Brandon Cloete starts hot but hits tough stretch in State Amateur Championship first round

TOWN OF ERIN — It’s easy for Brandon Cloete to speak to the difficulty but familiarity of Erin Hills.

One year removed from missing the cut for the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at the host site of the 2017 U.S. Open, the South African native teed off Monday morning in the 122nd installment of the Wisconsin State Amateur Championship.

He also called the championship course his home course during his two years at Marquette, after transferring from Arizona State. In the 2014 Erin Hills Intercollegiate, which was hosted by the Golden Eagles, Cloete tied for seventh place.

“It’s my favorite place in the state to play golf,” Cloete said. “I always remember all my rounds out here and feeling familiar. This place can intimidate you when you haven't seen it or you don't know what's going on.

“So when I'm standing over shots, I definitely know exactly what to expect from the outcome before I get it.”

Cloete, who lives in Madison, played alongside Atlanta native and UW-Wisconsin sophomore golfer McCord Grice and Sheboygan's Maxwell Schmidtke in Monday’s opening rounds.

Cloete started on the back nine and had four straight pars before carding a birdie on Hole No. 14 for a 1-under par, which had him atop the standings after nine holes in the 156-player field.

“I was feeling really good and thought I could have had one or two birdies to start but I wasn’t finding my putter,” Cloete said. “Those three step offs on 18 and the bad second approach there compounded with everything else that was going on, I lost myself a little bit. (But) the front (nine) felt like the best golf I’ve played in a while.”

Cloete started his final nine holes promisingly, making par on each of the first three. Then things began to get difficult, as he bogeyed the next four holes, falling out of the leaderboard.

“Everyone of us was on a bogey run there,” Cloete said. “Those holes are tough, especially with the wind. It definitely picked up like four or five miles an hour on the back and that made a difference.

“Right after (Hole) 3, I started losing it outright and getting these weak heel fades out there. The really unfortunate one was (Hole) 7, I smoked that drive and I was trying to bleed it off the bunkers and I just hit it dead straight.”

Cloete finished 3-over on Monday, putting him tied for 23rd heading into Tuesday’s strikes.

Juggling personal life with golf life

Though Cloete entered the tournament with the advantage of knowing the course, he also entered with a disadvantage amongst the other golfers: He hasn’t played much.

Following a brief stint in professional golf on the South African Tour, Cloete has spent much of the last three years focusing on his profession as a financial planner. He’s currently a Planning & Portfolio Management Specialist with Isthmus Partners LLC.

“From a professional point of view, it's been fantastic,” Cloete said. “(But) I wish I could play more. …. My goal every year is to try and play the US Mid-Am Qualifier and if I can't do that, then I'll try and play this.”

Why the Mid-Am every year? Simple answer.

“I wanna play in the Masters and I got to win that thing first,” Cloete said. “That’s my lifetime achievement goal.”

His rust and "golf fatigue" didn’t show much on Monday but the 31-year-old said it is something he is worried could play a factor Wednesday and Thursday on the back nines. However, the key heading into the next three days he said will be finding rhythm and momentum with his putter and wedge.

But it all depends on the wind, which is what makes Erin Hills extremely difficult for golfers.

Leaderboard: Round 1 scores

“If the wind is up every day, you're grinding for par but if it was like this morning where it's calm, you can get out there and shoot 60, 67 (or even) 64,” Cloete said. “But if I played the way I played in the first couple (holes), it's definitely my putter. If I can get hot on the putter, it keeps the momentum.

“I got to be two or three yards sharper on the wedge game, which is hard when you're not practicing it, but if I can find that lightning in a bottle, it could come.”

It’s been some time since Cloete won an Amateur, 2019 to be exact, so he said if he can last through Thursday and win the State Amateur, it would “mean a lot.”

“That would be a highlight getting on (the trophy) with those guys that have won this tournament in the past. And (to do it at) my favorite course would be extra special,” Cloete said. “I might retire after that.”

Monday’s local roundup

Sebastian Kasun (Elm Grove) was the top local finisher on Day 1 as he finished even on the day.

Josh Robinson (Marquette) concluded Day 1 tied in 12th place at 1-over par.

Joe Fricker (Mequon), Grice (University of Wisconsin) and P.J. Clemins (Cederburg) all finished tied for 35th place at 4-over par. Grice ended with three birdies on his front nine.

Jace Long (St. Francis, Marquette) was 6-over, finishing tied for 61st.

Look at the leaders

Whitefish Bay's Jack Schultz, the 2007 Wisconsin Player of the Year, finished tied for the lead following a 3-under-par performance. He made six birdies on the day. He shared the lead with Roselle, Illinois, native Zach Place, who put together a strong back nine.

Behind Schultz and Place were Ty Kretz and Christopher Huss, both of whom completed their rounds with a 2-under par. John Leuzzi can be reached at jleuzzi@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnLeuzziMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Erin Hills is up to the challenge Wisconsin State Amateur Championship