Spartanburg Showdown: White vs. Sposa Delivers in Round of 64 at Oak Hills

The heavyweight matchup of the day between fellow Spartanburg, S.C., residents and former Walker Cuppers Todd White (2013) and Mike Sposa (1991) lived up to the hype. White, the 2023 champion, seized an early 2-up lead through four holes after Sposa stumbled with back-to-back bogeys. But the momentum quickly shifted—after three straight holes tied, Sposa caught fire, rolling in four birdies over the next five holes to flip the match and walk off the 12th green 2 up.

But White, a history teacher and golf coach at Spartanburg Day School, wasn’t going down without a fight, notching wins on holes 13 and 14 to tie the match once again. Sposa, however, would deliver the final blows, with birdies on 15 and 16, and a match-ending par on the par-4 17th hole.

“Todd’s a great player, there’s no secret to that,” said Sposa, a former PGA Tour player who had one win on the Korn Ferry Tour. “I just wanted to keep it close... I hit a couple close ones on holes 8 and 9, a good bunker shot on 10 and chipped in on 11. Everything just kept on flowing. I got hot with the putter and the hole started looking big.”

As if knocking off one Walker Cup alum weren’t enough (just a week out from the 50th Match at Cypress Point, no less) Sposa now draws Ireland’s Jody Fanagan, who represented Great Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup in 1995. Fanagan, the 2023 runner-up and the only international player ever to reach a U.S. Senior Amateur final, advanced with a gritty 1-up win over Tony Hejna of Buffalo, N.Y. The Irishman sealed it in style, birdieing the 158-yard, par-3 18th after stuffing his tee shot to a foot, booking his spot in the Round of 32.

Rounding out the remaining Walker Cup alums in the Round of 64 was 2023 captain Mike McCoy. After conceding the opening hole to Texan Mike Lohner, McCoy won the next with a birdie and never trailed again, securing a 3-and-2 victory.

“I kept it in play off the tee and hit greens,” said the 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, McCoy. “I didn't beat myself, didn't give any easy holes away. If he made bogey, I didn't make a bogey, I just made a solid par. Not enough birdies, but it was a good day.”

What’s Next

Match play continues on Tuesday with the Rounds of 32 and 16. The first match is scheduled for 7:30 a.m. CDT, with the Round of 16 slated to start at 1 p.m. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played on Wednesday, with the 18-hole championship match on Thursday. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notables

• The 12-for-5 playoff took five holes to complete, with the final two competitors repeating the par-3 18th hole twice. Chris Holland advanced to match play as the 64th seed after Ron Mangold’s bogey on the final hole.
  
  
• Of the 64 players who advanced to match play, 25 were exempt and 39 were qualifiers. From that group 58 are from the United States, two are from England and one each from Colombia, Ireland, New Zealand and Spain. No international player has won the U.S. Senior Amateur, and just one – Jody Fanagan from the Republic of Ireland (2023) – has advanced to a final.
  
  
• Florida led the way with the most match-play qualifiers (9), followed by California with seven, Georgia with six and Texas with four.
  
  
• Six USGA champions advanced to the Round of 32: Gene Elliott, Jack Larkin Sr., Mike McCoy, Bob Royak, Rusty Strawn and Jeff Wilson.
  
  
• Four of the players who advanced through the 12-for-5 playoff this morning were eliminated during the Round of 64. Rick Stimmel is the lone playoff survivor remaining after his 6-and-5 victory over Mike Finster.
  
  
• Tommy Brennan, of Covington, La., ousted defending champion Louis Brown in 19 holes during the Round of 64
  
  
• Chris Congdon overcame a three-hole deficit and chipped in from off the green on 18 to tie the match, before falling short on the 23rd hole to Miles McConnell
  
  
• Including the extra-hole victories by Tommy Brennan and Chris Congdon, three matches extended beyond regulation to decide the winner. Bob Niger took down 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur Co-Medalist Roger Newsom with his birdie on the 20th hole.
  
  
• Rick Stimmel and Jon Brown posted the day’s largest margins of victory, each winning 6 and 5. Stimmel defeated Finster, while Brown ousted Edward Brown.
  
  
• Medalist John Kemp, of England, took down playoff survivor Chris Holland, 1 up.

Quotable

“I have known Todd [White] since I was 18 years old.
We live in the same neighborhood and play at the same golf course. So it was a little bit unfortunate to draw him in the [Round of 64], not only for the fact that he's a hard out, but we're friends.” –  Mike Sposa on facing off against Todd White

“You’re playing against good players, so you still have to try and hit quality shots and keep trying to make birdies. A 2-up lead can disappear pretty quick, so I just try to keep my foot on the gas and keep going.” Michael McCoy on his approach when playing with a lead

“The biggest challenge is to stay mentally focused for that many hours. If I am fortunate enough to get through the morning session, you have to try to relax and shut your brain off [during the lunch break], because when it's ready to go again, you have to be back in the moment and not get ahead of yourself. – Mike Sposa on the challenge of potentially playing 36 holes on Tuesday

“We both played beautifully for 15 holes, then neither one of us could make a par. It was like a pillow fight... We went to the first [playoff] hole and we butchered it up too. 
I managed to two-putt for a bogey, and unfortunately, he three-putted.” – Tommy Brennan on his 19-hole match against defending champion Louis Brown

“The people around here have made [me] feel so welcome. The volunteers, the show that they're putting on, the presentation, it's really nice. I've been fortunate to have played in a lot of these, and this is as good of hospitality as I've ever seen.” – Tommy Brennan on his experience at Oak Hills Country Club

“I've learned long ago that you can never count yourself out in match play... You just got to keep battling. The momentum can shift all the time. So whether I get off to a good start tomorrow or a bad start, I just have to keep plugging away. Like Chris [Congdon] today, he was down three, and ends up chipping in on 18 to send it to extra holes. – Miles McConnell on his 23-hole match against fellow Floridian Chris Congdon