Swanson Captures Western Southern Tier Amateur Title

Nolan Swanson won the inaugural playing of the Western Southern Tier Amateur Championship played over 54 holes.

The winning score was 228 (12 over par) on rounds of 76 at Cardinal Hills (on Friday), 75 at Chautauqua’s Lake Course (Saturday) and 77 at Moon Brook CC (Monday). Swanson won in a playoff with Scott Beaver, who shot rounds of 72-75- -81-228. Swanson was successful in the playoff with a par on the third extra hole. Third place went to Marcus Lutgen with a total of 237 and Austin White finished fourth with a 244 total.

The tournament was open to players in Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Allegheny counties, thus the name “Western Southern Tier.” The event was organized by a local golf committee headed by Scott Johnson. This same group started a summer First Tee Program in Jamestown in conjunction with the YMCA to introduce city youth to golf and the values of the game. Tournament sponsors were Tom Marra, Cattaraugus County Bank, Jamestown Mattress, Lind Funeral Home and the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame.

The New York State Golf Association, pursuing its mission of promoting golf across the state, helped with tournament administration including establishing a website for the tournament, facilitating online entries, generating notices of starting times and posting online results.

Beaver started the final round Monday at Moon Brook CC with a 4-shot lead. It was a cool, windy day that made scoring challenging. Swanson cut the lead to 1 shot after nine holes due in part to a triple-bogey 8 by Beaver at the par 5 fifth hole. Both players finished strongly with Swanson carding even par 36 on the back nine and Beaver totaling 37 on the strength of three birdies. In the playoff, both players narrowly missed birdie putts from 12 feet away on No. 1 before Swanson claimed the title with a par on the third extra hole.

Pro shop gift certificates were awarded to the top four finishers and Swanson will receive an exemption into next year’s New York State Men’s Amateur Championship to be played in August at Wanakah CC in Hamburg. He will also be exempt into the 2024 NYS Mid-Amateur to be played in September 2024.