Chris Kovach (Old Hickory Golf Club) survived two rain delays to capture his fourth St. Louis District Golf Association (STLDGA) Griesedieck Men’s Championship as the 37-year-old slipped past Justin Bryant (St. Louis Country Club) 1-up at The Legends Country Club in Eureka, Mo. on Sunday, July 19. Chad Niezing (Meadowbrook Country Club) took medalist honors as the leader through the first two days of stroke play.
“It’s crazy winning it four times,” Kovach said. “Winning the first one was the biggest thing. It got me going … it’s been 11 years since. It’s such a hard tournament, just making the cut is stressful.
“Once you make the cut, they’re all great players. Any match you have is going to be tough, no matter who you’re playing. It’s been a hot week, a long week. It’s just a grind.”
Kovach liked the way he’s been performing, “Been hitting it well, driving it well, tearing up the par-5s all week, taking advantage of those, playing even on the rest and just getting the job done.”
Play was halted during the third hole of the match play championship round for an hour and 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the temperature cooled into the 80s, but the humidity sky-rocketed as the course absorbed a half-inch of rain in a 30-minute period.
Kovach described dealing with the weather delays as not a big deal. “Just trying to stay loose,” the Truman State alum said. “It was kind of a nice break, because it was so hot and stressful out there. Watched the end of the British Open and listened to the members’ chatter.”
Seeking his second Griesedieck title, Bryant was 1-up after the first hole, but found trouble in the left sand trap near the green on Hole 4, and Kovach evened the match.
Kovach took his first lead with a birdie on the sixth hole, but then 3-putted on No. 7 as Bryant drew even. It stayed that way until the 13th hole, where Bryant 3-putted to hand the advantage back to Kovach, who would not relinquish that edge. Both players found the water on the left at the 14th fairway, but neither could take advantage of his opponent’s miscue.
Bryant’s best opportunity to draw even vanished on the 15th when his birdie putt rimmed the cup, but didn’t fall. Light rain again began falling during the 16th hole, and a deluge during the 17th sent both players scrambling for umbrellas and rain gear. One stroke into the final hole, the horns sounded again to retreat to the clubhouse.
Coming out of the 20-minute break, Bryant had a 4-foot putt to send the competition to a 19th hole, but the putt slid left, and Kovach was ready to lift the trophy once again. “I felt good, comfortable and confident,” Kovach maintained. “It was just hard battling the heat.”
Kovach thought the greens were challenging along with the conditions featuring a heat warning for the metro area throughout the weekend. “Just came off Old Warson last weekend, which has the slickest greens in town,” he stated. “They were slower than what we’re normally used to. It was hard to get your brain to adjust.
“With the pin placements, there were a handful in each round that if you didn’t have perfect position, you had no chance of making a putt.”
The trophy showdown was set by Sunday morning’s semifinals where Kovach outlasted Niezing in 19 holes. Niezing was 3-up through four holes but couldn’t maintain that lead. Kovach eventually tied it on the 12th hole, only to see Niezing again go 1-up on the 13th. Kovach again tied it on the 15th.
“We’ve played a bunch head-to-head, he’s gotten me and I’ve gotten him,” Kovach said about Niezing and described the extra hole. :”We went to hole one. I hit a good drive, and he didn’t. He hit it up to wedge distance, and I left it in the bunker. He hit it to 6-feet, and I hit it to 12-feet. Then I made mine, and he missed his. I felt good on the hole, and then I didn’t. It was back-and-forth.
“It’s always a battle with Chad. He’s won the state amateur two times. He’s made the final eight there, I don’t know how many times in the past decade. He’s a bulldog, never gives up and hits clutch shots. You always have to step up against him.
Bryant shaded Bubba Cunningham (Bellerive Country Club) 3 & 2. Bryant started quickly by going 3-up through six holes. Cunningham sliced the lead to one stroke on the 13th, but the Wake Forest alum responded by winning at 14 and 16 to secure the finals berth.
The championship is open to all district members with a handicap index of 5.0 or lower.Two days of stroke-play cut to the low 16 qualified for match play on Saturday and Sunday. All that qualified for match play automatically qualified for The Jim Jackson Invitational at Algonquin Golf Club in October.
