Aces Wild for Bensel at Newport Country Club

The odds are always slim for one hole-in-one. What about two in the same round on consecutive holes? According to the National Hole-in-One Registry it’s 67 million to one. Frank Bensel Jr., a 56-year-old club professional who splits time between Westchester (N.Y.) County and Florida, delivered this rarest of feats in Round 2 of the 44th U.S. Senior Open at historic Newport (R.I.) Country Club.

Unfortunately, no cameras caught this unbelievable achievement as the aces on Nos. 4 and 5 came too early in the day. But Bensel and his son/caddie, Hagen, enjoyed a moment they will never forget when he used his trusty 6-iron to register both holes-in-one, which now sits in the USGA Museum.

It was only the second time in USGA history that two aces were made in the same round. Don Bliss had aces 16 holes apart during the opening round of stroke play in the 1987 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Brook Hollow Golf Club, in Dallas, Texas.

But Bensel’s two aces weren’t enough to keep him around for the weekend. Seven bogeys over his final 12 holes led to a 4-over 74 and a missed cut. That, however, didn’t diminish his spirits as his feat made national and international headlines.

Saso Gives Japan a U.S. Women’s Open First

Yuka Saso made headlines in 2021 when she not only matched Inbee Park as the youngest champion in U.S. Women’s Open history but also gave the Philippines, the country of her mother, its first Women’s Open champion. Three years later, Saso delivered again, this time giving Japan, the country of her father, its first U.S. Women’s Open winner. After her triumph at The Olympic Club in ’21, Saso switched country affiliations and at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, she carded a 2-under-par 68 in Sunday’s final round to post a three-stroke victory over countrywoman Hinako Shibuno.

At 22 years, 11 months and 13 days, Saso became the youngest two-time winner in championship history.

Double Trouble: Malixi Completes Rare Feat

Winning one USGA title is tough enough. How about two in the same season just weeks apart? Rianne Malixi, an uber-talented 17-year-old from the Philippines, not only captured the U.S. Girls’ Junior but then became just the second player in USGA history to add the U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same calendar year.

And to add a further twist to this narrative, she defeated 15-year-old Californian Asterisk Talley in both finals, a USGA first for championship matches in the same calendar year.

Malixi played the equivalent of 14-under-par golf over 29 holes at El Caballero Country Club, in Tarzana, Calif., in registering a 9-and-8 victory, the most lopsided championship-match defeat in U.S. Girl’s Junior history.

A few weeks later in the sweltering Oklahoma heat, Malixi posted a 3-and-2 decision over Talley at Southern Hills Country Club, in Tulsa.

Only Eun Jeong Seong, in 2016, had previously posted this rare single season double, and Malixi, who has committed to play for Duke University this coming fall, became the ninth competitor to capture the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur.

‘Little Star’ Shines Under Bright Lights

Asterisk Talley, whose first name means “Little Star” in Greek, had a season to remember, and she doesn’t even have her driver’s license yet. A year that began with the 15-year-old from Chowchilla, Calif., being among 10 girls named to the USGA’s inaugural U.S. National Junior Team morphed into a USGA title with partner and fellow Northern Californian Sarah Lim at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in May at Oak Hills Country Club, in San Antonio, Texas.

That came just a few days from qualifying for the 79th U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster (Pa.) Country Club, where she would share low-amateur honors with 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Megan Schofill and University of Southern California All-American Catherine Park. Both were future Curtis Cup teammates in late August at Sunningdale Golf Club in England, where despite suffering a narrow defeat to Great Britain & Ireland, Talley beat world No. 1 and Florida State University All-American Lottie Woad in Sunday singles.

Talley would also advance to a pair of finals, the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur, making her the first player in USGA history to play in three in the same year. Her appearance in the U.S. Women’s Am final guaranteed that Talley would get a second consecutive start in the U.S. Women’s Open. By then, she’ll likely be able to drive her Lexus courtesy car.

Defending the Crown

In just three short years, the U.S. Adaptive Open has already produced a plethora of great human-interest stories. But one player has quickly put his stamp on the 54-hole championship: Kipp Popert. The 26-year-old Englishman successfully defended his title in July at Sand Creek Station, in Newton, Kan., with a four-stroke win over Simon Lee, the inaugural men’s winner in 2022. Popert was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth and competes in the Neurological Impairment category. He is the first player in either the men’s or women’s divisions to claim multiple titles.

In the women’s competition, Bailey Bish, a 24-year-old from Tucson, Ariz., who also competes in the Neurological Impairment category, registered a four-stroke victory, thanks to an opening-round 69.

Omaha! Omaha!

