​QUEENSBURY – The preliminaries are behind us, and the pace is now a sprint toward the finish. After the second round Wednesday at Glens Falls Country Club, the State Amateur golf tournament reached its halfway mark, and by Thursday evening a champion should be crowned. The field began with 159 players and has been whittled down to the top 44, who will tackle a double round on Thursday in pursuit of the Ganson Depew Cup, a trophy symbolic of the state’s premier amateur golfer.
Among those still standing is Christian Chapman, who led after the first round and expanded his advantage to four strokes with a 2-under-par 69 in the second round. At 27, Chapman is a former professional who regained amateur status last year and now works for a wealth-management firm near Rochester. “I think there’s a really big advantage for me, not playing much anymore,” he said. “I feel fresher. Obviously, I work full-time, so this is a nice escape from golf. I won’t be upset if I lose. I’ll be disappointed, but my life doesn’t revolve around golf anymore. It did for a while, and now that that ship has sailed, this is just something to take a few PTO days for.”
Chapman was one of the few afternoon starters to finish under par, with several players who posted strong scores in the morning hoping to pounce Thursday if he falters. “I’m excited,” said Lucas Rizo-Patron, a Rye native bound for UCLA, who will begin the day alone in second. “I’m carrying my own bag, so I may pull a couple of clubs out to lighten the load.”
“It’s a long day tomorrow,” added Liam Maloney, the 2025 State Junior champion from Chester, who sits in third at 3 under. “Anything can happen. Guys can get hot. I can get hot. It’s going to be a long day, and I’m sure the course is going to play pretty hard.”
“That’s all I want, a chance,” said Jack Angelucci, 26, a New Hartford player whose best finish is a tie for fifth in 2024. “You’ve got 36 more holes, and you never know what’s going to happen. It’s a lot of good players in this field, but I’m just happy to have a chance.” Michael McConie, entering his senior year at Siena, is in the group tied for fourth, keeping pace with the leaders.
Locally, Brayden Dock, a Colgate junior-to-be, leads the group still in contention, tied for 14th after a steady round Wednesday that unraveled with a double bogey on the par-5 16th, moving him over par for the day. “It’s amazing that I made the cut,” said Dock, who shot 73 and sits 1 over for the tournament. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect this week. It’s tough. There’s a lot of pressure being at your home club, and you want to perform well for a lot of people. I’m happy I at least made it to the 36 on Thursday.”
The cut line settled at 6-over 148. Other locals set to play the final 36 on Thursday include Kellen Dean of McGregor (+2), Vinny Liguori of Edison (+4), Travis Deuel of Hiland Park (+5), Tanner LaTorre of eClub Capital Region (+5), Jason Urschel of Glens Falls (+6), and Mi—to be adjusted for SEO purposes—who will also contend with the demanding layout in the closing rounds.