Wichita golfer Asher Whitaker, a Kapaun junior, reaches Kansas Amateur golf final

It may sound like a lot of pressure for a 17-year-old to win the Kansas Amateur Match Play championship, but Asher Whitaker isn’t the typical 17-year-old golfer.

The junior-to-be at Kapaun Mt. Carmel has played in high-stakes tournaments all over the country this summer and is no stranger to performing under pressure.

That experience paid off on Sunday when Whitaker won four holes down the stretch to close out the 36-hole championship match against Alex Downing in a 2-and-1 victory at Sand Creek Station.

At age 17, Whitaker’s accomplishment had not been seen in the Kansas Am in nearly a century, as the youngest winner in the event’s 112-year history was Fred Salmons, who won the 1925 title at Wichita Country Club as a 16-year-old.

The finals were a back-and-forth affair between the high school junior and Downing, a Lee’s Summit, Mo. native and 2006 graduate from Buena Vista, an NCAA Division III school in Iowa.

The first 18 holes saw each golfer win five holes, as the two traded runs that left the match tied entering the afternoon session. Downing was in control in the start of the second round, holding a 2-up advantage after 28 holes.

That’s when Whitaker made his move. He birdied hole No. 11 and No. 12 to win each to tie up the match, then took the lead when Downing double-bogeyed hole No. 14. Another bogey by Downing on hole No. 16 gave Whitaker a two-hole advantage with two holes remaining and the Wichita native closed out the match with a par on the par-3 No. 17.

It marked the second straight year a Wichita native won the Kansas Am title, as Whitaker followed Cooper Schultz, the Andover native and current K-State golfer whom Whitaker had to defeat in Saturday’s semifinals to advance.

“It was pretty nerve-racking because I knew I had to play really well to beat Cooper because he’s been playing some really, really good golf,” Whitaker said on Saturday. “But I relied on all of the practice and the hours of work I put in. This is what you practice for, opportunities like this to play against great golfers like Cooper and it makes you elevate your game.”

While maintaining such a high level of golf over the week-long event has been impressive, Whitaker’s caddy, Eric Johnsen, an assistant golf coach at Kapaun, said it’s not entirely surprising for Whitaker to overcome his youth to compete for the title as the best amateur golfer in the state at age 17.

“To see the growth in Asher and the maturity and the way he’s developed in the last year and just the way he handled himself today was amazing to watch,” Johnsen said. “I think it has a lot to do with those outside travel tournaments that he plays in a lot. He’s used to being in pressure situations in big tournaments.”

Whitaker recovered from an early deficit in his quarterfinal match against recent Wellington graduate Deitrek Gill, who was an individual Kansas high school state champion. Gill was two up after six holes, but Whitaker won five of the next six holes to take a commanding lead and finished out the match 4-and-2.

He faced another early deficit in the semifinals against Schultz, an Andover Central native and junior on the K-State men’s golf team, in a matchup featuring two of Wichita’s brightest young golf stars. Schultz was one up after four holes, but Whitaker won three of the next five holes to go two up into the turn.

Schultz rallied to win No. 13 to cut Whitaker’s lead to one up, but Whitaker came through with a birdie on the par-5 No. 16 to restore his cushion and closed out the match by matching Schultz’s par on the par-3 No. 17.

“I played a little conservative (after building a lead), but I still wanted to be aggressive,” Whitaker said. “I was driving the ball really well and putting myself in a lot of really good spots. I made myself really hard to beat. I made him make birdies to beat me and that was just really hard to do with the wind blowing as hard as it was.”

Downing advanced to the finals with an improbable comeback against Emporia native Gentry Scheve, a current golfer at Nebraska. Facing a four-hole deficit with four holes to play, Downing won all four holes, aided by bogeys by Scheve on No. 17 and No. 18, then won a fifth straight hole on the first playoff hole, when he made par and Scheve came through with another bogey.

Wichita native Zach Sokolosky, an Andover graduate and current golfer at KU, also reached the quarterfinals of the event, ultimately coming up one short against Downing.

Kansas Amateur Match Play tournament results

Round of 32—Cooper Schultz, Wichita, def. Giles Frederickson, Topeka, 2 and 1; Bennett Warren, Olathe, def. Ian McCrary, Overland Park, 1 up; Daniel Duffin, Liberty, Mo., def. Craig Howell, Wichita, 6 and 5; Coleman Houk, Salina, def. Jack Junge, Lawrence, 22 holes; Jacob Lackey, McPherson, def. Blake Allen, Merriam, 4 and 2; Deitrek Gill, Wellington, def. Tradgon McCrae, Plainville, 2 and 1; Park Ulrich, Overland Park, def. Cade Uhlenhake, Lenexa, 2 up; Asher Whitaker, Wichita, def. Treg Fawl, McPherson, 4 and 3; Will King, Olathe, def. Austin Goodrum, Andover, 4 and 3; Dawson Lewis, Flower Mound, Texas, def. Sean Thayer, Garden City, 6 and 4; Gentry Scheve, Emporia, def. Gavin Dines, Olathe, 5 and 4; Jacob Fratzel, Shawnee, def. Blake Saffell, Wellington, 6 and 4; Conrad Roberts, Lawrence, def. Joe Bultman, Shawnee, 1 up; Zach Sokolosky, Wichita, def. Skyler Tebo, Hays, 19 holes; Alex Downing, Lee’s Summit, Mo., def. Zac Miller, 4 and 3; Nicklaus Mason, Shawnee, def. Michael Winslow, Overland Park, 4 and 3.

Round of 16—Cooper Schultz, Wichita, def. Bennett Warren, Olathe, 2 up; Daniel Duffin, Liberty, Mo., def. Coleman Houk, Salina, 1 up; Deitrek Gill, Wellington, def. Jacob Lackey, McPherson, 2 and 1; Asher Whitaker, Wichita, def. Park Ulrich, Overland Park, 2 and 1; Dawson Lewis, Flower Mound, Texas, def. Will King, Olathe, 4 and 3; Gentry Scheve, Emporia, def. Jacob Fratzel, Shawnee, 1 up; Zach Sokolosky, Wichita, def. Conrad Roberts, Lawrence, 3 and 2; Alex Downing, Lee’s Summit, Mo., def. Nicklaus Mason, Shawnee, 2 and 1.

Quarterfinals—Cooper Schultz, Wichita, def. Daniel Duffin, Liberty, Mo., 5 and 4; Asher Whitaker, Wichita, def. Deitrek Gill, Wellington, 4 and 2; Gentry Scheve, Emporia, def. Dawson Lewis, Flower Mound, Texas, 3 and 2; Alex Downing, Lee’s Summit, Mo., def. Zach Sokolosky, Wichita, 1 up.

Semifinals—Asher Whitaker, Wichita, def. Cooper Schultz, Wichita, 2 and 1; Alex Downing, Lee’s Summit, Mo., def. Gentry Scheve, Emporia, 19 holes.

Finals—Asher Whitaker, Wichita, def. Alex Downing, Lee’s Summit, Mo., 2 and 1.