Villanova Golfer Just Misses Cut On U.S. Amateurs

Cory Siegfried isn’t dwelling on it, nor does it gnaw at him. The 2008 Haverford School graduate and current University of Virginia golfer finished sixth out of 110 golfers back on Aug. 1 in the two-day United States Amateur Qualifier. He missed making the U.S. Amateur championship by a stroke, a few inches, and he’s willing to take what he learned and use it to play better.

Sure, Siegfried would have loved to close his summer out playing at Erin Hills, in Erin, Wis., this week in the U.S. Amateur National Championship, instead of being an alternate for the team.

“This summer proved that I have to work harder, that’s what I took from it,” said Siegfried, a Villanova resident. “My summer was OK, at best. The funny thing is, I played really well last summer, when I won the state amateur a year ago (2010). I got to travel around to a lot of high-end amateur events, competing with Walker Cup guys and NCAA All-Americans. With players from Georgia, Oklahoma State, that was fun to compete against players like that and size up against some of the better players in the country. I think last summer showed that I could play well.

“This summer, I didn’t play up to my expectations and standards and found out a lot. I think you learn from the players you’re around. I’m fortunate one of roommates is Ben Kohles, who won the ACC Player of the Year back-to-back, and he could win it three years in a row. He’s very good, so being around guys like him is helpful. They’re good players, and they’ll occasionally ask me for help and I’ll ask them for help. It’s a good environment down here for golf in Virginia. They work hard and play hard.”

Siegfried has been getting closer and closer to the U.S. Amateur Nationals. He said his biggest issue was stringing together consecutive strong rounds. This year marked the closest he came to making it. He three-putted the 15th hole, then went on to birdie the final three holes. But it was the dreaded 15th that soured his chances this time.

“That kind of killed some things, but getting an alternate spot after playing such a poor first round and coming back—I’m fine with that, I can live with it,” Siegfried said. “I came up well short from my own expectations, and I’m fine with it, because I feel like I’m making the strides. I know what I need to work on.”