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By Mark Gaughan

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. -- What looked like a leisurely cruise to victory turned into a marathon struggle for Anthony Delisanti, but he finally prevailed in the gloaming darkness Thursday night to claim the 102nd New York State Amateur championship at Yahnundasis Golf Club. 

Delisanti, the 22-year-old Sanborn native who just finished a stellar career at Valparaiso University, seized control of the tournament by shooting a course-record 64 on the second round. He entered the final 18 holes up by four shots, and his lead still was four with 12 holes to play. 

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But New York City’s John Hiller, who plays out of Westchester Country Club and who just finished his freshman year at Duke University, chased Delisanti down by firing a 6-under-par 65 on the final round. Both players finished 72 holes tied at 9-under-par 275.

An epic four-hole playoff ensued. After both made three straight pars, they moved to the 148-yard seventh hole at 8:47 p.m., with the last rays of twilight almost gone. In what seemed like a scene out of the movie “The Legend of Bagger Vance,” three vans were brought to the green to illuminate it with their headlights. Delisanti put his tee shot to 15 feet and he made par. Hiller missed the green a tad long and then missed a 10-foot putt for par. 

The title is a cap on Delisanti’s sensational amateur career. He won the NYS Junior Amateur in 2021, won two Missouri Valley Conference individual titles for Valparaiso and claimed a major amateur win last summer by winning the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island in a five-hole playoff. 

“I’ve been playing in NYSGA events since I was 10, 11 years old when I was a sub-junior,” Delisanti said. “This is the biggest event they host, and I’ve always wanted to etch my name on that trophy. It was pretty cool to be able to finally do that.”

Delisanti plans to turn pro soon. He will play in the Porter Cup amateur near Niagara Falls next week, then has a spot in the Korn Ferry Tour NVS Invitational in Chicago July 24-27. He hasn’t decided if he will play that one as an amateur or a pro. 

The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Hiller showed why he was the No. 1-ranked recruit in New York State last year, according to Junior Golf Scoreboard. Hiller made just one bogey over the last 40 holes of regulation. His big charge began with a birdie on his seventh hole Thursday afternoon (he started on No. 10). Then on his eighth hole, the 351-yard 17th, he landed his drive 325 yards, and it rolled down a slope 4 feet from the pin. The eagle putt put him six under par, just one off the lead. 

Then the tournament was delayed 90 minutes by rain. When Hiller got back on the course, he made a 40-foot putt to save par on No. 1, a 10-foot birdie on No. 2 and a 15-foot birdie on No. 3. 

All of a sudden, in the span of six holes, Delisanti went from four shots up to two shots down. Not that he was aware of it. 

“I texted my assistant coach at Valpo, Ron Gring, who’s my swing coach now and my mental coach, and I told him this is going to be the first event where I’m going to commit to not knowing a single thing about the leader board until I feel like I have to know,” Delisanti said. “I did a pretty good job of it. Someone texted me I was sleeping on the lead last night and I saw that text. I want to play my game.”

Delisanti rallied. On his back nine, he made birdie putts of 10 and 8 feet on Nos. 2 and 4, both par-4s. He made a 5-footer on the par-5 sixth. He needed every one of them, due to the brilliance of Hiller, who stuffed a 48-foot putt in off the flagstick for his final birdie on the par-3 seventh (his 70^th hole). 

“All day today he didn’t miss,” said Anthony Maglisco, who played with Hiller. “He had one bogey in 36 holes. It was ridiculous, unreal. He hits it miles for his size, and today he had the putter hot, and it was fun to watch.”

That Delisanti didn’t wilt was a testament to his unflappable demeanor. The 5-foot-10, 185-pounder also is known in the Buffalo district as a golfer-athlete.  He was a high school hockey star at Niagara-Wheatfield and has a hockey player’s physique.

Golf, however, always has been his main sport. 

On Delisanti’s first birthday, his grandfather, Anthony Ascioti, bought him a set of golf clubs -- a Walter Hagen driver, hybrid, 7-iron, 9-iron and putter. The family still has the clubs at home in Sanborn. Both of his grandfathers are avid golfers. His father, David, is a board of director for the Buffalo District Golf Association. His younger brother, R.J., plays golf at Mercyhurst. His cousin, Tyler, plays golf at the U.S. Military Academy.

“Everyone in my family has always told me you obviously want to play really good golf, but at the end of the day, it’s important to be a great person,” Delisanti said. “And everyone in my family has set that example. I’m super proud to put my name on the trophy for my family.”

Finishing third at 7-under 277 was 23-year-old James Allen, a Penn State product and member of Scarsdale Golf Club. He tied for second in 2024 and won the NYS Amateur in 2021. Fourth was Long Island’s Matthew Lowe at 5-under 279. Fifth at 3-under 281 was Rochester’s Chris Blyth, a 32-year-old former two-time runner-up.

This was the seventh time Yahnundasis served as host of the NYS Amateur, and it was its 16th time hosting a NYSGA event, dating back to 1932. However, the golfers faced a far different challenge than in 2007, the last time the NYS Amateur visited the Utica-area course. Yahnundasis, designed by legendary architect Walter Travis in 1922, underwent a massive restoration project over the past four years. About 1,000 trees were removed, similar to the much-publicized work done at Pennsylvania’s Oakmont Country Club, site of the U.S. Open last month. 

The result has been the opening up of spectacular vistas across the property, highlighting the dramatic elevation changes on the course and the impressive long fescue grasses that frame many holes. It’s a return to Travis’ original designs. Besides the aesthetic improvement, the changes have done wonders to promote firm, fast turf conditions and enhanced the element of wind on the course.

“It’s a lot different and there’s a lot less trees, but it’s great,” said John Duthie, who won the 2007 NYS Amateur. “You’ve got to think about your shots because it’s bouncing so much. You’ve got to plan way ahead, land it short, let it roll up there. When it’s so firm and the pins are in such little corners, you have to come in with shorter shots if you want to get it close. You’ve got to be close enough to the green so you’ve got a wedge to stop it. That’s the only way to score.”

“The open-air element is huge,” said Zach Vinal, Yahnundasis club professional. “The course is far windier than it was before. Looking at the original designs, I feel this is how it was meant to be.”