SATURDAY – Match Play
Saturday morning’s match play paired proven championship caliber competitors:
2018 runner-up Chad Niezing (Meadowbrook Country Club) ousted reigning 2025 champion Alex Cusumano (Norwood Hills Country Club) 3 & 2. There has not been a repeat champion since Kovach in 2018 and 2019. Niezing was 3-up through six holes, and Cusumano’s bogeys on 12, 14 and 15 prevented him from making a push.
Drew Pranger (Glen Echo Country Club) and Ben Gelven (Glen Echo Country Club) were even through 18, but Pranger prevailed in one playoff hole.
Chris Kovach eliminated Chad Hull (Lake Forest Golf & Country Club) 5 & 4.Hull’s chances sank with bogeys on holes four and five along with a double bogey on hole seven.
2021 Medalist Sam Migdal (St. Louis Country Club) topped Joey Friedel (Łąkę Forest Golf & Country Club) 3 & 2. Migdal rolled in seven birdies, while Friedel’s round was plagued with five bogeys and two double bogeys.
Owen Walther (Norwood Hills Country Club) beat Ryan Eckelkamp (Franklin County Country Club) 4 & 2. Eckelkamp couldn’t buy a birdie, while Walther holed four birds to pull away.
2025 Medalist Bubba Cunningham (Bellerive Country Club) defeated five-time champion Skip Berkmeyer (The Legends Country Club) 4 & 3. Chapman and Berkmeyer were tied through eight, but Chapman birdied hole nine and collected three more at holes 10, 14 and 15 to send the STLDGA legend home.
2022 champion Justin Bryant held off Brian Lovett (Bellerive Country Club) 3 & 2. Bryant started fast, going 4-up through six holes. Lovett scrambled back within two at the 15th, but Bryant’s birdie on 16 ended it.
Zach Kratofil (Glen Echo Country Club) advanced when Bryan Bohme (Meadowbrook Country Club) withdrew.
In Saturday afternoon’s quarterfinal round, Niezing slipped past Pranger 1-up. Pranger was 3-up through 11, but Niezing gained strokes on four of the next five holes to grab the win.
Kovach knocked out Migdal 5 & 4 by going 5-up through the front nine and coasted home.
Chapman dominated Walther by surging to 5-up through six holes. Migdal rallied briefly to get within three through nine, but Chapman responded by gaining strokes on holes 10 and 11 to secure victory.
Kraftofil wasn’t able to take advantage of having the morning off as Bryant bolted to a 4-up advantage through nine and then gained strokes on holes 10 and 11 to go 6-up and prevent any thoughts of a dramatic rally.
THURSDAY/FRIDAY – Stroke Play
Chad Niezing (Meadowbrook Country Club) compiled two steady rounds of stroke play to take medalist honors and the No. 1 seed heading to match play. Niezing posted a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday, July 16 and followed that with a solid 2-under-par 70 on Friday.
Ryan Eckelkamp (Franklin County Country Club), who was tied at 3-under with Niezing after first round play, shot a 71 on Friday to finish one stroke behind Niezing.
Five-time champion Skip Berkmeyer (The Legends Country Club) raced out to the first day lead with a 6-under par 66. Berkmeyer roared out of the gate with four birdies in the first eight holes and completed his bogey-free round with birdies on 16 and 17. Berkmeyer appeared to be on his way to another stellar round Friday with birdies on holes one and five, but was undone by bogeys on six and nine followed by a double bogey on 10. A bogey on 15 and another double bogey on 18 saw Berkmeyer finish 1-under-par, but still in the match play round.
Chris Kovach (Old Hickory Golf Club), Joey Friedel (Łąkę Forest Golf & Country Club) and Justin Bryant (St. Louis Country Club) all were 2-under-par. Drew Pranger (Glen Echo Country Club) and Bryan Bohme (Meadowbrook Country Club) were tied with Berkmeyer at 1-under.
The Legends Country Club is built into the rolling hills of Eureka, Missouri and features 335 acres of golf course with activities for the whole family. The Country Club features 18 holes of championship golf built and designed by Robert Trent Jones Sr. in 1989 and 9 holes of golf built and designed by Gary Kern in 1994.