Nebraska native Trevor Gutschewski certainly wasn’t a household name before arriving at Oakland Hills Country Club, in suburban Detroit, for the 76th U.S. Junior Amateur. Then the son of PGA Tour pro Scott Gutschewski survived a 23-hole marathon in his opening-round match – the only match of the week to go extras – and knocked off medalist and U.S. National Junior Team member Blades Brown in the Round of 32. By the time the Omaha resident reached the 36-hole match, the No. 3570 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® had started to turn heads. When he defeated U.S. National Junior Team member Tyler Watts, 4 and 3, he not only turned more heads but also was the first from the Cornhusker State to hoist the U.S. Junior Amateur Trophy.

Sweet Redemption

In the past five years, Evan Beck had quickly climbed the ladder to become one of the world’s best mid-amateurs (25 years and older). The one thing missing: a USGA title. As a junior, Beck advanced to the 2008 U.S. Junior Amateur final, only to suffer a 10-and-8 defeat at Shoal Creek to Cameron Peck. Last year at Sleepy Hollow Country Club, in Scarborough, N.Y., longtime mid-am stalwart Stewart Hagestad bested Beck in the 36-hole U.S. Mid-Amateur final.

But competing in his home state of Virginia at Kinloch Country Club, in suburban Richmond, Beck was not going to be denied. He shared medalist honors with recent Arkansas graduate Segundo Oliva Pinto, then survived a pair of close calls in the Round of 16 (23-hole win over Michael Buttacavoli) and quarterfinals (1-up win over Connor Doyal) before registering a 9-and-8 victory in the final against long-hitting Bobby Massa, who had reached the quarters of the U.S. Amateur a few weeks earlier.

Beck nearly became the first player in USGA history to lose a championship match, 10 and 8, and win a final by the same margin. Nevertheless, Beck had a chance to share this momentous occasion with friends and family.

Czech Mate

When folks think of Czechia, formerly called the Czech Republic, names like Martina Navratilova, Ivan Lendl and Jaromir Jagr often come to mind. The country hasn’t produced a ton of golf champions, unless you want to count Jessica and Nelly Korda, whose father, Petr, was born in the Czech Republic and won the 1990 Australian Open singles title before moving to the U.S.

Enter Hana Ryskova, a 25-year-old who had just completed her eligibility at the University of Louisville and has hopes of getting into the bourbon industry. Having just become age-eligible for the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, Ryskova, with her now-fiancé Ethan Short on the bag, became the first Czech golfer to claim a USGA title. Ironically, she defeated a Louisville native, 32-year-old Lindsay Gahm, in the 18-hole final.

Olé, Olé Jose!

What a week in suburban Minneapolis it turned out to be for Jose Luis Ballester, who celebrated his 21st birthday on championship Sunday at the U.S. Amateur by hoisting the prestigious Havemeyer Trophy, becoming the first Spaniard to win the USGA’s oldest championship. The Arizona State University All-American knocked off crowd favorite Noah Kent, 2 up, in the 36-hole championship match at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

It seemed as if the entire state of Iowa ventured north – many wearing No. 22 Caitlin Clark t-shirts – to watch the University of Iowa rising sophomore from Naples, Fla. But despite all that crowd support, it was the superior play of Ballester that eventually prevailed. A short game that would have brought a smile from legendary Spaniard Seve Ballesteros was on display all week by Ballester, who had defeated countryman Luis Masaveu the previous day in the semifinals.

On the eve of the final, Ballester received a call from countryman and major champ Sergio Garcia, a longtime friend. Garcia was the last Spaniard to make a deep U.S. Amateur run, losing in the semifinals in 1998 at Oak Hill C.C. Another ex-Sun Devil, 2021 U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, lost in the quarterfinals in 2015 at Olympia Fields C.C. Rahm and Ballester are the only two Spaniards to have won USGA titles.

Honorable Mention

• Jimmy Ellis becomes the first mid-am in 14 years to earn medalist honors in the U.S. Amateur. 
  
  
• Charlie Woods qualifies for U.S. Junior Amateur, an event his father, Tiger, won three consecutive years (1991-93). Tiger was in attendance at Oakland Hills C.C. to support his son.
  
  
• Leta Lindley cards a final-round 64 at Fox Chapel Golf Club to win the U.S. Senior Women's Open.

• Richard Bland rallies in final round to defeat Hiroyuki Fujita in a playoff at the weather-delayed U.S. Senior Open. The playoff wound up being four holes. 
   

• A pair of software guys from Scottsdale, Ariz., Brian Blanchard and Sam Engel, stun Tennessee teens Blades Brown and Jackson Herrington in the final of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Philadelphia Cricket Club. 
   

• Robert Nelson knocks out three consecutive U.S. Senior Amateur champions (Chip Lutz, Bob Royak and Todd White) en route to the semifinals at The Honors Course. He was eliminated by eventual winner Louis Brown. 
   

• Paul Simson, playing the U.S. Senior Amateur at The Honors Course on a special exemption from the USGA, qualifying for match play at the age of 73. Also saw his remarkable Round-of-64 victory streak halted. He had been 14-for-14 in the first round.  

David Shefter is a senior staff writer at the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.