- HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (Aug. 6, 2022) – One year ago, Austin Greaser proved he belonged on amateur golf’s biggest stages by making a run to the semifinals of the Western Amateur.

On Saturday at Exmoor Country Club, just north of Chicago, he cemented his standing as one of the best players in the amateur game.

The 21-year-old from Vandalia, fought back from an early 2-down deficit in the final on Saturday, defeating Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, of Beccar, Argentina, 1 up to win the 120th Western Amateur Championship. The victory capped an improbable run that started when Greaser survived a seven-for-two playoff on Thursday to take the 15th of 16 match play spots.

“This is what you prepare for, this is what you practice for, this is what you dream of,” Greaser said. “I think I’m going to have to get some sleep before it hits me what happened this week, because I am exhausted.”

Greaser’s run in the 2021 Western Amateur at Glen View Club in Golf, Illinois, ended in the semifinals when he ran into eventual champion Michael Thorbjornsen, of Wellesley, Massachusetts. He went on to finish second at the U.S. Amateur a few weeks later.

His 2022 Western Amateur almost ended on Thursday afternoon.

The rising senior at North Carolina shot 6-under 278 during the four rounds of stroke play, and for about 30 minutes, he was convinced that he had missed the Sweet 16 cut by a shot. When a couple of late bogeys moved the cut line and put him in the playoff, he took advantage.

Greaser beat MatthisBesard, of Oudenaarde, Belgium, 3 and 2 in the round of 16 and survived one of the best matches of the championship by beating Kelly Chinn, of Great Falls, Virginia, 1 up in the quarterfinals. He never trailed in a tight semifinal match against William Mouw, of Chino, California, on Saturday morning, winning Nos. 14, 15 and 16 to pull away for a 3 and 2 win.

He was a model of consistency in the final match. Greaser hit 11 fairways and 16 greens and didn’t have to try to save par with a wedge until his approach into the 18th hole bounced into the thick rough behind the green. Protecting a 1-up lead and faced with a delicate downhill chip, he played a perfect shot that rolled down to within four feet to set up the winning putt.

“Obviously a mistake there going over [the green] but I’m from the Midwest so I feel like I have a good feeling for how this rough plays,” said Greaser, who plays at Springfield Country Club in Ohio, a Donald Ross design he said prepared him for Exmoor Country Club. “It really wasn’t a great lie – it just came out exactly how I thought it would, fortunately, this time.

“I wouldn’t want to have to do it again.”

If there was a problem with Greaser’s play on Saturday afternoon, it was that he struggled to get a putt to fall. He made one birdie on the first 11 holes while Fernandez de Oliveira made four – including a made bunker shot on the third hole – during the same stretch to take a 2-up lead.

Greaser finally poured in a 35-foot birdie putting on the par-3 12th, then added birdies at 13, 14 and 15 to win four holes in a row and take a commanding 2-up advantage.

“It felt like the lid came off,” Greaser said. “I felt like I hit some good putts today that didn’t go in, but that’s how it is.”

Fernandez de Oliveira wasn’t done. The 22-year-old rising senior at Arkansas had cruised through 72 holes of stroke play, posting a score of 9-under 273 to earn the No. 4 seed. Before the final match he had only trailed once during match play, after losing the first hole of his round of 16 match against Yuxin Lin, of Beijing, China.

He responded to Greaser flipping the match by stuffing his approach to four feet on No. 17 for a winning birdie. He pulled off another aggressive approach on the final hole to set up a good look at birdie that would’ve extended the match. His attempt slid by the edge, and Greaser made his par for the win.

Greaser embraced his twin brother Byron, who caddied for him all week, then found his parents behind the 18th green and wrapped his mom in a hug. He lingered on the 18th green, signing autographs and taking pictures with Exmoor members and fans who followed the final match.

“Got a taste last year, getting to the semifinals,” Greaser said. “It made it a little bit sweeter this year.”

For the full match play bracket, click here.

First played at Glen View Club in 1899, the Western Amateur is the world’s third-oldest amateur championship, behind only the British Amateur (1855) and the U.S. Amateur (1895). It regularly attracts the top players from across the country and around the world, with past champions like Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Round of 16 Results

Friday, Aug. 5, 2022

Upper Bracket

No. 1 Ross Steelman, Columbia, Missouri, def. No. 16 Adrien Dumont de Chassart, Villers la Ville, Belgium, 5 and 4
No. 9 Travis Vick, Hunters Creek Village, Texas, def. No. 8 Tommy Kuhl, Morton, Illinois, 2 up
No. 4 Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, Beccar, Argentina, def. No. 13 Yuxin Lin, Beijing, China, 6 and 4
No. 5 Cole Sherwood, Austin, Texas, def. No. 12 Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 4 and 3

Lower Bracket

No. 15 Austin Greaser, Vandalia, Ohio, def. No. 2 MatthisBesard, Oudenaarde, Belgium, 3 and 2
No. 7 Kelly Chinn, Great Falls, Virginia, def. No. 10 Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, California, 6 and 5
No. 3 William Mouw, Chino, California, def. No. 14 Spencer Tibbits, Vancouver, Washington, 3 and 2
No. 6 Derek Hitchner, Minneapolis, Minnesota, def. No. 11 Connor Mckinney, Perth, Australia, 21 holes

Quarterfinal Results

Friday, Aug. 5, 2022

Upper Bracket

Vick def. Steelman, 2 and 1
Fernandez de Oliveira def. Sherwood, 3 and 1

Lower Bracket

Greaser def. Chinn, 1 up
Mouw def. Hitchner, 1 up

Semifinal Results

Saturday, Aug. 6, 2022

Fernandez de Oliveira def. Vick, 2 and 1
Greaser def. Mouw, 3 and 2

Final

Greaser def. Fernandez de Oliveira, 1 up