The Metropolitan
July 2021
Ten Years After Win, Penfield Makes H Ryan Penfield will make his return to St. Louis Country Club this week, ten years after his win at the 21st Metropolitan Amateur Championship. Penfield, who had just graduated from UMSL, caddied at St. Louis Country Club that summer leading up to the amateur in August of 2011. Knowing the course paid its dividends, Penfield stormed out of the gates carding five birdies his first 18 holes. He would shoot a 2-under 69 and grab the solo lead. A 1-under 70 in the second round put him in the final group on Saturday with Skip Berkmeyer, who had won the amateur two years prior at Bellerive Country Club. The final 18 got off to a rough start for Penfield, who had four bogeys his first ten holes. Berkmeyer gained the lead with an eagle before the turn. “Both Skip and I got off to a slow start and I had a weird section there early,” Penfield said. “I had a 3-putt for bogey on No. 4, was on in two shots on No. 5 and three-putted for par. I couldn’t cash in.” Berkmeyer bogeyed No. 11, showing signs of the trouble that was to come for the 2009 champion. He would add three more bogeys down the stretch, and Penfield had his championship moment on the 15th. A 494-yard par 5 with the pin in the back, Penfield’s second shot landed perfectly on the top ridge for an easy birdie. Penfield bogeyed No. 17, but a routine par on the 18th green had him one shot better than Ben Crancer in the end, whose final round 4-under 67 shot him up the leaderboard. The final round was anything but routine for Penfield, who recalls the pairing with Skip Berkmeyer as the key down the stretch, not because of the golf pedigree, but because of the words of encouragement offered. “The thing I remember most about being paired with Skip is, as we were coming down the last four, he was too far back to win and he had some nice words of encouragement for me,” Penfield said. “It was nice to be paired with someone who wants to win, but someone who also recognizes that when it’s not his day, he thinks maybe I can give this young guy some words of wisdom.”
Penfield, who played golf at UMSL from 2007-2011, was named GLVC Golfer of the Month in March of his senior year.
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