Luck finally runs out for Vollertsen and Thayer; Larsen moves on
Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-If you’re Garden City High School golfer Taylor Larsen, to this point, things could not have played out any better in his own backyard.
The soon-to-be senior was sensational on Friday, cutting through 36 holes of golf like Steph Curry draining a multitude of 3-pointers in the NBA Finals.
Larsen advanced to the quarterfinals of the 106th annual Kansas Amateur Match Play Championships at Southwind Country Club with victories over Salina’s Grant Herrenbruck 3-and-2 and a 6-and-5 win over Cole Dillon from Manhattan.
“My confidence is stemming from the fact that I’m hitting the ball onto the fairway,” Larsen said. “My iron game has been really good, and so have my yardages.”
Really good, in this particular circumstance, seems like a critical understatement. Larsen’s play through the first four-days has been head turning. His eagle on three–a 524-yard, par 5 in his first match of the day was brilliant. It was the catalyst for building a three-hole lead through the front nine vs. Herrenbruck.
On the backside, besides a double bogey on 13, Larsen mainted his lead with two birdies and six pars. Herrenbruck, who is already garnering major Division-I interest, never stood a chance.
Larsen finished his second-round match at 2-under par.
In the round-of-16, Larsen made sure things ended early.
The match lasted only 13 holes, with Larsen winning seven of them. It was all square through three before the local star took over, winning 7 of the next 10 frames to advance.
Larsen moves on to play Justice Valdivia from Topeka in the quartefinals on Saturday
Other Garden City results
Local Dentist Grant Vollertsen’s run ended on Friday with a third-round loss to Oklahoma-native Trent Evans.
The match was all squared through 16 before Vollertsen bogeyed the 452-yard, par 4 17th. With a chance to force a playoff on 18, Vollertsen needed a birdie after Evans saved par. But that result never happened, and Vollertsen parred the hole, moving Evans into Saturday’s quarterfinal vs. Spencer Christian from Wichita.
In his first match of the day against Conrad Walcher, Vollertsen built a two-hole lead, thanks in large part to four birdies on the first 11 holes. The two played even until 16, when Walcher buried a birdie put to pull him to within one hole. Both players parred the final two, advancing Vollertsen.
Financial adviser Sean Thayer, who won in a marathon playoff on Thursday, lost to Wichita’s Alex Graf by one hole. Earlier in the day, he defeated Connor Knabe from Manhattan 2-and-1.
