The Back of the Range

Leigh Chien - 2024 Southwestern Women's Amateur Champion

September 15th, 2024  |  23 mins 57 secs

ajga, college golf, elite amateur golf series, golf podcast, leigh chien, southwestern amateur, stanford

My guest on this episode is Leigh Chien, the 2024 Southwestern Women's Amateur Champion. Leigh went bogey-free in her final two rounds to capture the title at Desert Mountain. We spoke about her outstanding junior career and what lies ahead for her as an incoming freshman at Stanford University.

Josele Ballester - 2024 United States Amateur Champion

September 4th, 2024  |  54 mins 12 secs

amateur golf, arizona state, college golf, golf podcast, hazeltine, josele ballester, masters, u.s. amateur, usga

My guest on this episode is the newly crowned United States Amateur Champion, Josele Ballester from Castellon de la Plana, Spain.
As you would imagine, Josele has been on quite the media blitz as of late. Lots of questions about the final match at Hazeltine against Noah Kent and his legion of Iowa fans. We did speak about the match, but we also dove into his start in the game in Spain, what ultimately made him decide to play college golf at Arizona State, and the other amateur accomplishemnts on his resume that played a huge role in his success at this year's U.S. Amateur.

There is a lot of great information in this episode, I really enjoyed speaking with Josele and I'll see him throughout the college season now that Arizona State has moved to the Big 12 Conference.

Noah Kent - 2024 United States Amateur Finalist

September 4th, 2024  |  57 mins 51 secs

amateur golf, augusta national, college golf, golf podcast, hazeltine, iowa, noah kent, the masters, u.s. amateur, usga

My guest on this episode of TBO is Noah Kent, a rising sophomore for the Iowa Men's Golf team and also the runner-up in this summer's United States Amateur Championship. I've known Noah for a few years now, I would see him during the Terra Cotta Invitational in Naples, Florida....which is essentially his hometown tournament. He had a great freshman campaign at Iowa that included five Top 20 finishes.

Although he did win both his stages of qualifying for this year's U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine, he came in well below the radar. And after a first round 77 at Hazeltine in the stroke play portion, it didn't look like Noah would be around for long in Minnesota. That all changed in a hurry after a 64 at Chaska Town Course, the U.S. Am companion site, that vaulted him into the match play portion of the championship. And that was just the beginning.

During this episode, we spoke about his miracle run all the way into the Championship match against eventual winner Josele Ballester. We also spoke about his fans, that donned yellow Caitlin Clark t-shirts. Clark shirts rooting for Kent.....Clark Kent....yes, sometimes the headlines really are too good to be true.

Chaz Aurilia - 2024 Pacific Coast Amateur Champion

August 22nd, 2024  |  1 hr 1 min

amateur golf, arizona wildcats, chambers bay, chaz aurilia, college golf, pacific coast golf association, pga tour, smu golf

My guest on this episode is Chaz Aurilia, the 2024 Pacific Coast Amateur Champion. In this episode, we spoke about his collegiate career at Arizona and SMU and what lies ahead as Chaz embarks on a professional career.

Drew Goodman - 2024 Trans-Mississippi Amateur Champion

August 11th, 2024  |  1 hr 1 min

amateur golf, andrew goodman, elite amateur golf series, flint hills, golf podcast, oklahoma sooners, pga tour, trans-mississippi golf association

My guest on this epsiode is Drew Goodman, rising senior for the Oklahoma Sooners, and the new Trans-Mississippi Amateur Champion. He climbed back into the tournament with a final round 64, and outlasted William Sides from SMU in a sudden-death playoff. It's been a long time since Drew captured a win, but he has been a model of consistency for the Sooners in his collegiate career. We spoke about the upcoming season, how he prepared himself mentally and physically for each competitive round....and the PGA Tour U implications that lie ahead for him in his senior season.

Farah O'Keefe - 2024 Women's Western Amateur Champion

August 11th, 2024  |  46 mins 55 secs

amateur golf, anwa, elite amateur golf series, farah o'keefe, golf podcast, texas golf, western amateur, women's western golf association

My guest on this episode captured the Women's Western Amateur title just outside of Chicago last month at Onwentsia Club. Farah O'Keefe, the reigning Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year earned medalist honors after the stroke play portion of the championship and then rolled throught the bracket on her way to victory.

Davis Ovard - 2024 North and South Men's Amateur Champion

July 15th, 2024  |  49 mins 15 secs

amateur golf, baylor, davis ovard, elite amateur golf series, golf podcast, jackson van paris, mike mcgraw, north and south amateur, pinehurst

My guest on this episode is the new North and South Men's Amateur Champion, Davis Ovard. This might be one of the more fascinating wins in amateur golf this year. Davis is a rising sophomore at Baylor, so naturally we spoke about his freshman season that included a run to the National Championship. We also spoke about his start in the game and how golf has become a "family affair" for the Ovards. But what makes his win so interesting is the opponent he faced in the championship match, Jackson Van Paris. Jackson is a Pinehurst native, as many of you know.....so it seemed that the storybook ending was already written well ahead of time.....except nobody bothered to tell Davis Ovard, which might explain how he came away with a 2&1 win to claim the Putter Boy trophy.

