckin was another player I looped for during his tour of Stonewall’s Old Course in advance of that 2017 U.S. Amateur qualifier.

   Bina, whose standout scholastic career at Radnor High I chronicled in my days at the Delaware County Daily Times, bounced back from an opening-round 75 with a 3-under 69. Bina plans to give pro golf a shot at some point later this year.

   McGuckin and Bina both qualified for match play in last month’s BMW Philadelphia Amateur at Stonewall.

   Rounding out the trio at even-par 144 was Bill Jeremiah, a Glen Mills resident playing on his home course at Bidermann. Like McGuckin, Jeremiah opened with a 74 before bouncing back with a 2-under 70.