Blake Allen repeats at KC Amateur Championship, winning by seven strokes in Raymore
Blake Allen was two holes away from running away with his second straight KC Amateur Championship on Sunday afternoon when, taking his second shot on hole No. 16, he heard a shout.
He couldn’t see where the ball was headed — there was a hill in the way — but he heard the voice. It was from his brother, who was calling out to Allen.
“The ball’s in the hole!”
Before he knew it, Allen had eagled the hole and widened his seven-stroke lead at the Raymore Golf Club of Creekmoor.
All told, Allen shot a 7-under 209 and captured his second consecutive KC Amateur Championship title, winning the Open Division by a sterling seven strokes.
In the first, second and third rounds, Allen shot a 71, 73, and 65, helping him win a trophy and a $650 gift card to Creekmoor’s shop.
Allen separated himself from the field by playing so well on Sunday. He said he “didn’t do anything real special” in the first two rounds, but his score of 65 in the third bettered Sam Parrott and Zach Sokolosky, who tied for second place, by 11 points.
Kansas golfer Grant Herrenbruck took fourth, while Wichita State golfer Joe Bultman placed fifth.
“It’s awesome,” Allen said. “I really like all the added pressure maybe that there is. It was great to come out today and play my absolute best golf and to get it done at a great tournament and great golf course.”
The proof was in the numbers. Allen birdied holes Nos. 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 13 and 18. That was on top of his eagle, of course, and he never had to look over his shoulder.
That’s where things get interesting, though. Allen says he had “no idea” his lead was that wide. If he did, he says, he wouldn’t have played hole No. 16 — the one he eagled — so aggressively. Ditto for the birdie he secured on 18.
“I wasn’t scoreboard watching,” Allen said. “I hit it down the middle of the fairway, and thought, ‘I don’t want to have any regrets if I don’t happen to win this golf tournament, so I’d better hit a 3-wood up near the green and try to make birdie,’ and I did, and I hit it really well and two-putted for birdie.
“Most times, if you have a large lead, I would definitely recommend not playing overly aggressive, but sometimes, like today, it works out in your favor.”
Allen, an incoming senior golfer at Washburn in Topeka, Kansas, has already accomplished a healthy dose in his golf career.
He’s played a total of 79 rounds as an Ichabod. His career-best score is a 64, which he registered as a freshman in the second round of the NCAA Super Regional, good for a seventh-place finish. He’s a two-time individual winner of the Washburn Invitational, and he was named to the All-MIAA team in 2018 and 2019.
Last season, Allen competed in all 11 events for Washburn, placing in the top 15 in nine. In the 28 rounds he played, he averaged a score of 72.21. He was responsible for Washburn’s top finish at the NCAA Central/Midwest Regional Tournament, where he tied for ninth place with a score of two-over 218.
Allen said he’s most proud of changing the perception of Washburn golf, helping the Ichabods go from outside-looking-in to one of the best teams in the area.
Now, having won the KC Amateur Championship two straight years, he’s confident in his ability to turn that into even more momentum headed into his senior season.
But about the pressure Allen mentioned — he wanted to clarify. It’s “more excitement,” he said, explaining that that that’s what happens when you enter as the defending champion.
Whatever it was, it helped Allen repeat on Sunday.
“You’ve got another chance to take home the trophy for — what is that, 800 days straight almost?” Allen said. “I think it’s more an excitement that I have going into tournaments that I’ve won in the past or in the previous year.”
This story was originally published July 28, 2019 at 5:44 PM.