Ben Warian - 2024 Sunnehanna Amateur Champion

July 3rd, 2024  |  39 mins 51 secs

amateur golf, ben warian, elite amateur golf series, golf podcast, sunnehanna amateur

My guest on this episode of The Back of the Range is Ben Warian from Stillwater, Minnesota. Last month, he captured the 2024 Sunnehanna Amateur title in Johnstown, PA. This was Ben's first appearance at the Sunnehanna, and he sure did made it count. We spoke about his career at the University of Minnesota, what lies ahead for him this summer and what it means to him to compete in his final U.S. Amateur in his home state of Minnesota.

Catie Craig - 2024 North and South Women's Amateur Champion

July 3rd, 2024  |  41 mins 19 secs

amateur golf, catie craig, golf course architecture, north and south amateur, pinehurst, western kentucky

My guest on this episode of The Back of the Range is the new North and South Women's Amateur Champion, Catie Craig. In this episode, we spoke about Catie's win at Pinehurst.....but also hit upon a lot of great topics ranging from golf course architecture, what makes a good four-ball partner, and a little bit of history from her hometown of Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia. Katie will head into her senior season at Western Kentucky in September where she will look to continue to rewrite the record books for the Hilltoppers.

Evan Beck - 2024 Coleman Invitational Champion

July 1st, 2024  |  56 mins 18 secs

amateur golf, coleman invitational, college golf, evan beck, george c. thomas, golf podcast, lacc, mid-am golf, u.s. mid-am, wake forest, walker cup

My guest on this episode of The Back of the Range is Evan Beck from Virginia Beach, Virginia. After winning the Coleman Invitational and the George C. Thomas at LACC, he is 2/3 of the way to the Mid-Am Triple Crown...with the Crump Cup at Pine Valley still to come at the end of September. Fair to say, Evan Beck is the best mid-amateur in the county and perhaps the world......not named Stewart Hagestad.

Anthony Delisanti - 2024 Northeast Amateur Champion

July 1st, 2024  |  49 mins 40 secs

amateur golf, anthony delisanti, elite amateur golf series, golf podcast, northeast amateur, valparaiso, wannamoisett

My guest on this episode of The Back of the Range is the 2024 Northeast Amateur Champion, Anthony Delisanti from Sanborn, NY. Anthony fired a final round 62 to force a playoff with University of Virginia standout, Bryan Lee. After a three hole aggregate playoff and two more sudden death holes, and a short weather delay.......Anthony captured the win after making an 8 foot birdie putt on the par 3 third hole.

Lance Ringler - Golfweek's College Golf Insider

June 11th, 2024  |  1 hr 7 mins

amateur golf, college golf, golf podcast, golfweek, lance ringler, national golf invitational, pga tour

My guest on this episode is Lance Ringler from Golfweek. The truth is that Lance Ringler has been covering college and amateur golf for nearly a quarter of a century. He coached colllege golf, he still writes, he knows rankings inside and out, he will forget more about college golf than I will ever know. Jack of all trades. That's what I should have used.....College Golf's JAck of all Trades. Oh well, maybe I'll use that for the next episode with Lance. We just scratched the surface in this one....we spoke about PGA Tour U, Rankings, College Golf, the TWO tournaments that he runs....the National Golf Invitational and the Hoosier Amateu

Annabelle Pancake - 2024 Sea Island Women's Amateur Champion

June 6th, 2024  |  35 mins 14 secs

amateur golf, annabelle pancake, clemson golf, college golf, curtis cup, elite amateur golf series, lpga tour, sea island women's amateur

My guest on this episode is Annabelle Pancake from Zionsville, Indiana. She is the 2024 Champion of the Sea Island Women's Amateur, the first tournament of the Women's Elite Amateur Golf Series. After setting records at Clemson, she has remained amateur this summer while deciding her next move in the game of golf. Turn Pro? Make a final push to make the U.S. Curtis Cup team? Only time will tell.....

Luke Clanton - Florida State Men's Golf

May 7th, 2024  |  51 mins 40 secs

amateur golf, college golf, florida state, golf podcast, luke clanton, trey jones

My guest on this episode is Luke Clanton. The native Floridian just might be the hottest golfer of the spring, picking up three consecutive wins at the Seminole Intercollegiate, the Valspar Collegiate, and at UVA's home tournament....the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial. Luke was one of those mega stars of junior golf that represented the United States at Junior President's Cup. He won the Azalea Am and the North and South....before he entered college. So how did he handle the expectations heading to Tallahassee as a freshman.....well, we got into that. We spoke about the family support that he has received along the way and what he has learned thus far at Florida State.

Jacob Modleski - 2024 Jones Cup Invitational Champion

April 30th, 2024  |  40 mins 8 secs

amateur golf, college golf, golf podcast, jacob modleski, jones cup invitational, notre dame golf, pga tour

My guest on this episode is Jacob Modleski, who is finishing up an impressive freshman season at Notre Dame. He picked up a win this spring at the Johnnie-O Collegiate at Sea Island, but his big breakout was in January at the Jones Cup Invitational. Winning that tournament has opened all kinds of doors for Jacob, and I'm sure that I will be seeing quite a bit of him this summer at some of the biggest tournaments in amateur golf.

Carter Pitcairn - The Kid who Caddied The Masters

April 29th, 2024  |  41 mins 5 secs

amateur golf, carter pitcairn, neal shipley, the masters, tiger woods

My guest on this episode is Carter Pitcairn, who had the unique opportunity to caddie for Neal Shipley in the 2024 Masters. We spoke about his experience as a rookie caddie at Augusta National, what made his partnership with Neal so successful, and yes.....we spoke about the final round pairing with Tiger Woods.