LAUREL — Liam Clancy survived what turned into a marathon of a final round at the 107th Montana Men's State Amateur at Laurel Golf Club.
A near two-hour weather delay halted play midway through the final round Saturday. Clancy, a Billings Central and University of Wyoming and Montana State Billings golfer, fired a 4-under par 68 to chase down leader and current Rocky Mountain College golf coach Nathan Bailey (plus-1, 73). The two battled into a playoff, but darkness put that on pause after two holes at about 9:15 p.m.
"I was thinking of the U.S. Am a lot, to be honest with you," Clancy told MTN Sports of his Saturday night. "That kept me up. I didn't get much sleep. Was hoping it was only a couple of holes (Sunday) and I could rest the rest of the day. (Saturday) was too fun to really fall asleep quick."
Clancy and Bailey picked back up at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning off the Par-5 No. 18 tee. Clancy found the trees right of the fairway and had to lay up short of the green, while Bailey striped his driver but tugged a fairway wood into the rough left of the green.
Clancy then stuck his approach shot to 10 feet for a look at birdie, while Bailey sailed his chip past the pin into the right-hand green-side bunker. Bailey kept his focus and got up and down for par, and Clancy's birdie putt came up just shy forcing a fourth playoff hole between the two.
Both would find trouble on the Par-4 10th. Clancy's approach from the right side rough banged off a tree back into the middle of the fairway, while Bailey's punch through the trees didn't get near as fortunate a bounce, splashing into the one of the smallest bits of water on the property.
Bailey nearly holed his fifth shot from just short of the green but tapped in for a double bogey six, while Clancy's threw his third shot to 10 feet and two-putted for bogey to claim the title.
Clancy won the State Am 10 years after his sister Kyla won the women's State Amateur in 2014.
"Seventeen years ago I got a call while (playing golf in Laurel) that my dad passed away. A lot goes into that, but I just knew God wanted me out here playing golf and this was where I was supposed to be," Clancy said. "There's no doubt in my mind, you can ask Bobby (Anderson), he felt (my dad) all day (Saturday). Chills running through us. It was pretty damn cool."
Afterwards, Bailey lamented a three-putt on the Par-4 16th on Saturday that brought him back to 4-under for the tournament, just two holes after chipping in for birdie to move to 5-under. That allowed Clancy to tie on 18 with a birdie, which he did even after staring down a third shot from near the cart path on No. 10 to a short-sided pin that he stuck to five feet before making birdie.
"121 (yards). ... I've played this golf course a ton of times. I've hit a lot of good shots on this golf course," Bailey said. "Those guys I was hugging after the round, we've played some serious money games out here. Playing for money is great practice for tournaments, and I've had to make birdie on 18 plenty of times. Not something I'm unfamiliar with."
The win also earns Clancy an exemption to the U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota, Aug. 12-18.
"I'm pumped beyond any measure. Just to play in a championship like that and know that my game can hold on to that level is a pretty cool feeling for me," Clancy said.
