116th Travis Invitational Qualifying Recap: Couture Earns Medalist, Brackets Set at Garden City
Rob Couture of Maridoe Golf Club earned medalist honors in Friday's 18-hole qualifier at Garden City Golf Club, securing the No. 1 seed in the Championship Flight. John Hunter grabbed the 2 seed, with Christian Cavaliere at 3 and Kyle Downey at 4 rounding out the top seeds. The Championship Flight features a stacked 16-player bracket that includes two-time Travis champion Chris DeJohn (13 seed), Matt Parziale of Thorny Lea (15), Bradford Tilley (8), and Joe Saladino (16). Match play begins Saturday morning at 9:04am off the first tee, with the semifinals and final on Sunday.
The Devereux Emmet Cup (second flight of 16) drew equally compelling matchups, with Dan MacDonald earning the top seed and Trip Kuehne — one of the most decorated match play competitors in amateur golf history — slotted as the 13 seed, setting up a potential quarterfinal clash with No. 4 seed Matthew Naumec. Three additional flights round out the bracket: the Charles B. Macdonald Cup (8 players, led by Nico Donaldson), the Robert T. Jones Cup (8, led by Connor Casey), and the William H. Taft Cup (8, led by Ben Greve). The Dwight D. Eisenhower Cup runs a separate 16-player bracket. Live scoring and round-by-round leaderboards can be tracked on the Travis Invitational tournament hub.
CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT (16): (1) Rob Couture (Maridoe GC) vs (16) Joe Saladino (Huntington CC) • (8) Bradford Tilley (Sleepy Hollow) vs (9) Daniel Abbondandolo (Brookville CC) • (4) Kyle Downey (Oak Hill CC) vs (13) Chris DeJohn (Arcola CC) • (5) Matthew Mattare (Saucon Valley CC) vs (12) Tanner Owen (Garden City GC) • (2) John Hunter (Carlton Woods) vs (15) Matt Parziale (Thorny Lea GC) • (7) Joseph Deraney (Tupelo CC) vs (10) Brett Williams (The Golf Club) • (3) Christian Cavaliere (Mahopac GC) vs (14) Jordan Utley (Hermitage CC) • (6) Pat Wilson (Hamilton Farm GC) vs (11) Stephen Nicholas Jr (Winged Foot)
DEVEREUX EMMET CUP (16): (1) Dan MacDonald (Arcola CC) vs (16) Garett Engel (Seawane CC) • (8) Griffin McQuilling (Garden City GC) vs (9) Bryan Pendrick (Meadow Brook) • (4) Matthew Naumec (Boston) vs (13) Trip Kuehne (Vaquero GC) • (5) Andrew Biggadike (Seminole GC) vs (12) Michael Savitt (Deepdale GC) • (2) Brian Williams (Winged Foot) vs (15) Colby Anderson (Nassau CC) • (7) Andrew Lane (Garden City GC) vs (10) Patrick Knott (Merion GC) • (3) Brett Cooper (Seawane CC) vs (14) Jay Crowley (Round Hill) • (6) Mike Connors (Abacoa GC) vs (11) Jonathan Jeter (Bethpage GC)
CHARLES B. MACDONALD CUP (8): (1) Nico Donaldson (Deepdale GC) vs (8) Steve White • (4) Ryan Coughlin (Westchester CC) vs (5) John Patterson (Chechessee Creek) • (2) Nick Cassini (Atlanta Athletic) vs (7) Jack Downey (Meadow Brook) • (3) Kevin Miller (Hermitage CC) vs (6) Rob Mangini (Whisper Rock)
ROBERT T. JONES CUP (8): (1) Connor Casey (Somerset Hills) vs (8) Tyler McKeever (Bobby Jones GC) • (4) Jesse Bull (Golden Valley) vs (5) Tanner Murphy (Scioto CC) • (2) Jonathan Keane (Olympic GC) vs (7) Billy Kreitsek (Garden City GC) • (3) Shane Heise (Carlton Woods) vs (6) Brian Falk (Garden City GC)
WILLIAM H. TAFT CUP (8): (1) Ben Greve (Olympic Hills) vs (8) Oscar Maxfield (The Country Club) • (4) Richard VanderMass (The Creek) vs (5) Steven Tarulli (Hempstead GC) • (2) Brandon Dalinka (Baltusrol) vs (7) Derek Rogers (Meadow Brook) • (3) West Streib (Deepdale GC) vs (6) TJ Shuart (Fort Lauderdale CC)
DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER CUP (16): (1) Roger Newsom vs (16) Tom Fox • (8) Tony Hejna vs (9) Scott Mackesy • (4) Merrick McQuilling vs (13) James Romaniello • (5) Dave Scialabba vs (12) Walker Taylor • (2) Ryan Howison vs (15) David Boccia • (7) Doug Clapp vs (10) Daniel Russo • (3) Kevin Gai vs (14) Jack Eisenbeis • (6) Mark Thompson vs (11) Jim Graham