TOP-NOTCH THURSDAY
John VanDerLaan entered the final day of the 2014 New England Amateur Championship tied
for tenth. He left the grounds of Winchester Country Club as the Champion.
T
HAT WAS the incredible journey of John
VanDerLaan of Southbury, Conn., who
came from six shots back entering the final
round to capture the coveted New England Amateur
Championship Trophy.
From the start, VanDerLaan played consistent
golf. He began the championship by posting a
1-under par 70 on Tuesday and then an even par 71
on Wednesday to enter the final day six strokes off the
lead. Despite the margin, VanDerLaan knew that with
36 holes remaining on Thursday he still had a chance
to make his move.
“Make as many birdies as I could,” said
VanDerLaan when asked what his strategy was coming
into the final day. “I was 1 under going into today and
the leader was 7. I didn’t think that he would come
back as much as he did in the first round, but I was
trying to make birdies and catch him.”
The strategy was a sound one for the 18 year
old. With his father John on the bag throughout the
entire 72-hole experience, VanDerLaan delivered the
performance of his career and played 5-under par golf
through his final 36 holes.
It all began during the morning hours. After
making par on his first hole of the day, VanDerLaan
watched his 20-foot birdie attempt on the 234-yard,
par 3 11th hole find the bottom of the cup. He then
reached the 515-yard, par 5 12th hole in two for a twoputt birdie.
He went on to make three birdies and one
bogie over the next 15 holes which catapulted him
from tenth to first place. In fact, he found himself
leading the field by two strokes.
“I didn’t know where I stood in the afternoon,”
said VanDerLaan. “I had a good idea and I knew that
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Connecticut State Golf Association 2014
if I was to shoot under par this afternoon it would be
tough for someone to come from behind to beat me.”
VanDerLaan made the turn during the
afternoon round at even par and then suffered a threeputt bogey on the 10th hole. He then chipped in from
the bunker on the par 3 11th hole for birdie and then
all but sealed his championship hopes with a final
birdie – his 16th of the championship – on the 530yard, par 5 13th hole.
“That really turned things around for me,”
said VanDerLaan of his bunker shot on the 10th hole.
“I made another birdie two holes later and then just
cruised in.”
Those back-nine birdies proved to be critical
as Nicholas Pandelena of New Hampshire, who stood
in second place through two rounds, was making a
late charge. The Boston College standout and rising
junior was 5-under par through 14 holes during the
afternoon hours after a four-hole stretch where he was
four under-par. With VanDerLaan in the clubhouse
with a four-round total of six under-par 278, however,
Pandelena was unable to complete his comeback
attempt as he carded bogey on two of his final four
holes to finish in second place and one stroke ahead of
Zach Zaback of TPC River Highlands.
For VanDerLaan, the outcome marked his
greatest win to date. It was his first ever appearance at
the New England Amateur Championship and prior
to this his biggest victory was the 2012 Connecticut
Junior Amateur Championship.
“It’s just awesome.” Simply but perfectly said
by a young man from Southbury who is now a New
England Amateur Champion.
Article courtesy of NEGA / Becky Blaeser
www.csgalinks.org