By Clair Goodwin
sports@joplinglobe.com
When 16-year-old Andrew Maier stepped on the first tee for a sudden-death playoff with veterans Les Taylor and Paul Ashe in the 2007 Ozark Amateur, he was understandably nervous and perhaps even a little shocked.
“I never expected to be in that situation,” he said. “I just tried to keep really calm. I wasn’t expected to win, so if I didn’t come out on top, no one was going to be disappointed.”
Fifteen minutes later, Maier dropped a 25-foot birdie putt on the opening par-5 at Schifferdecker Municipal Golf Course and then watched as Taylor and Ashe missed their attempts from 10 to 15 feet.
And thus the drama ended and Maier became the youngest Ozark champion.
Andrew had displayed a maturity beyond his years as well as character in the face of adversity, determination and a championship-caliber game.
Still, going into the last four or five holes of regulation on that final day, Maier had no idea he was still in the hunt.
“I was a couple over . . . and I thought that I had shot myself in the foot,” he said. “I really didn’t want to know how I stood . . . and no one said anything. When I made a couple of birdies coming in and got back to even, I was still, like, ‘well it was a good tournament.’ Then I heard people saying that the leaders in the last group had struggled.”
Maier attributes his solid play to his father, Mike Maier, one of the top amateurs in the area for many years, who has helped him with his swing and course management, and to the experience he gained from a University of Arkansas golf camp last year. Mike is the course superintendent at Eagle Creek Golf Club.
Andrew went to the camp on a scholarship awarded by the Joplin Golf Foundation. What he got out of the program was the result of pounding golf balls for hours in learning to make better contact and intensive one-on-one instruction.
Young Maier also credits his father with “doing a good job of showing me the ropes about the mental part of the game.” He seldom displays more emotion than an occasional fist-pump after a birdie. But, he says, “I never show negative emotions. I tend to do pretty good forgetting my bad shots and getting back to the positive side.”
Andrew was disappointed by his showing in last weekend’s Ozark Amateur, placing fifth in A Flight with 75-73—148. Two days before the tournament, he shot a 68 at Schifferdecker to win the Harold Kirk Junior Championship.
Maier will be a senior at Webb City High School this fall. He played No. 2 on the golf team his first two years, was No. 1 last year and expects to be No. 1 this year. His goal is to play four years of college golf and then try to play on the pro tour.
Now 17, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound Maier is striving to improve. He works out in the offseason to add strength and increase flexibility under a special training regime designed by Webb City coach Wayne Smith. And to further hone his game, he competes in friendly, but competitive matches with his father.
Qualifying
Signup sheets have been posted for the qualifying tournaments for Joplin ’s Horton Smith and Ky Laffoon cup teams.
Qualifying for Horton Smith, which is for players 17 through 49, is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 2, at the Bald Eagle course of the Eagle Creek Golf Club and noon Sunday, Aug. 3, at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club.
Qualifying for the Ky Laffoon team, 50 and older, is set for noon Saturday, Aug. 2, at Twin Hills and 11 a.m. Sunday at Eagle Creek.
Sixteen players will comprise each team. Entry fee is $50. Players must live within a radius of 60 miles of Joplin .
Exempt from qualifying will be the winners of the Joplin Globe City Championship, Ozark Amateur, Briarbrook Invitational, Loma Linda Invitational and Twin Hills Invitational.
The Joplin teams will compete against Springfield on Aug. 16-17 at Twin Hills and Eagle Creek.
Anniversary
The 10th anniversary golf tournament for the Ronald McDonald House is scheduled Thursday, Aug. 21, at Twin Hills Golf and Country Club. Marshall Smith of Miami, Okla. , will present a short game clinic before the tournament.
Benefit event
The Jim Tallent Memorial two-person scramble is scheduled Sunday, Aug. 10, on the Bald Eagle course at the Eagle Creek Golf Club.
The tournament is sponsored by the Galena Elks Lodge and proceeds will go to the lodge’s Christmas Baskets and Kids Christmas Party. The entry fee is $100 per team. Entries should be mailed to Dennis Albright, 1018 Joplin St., Galena, Kan., 66739, or telephone (620) 783-4230.
Junior Cup team
Kendall Chalmers picked up 10 points by winning the Jimmy and Joan Thomas Junior City Championship last week at Eagle Creek. Chalmers fired a 70. Andrew Maier was second with a 72 and got nine points.
Chalmers and Maier are tied with 19 points each in the standings for selecting Joplin ’s Junior Horton Smith Cup team. The final points tournament will be Thursday at Briarbrook Country Club.
The Joplin team will play Springfield at Twin Hills on July 31. Exempt for the team because of a tournament victory are Maier, Chalmers, Matt Ditto and Trevor Freeman. Ditto and Freeman have 16.5 points and 9.5 points, respectively.
Other point totals: Alex Kanakis with 16, Tres Wright 12, Derek Patterson 11, Ben Starkey 8.5, Jordon Burks 7, Garrett Roberts 7, Kolter Krumsick 5.5, Zach Hatcher 4, Eric Wilmoth, 4, Kaleb Forkner 3, Kole Borland 3, Gordon Mitchell 1.5, Stewart Pence 1.5 and Bryce Coy 1.
Filling up
Spots are still available for the two-man senior scramble on Thursday at Schifferdecker Municipal Golf Course. The entry fee is $35 and prizes will be based on the number of entries.
