Brookfield/Elm Grove Monthly

By Nicholas Dettmann Conley News Service TOWN OF ERIN — Eddie Wajda III repeatedly heard the story. A year ago, the Brook- field Central High School graduate signed an incor- rect scorecard at the WSGA Men's Amateur Champi- onship and was disquali- fied. He was in the top 15 at the time. A year later, he achieved something that easily eras- es that bitter memory. Wajda held off charges by Patrick Sanchez and Matt Bachmann to win the title last month at Erin Hills. "That's just how crazy this game is," Wajda said about the difference a year has made. "Everybody keeps bringing it up. Nobody seemed to forget it. Hopefully, this will help." Wajda, who entered the final round tied for fifth and three strokes behind the leader, shot a 2-under- par 70 in the final round. "It was one of the best rounds I've played," he said. Wajda, 18, needed his best to not only hold off two hard-charging golfers, but to also finish off a gru- eling four-day tournament on a championship golf course that played at more than 7,200 yards. In a way, a 2-under in the final round at the site of the 2017 U.S. Open felt better than that. "It's pretty crazy the way (WSGA Director of Rules and Competitions Bill) Lin- neman and (WSGA Assis- tant Director of Rules and Competitions) Pirkl set it up and try to make it like a U.S. Open," Wajda said. "A 2-under is pretty good." Bachmann, who will be a senior at Sheboygan Falls next year but is already committed to Marquette University, also shot 2- under after starting the day four strokes behind the leader. "Overall, it was a pretty good day," Bachmann said. "I played really solid. I really never had any trou- ble. I wish I would've fin- ished a little better." The leader after 54 holes was Zach Gaugert, who led Sanchez by two strokes. Gaugert, the cousin of last year's champion Alex Gaugert, shot a 6-over-par 78 and finished seventh. Wajda's victory was part of a thrilling finish where four golfers were tied for the lead with some having less than six holes to fin- ish. The momentum swing came on Nos. 15 and 16. Wajda birdied both holes to take the lead. On 15, he gave a fist pump, knowing he had made an important shot. Otherwise, he didn't know where he stood on the leaderboard. "I just did my own thing out there," Wajda said. He three-putted on No. 18 after getting to the fringe at the front of the green on his third shot. His second putt was from about 10 feet, but it grazed the lip of the cup and he tapped in for bogey. From there, it was a wait- ing game as two groups remained on the course, including Sanchez. As those groups came to the 18th green, Wajda was seen crouching behind his bag, barely able to watch. "I didn't know if it was going to hold up," Wajda said of his bogey on the final hole. Bachmann birdied Nos. 14, 15 and 17 to move into a three-way tie for the lead. He finished with a bogey on the par-5 18th. "I was just trying to fin- ish as well as I could," Bachmann said. "I wasn't really aware of where everybody was at." With Bachmann in the clubhouse and Wajda hold- ing a one-stroke lead, it came down to how Sanchez would finish. Sanchez, a native of Mazatlan, Mexico, and a senior at Marquette, birdied Nos. 14 and 16 to draw even with Wajda. Even after completing his round, Wajda contin- ued to not pay attention to the scoreboard, but that didn't stop others as he overheard rumblings of where he stood on the leaderboard. Wajda got a break when Sanchez made bogey on No. 17, forcing him to birdie on the 660-yard par-5 18th to force a playoff. At 660, it was the longest the hole was set up for all week. On his third shot from about 115 yards out, Sanchez hit a 56-degree wedge and stuck the ball to within a matter of feet of the pin. "That was an unbeliev- able shot," Wajda said. "It was really tough over that slope and then we have the one slope in front of (the pin) and the one slope behind it and it falls off to the side. So to hit it within 5 feet was an incredible shot. Hats off to him for doing that. That's good stuff right there." At that moment, the buzz began for a potential play- off. A playoff for the state amateur title hadn't hap- pened since Pat Boyle won at The Bog in 2004. From about 15 feet, Sanchez gently rolled the putt toward the pin but missed it right by less than 2 feet. "I expected Pat to make it on 18," Wajda said. "Both him and Zach. I've played a lot against them this year. I expected him to make it because he's a good player. You expect that from some- one like that." In addition to getting the lifetime exemption into the tournament, Wajda's name will go alongside some of the state's greats including Andy North, Skip Kendall, Steve Stricker and Jordan Niebrugge, the 2013 winner who finished tied for sixth at The Open Championship at St. Andrew's in July. "It's great," Wajda said. "It's a cool list to be a part of." Page 8 • Freeman Brookfield & Elm Grove AUGUST 2015 245338002 241686018 Wajda erases bad memories of last year Central grad wins state amateur WSGA STATE AMATEUR John Ehlke/Conley News Service Eddie Wajda waits to tee of on the 18th hole in the final round of the WSGA State Amateur. John Ehlke/Conley News Service Eddie Wajda, a Brookfield Central High School graduate, is congratulated after winning the WSGA State Amateur at Erin Hills. Central baseball team ousted early from postseason BROOKFIELD — The WIAA defending state baseball champion didn't last long. No. 6-seeded Pius shocked No. 3-seeded Brookfield Central with a 4-2 victory over the Lancers last month, who advanced to last year's state tournament and beat Plymouth and Homestead to win the state title. A four-run first inning in which the Popes had only one hit did all the damage as Pius pitchers Brett Smerz and Max Resch shut down the Lancers until the final inning when they finally started hitting and avoided the shutout. "I'm proud of the way we came back," Central coach Jeff Bigler said. "We could have laid down and lost with the score 4-0, but we went down battling and had the tying run on base and the go-ahead run at the plate. We obviously got ourselves in a hole early which was tough, but overall we had a tremendous year. " — Freeman Staff

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