OAKMONT, Pa. — Earlier this year James Piot spent some time in Pinehurst, North Carolina, to work on his putting before the summer amateur schedule.
Piot knew if he wanted to improve he needed to take a hard look at his mechanics to break “a continuous pattern of just being a streaky putter.”
What better test is there than the tricky greens at Oakmont Country Club? The Michigan State senior has been rolling the ball with the flat stick and after another 4-and-3 win on Saturday afternoon – this time at the expense of North Florida’s Nick Gabrelcik – finds himself in Sunday’s final match of the 121st U.S. Amateur.
“After being the No. 2 seed last year I knew I was capable of getting it done and making match play and from there anything can happen,” Piot said after his round. “So I just told myself one shot at a time and we’ll see.”
The Canton, Michigan, native shot rounds of 73 and 67 at Oakmont and the nearby Longue Vue Club, respectively, to finish T-29 in stroke play and earn the No. 31 seed. After a strong test from Arizona State’s Cameron Sisk in the Round of 64, Piot has blown through the rest of his matches, earning 4-and-3 wins in the Rounds of 32, 16 and today’s semifinal. On Friday evening in the quarterfinals he dispatched Matthew Sharpstene, a semifinalist last year at Bandon Dunes, 3 and 1.
“It’s been confidence booster after confidence booster,” Piot said of his recent success, noting how the NCAA Championship in May was a bit of a letdown after missing the cut playing as an individual. “I just told myself I’ve been playing so much great golf but just keep pushing and don’t stop grinding. It’s paid off.”
Last season with the Spartans, Piot set the school’s scoring average record at 71.3 and became the program’s first player to reach the NCAA Championship as an individual since 2002.
Early on at Michigan State, head coach Casey Lubahn asked Piot what were his goals for college golf.
“I said, ‘I want to be an All-American.’ He at first laughed and goes, ‘How about we just start off at All-Big Ten or something like that.’ I said, ‘No, coach, I want to be an All-American,’” explained Piot. “I’ve always had high goals, and that’s been something that has driven me from day one, just going over the top, and they’re paying off now.”
Talk about ambition. Piot, who will be a fifth-year senior in East Lansing when he returns to campus later this month, knew he was coming back to Michigan State as soon as the NCAA offered up an extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Another year of college is a no brainer since Michigan State is such a great spot,” Piot said with a smile.
In four years at Michigan State Piot’s become a leader for Lubahn’s crew and has amassed five impressive wins, including two Golf Association of Michigan titles (2018 and 2021) and three collegiate victories.
He’s now 36 holes away from adding another trophy to the case, that is if he can take down Austin Greaser.
.@AustinGreaser powered his way into the #USAmateur final at Oakmont, driving the green on the par-4 14th and knocking it to the fringe on the par-4 17th.
His victory over Travis Vick is the @Lexus Top Performance of the Day. #LexusGolf pic.twitter.com/kZHjRZIoU3
— USGA (@USGA) August 14, 2021
The North Carolina junior had trailed for just three holes in four matches entering his semifinal bout against Texas’ Travis Vick, and the Vandalia, Ohio, native came out swinging again on Saturday.
Greaser and Vick traded 1-up leads on the front nine Saturday afternoon and made the turn all-square. Vick won the par-4 10th with a birdie, but then Greaser flipped a switch with wins on Nos. 11-14 thanks to three birdies to take a 3-up lead, the largest margin of the match. With his back against the wall and Greaser leaking a little oil, Vick took advantage and fought back to win the next two holes with par to cut the lead to just one. A Greaser birdie on the par-4 17th sealed the deal for the Tar Heel, 2 and 1.
“It fits my eye really, really well,” said Greaser of his success this week at Oakmont. “I think it allows me to take advantage of my length a lot. I think if you watch today and watched all week I hit driver a lot. I think just get it down there. There is a lot of trouble on this golf course, and I would rather be in the trouble way down instead of the trouble way back.”
English
French
German
Italian
Japanese
Spanish