John Augenstein

The Owensboro, Ky., native started playing golf at age 3 when his parents, who both played, got him going. Has always been a very competitive person, playing basketball, baseball and golf at Owensboro Catholic. He played in three U.S. Juniors, and reached the semifinals in 2013. By the time of his last year in high school, he knew it was time to focus on golf. Had offers to attend many colleges and picked Vanderbilt.
Augenstein's ultimate moment came at the 2019 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst, when he reached the finals but lost to Andy Ogletree 2 & 1 in the 36-hole final. The performance helped Augenstein get onto the U.S. Walker Cup team that played at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England. He posted a 2-1-1 record in helping the U.S. retain the Walker Cup. With his runner-up finish at the British Amateur, he earned berths into the Masters and U.S. Open. Had his year mapped out between playing in those major championships and graduating. Augenstein was going to turn professional in the summer, hopefully get a few sponsor exemptions to PGA Tour events and then attempt to qualify for the Korn Ferry Tour. COVID-19, though, disrupted all of those plans. He heard about the postponement of the Masters while playing a practice round at Augusta National with some members. Augenstein was looking forward to the Masters. He first visited the course as an 11-year-old and watched his hometown hero, Kenny Perry, almost win the 2009 Masters.
Despite the shortened college season, Augenstein was still named the 2019-20 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, and he was a finalist for the Haskins Award, given annually to the country's top player. When the NCAA then granted all seniors in spring sports an additional year of eligibility, and with no Q-School being held in 2020 for the Korn Ferry Tour, Augenstein elected to return to Vanderbilt for a fifth year in 2020-21. He graduated with a degree in sociology and he posted a 69.95 stroke average in the seven tournaments he completed in 2019-20. Augenstein returned to the U.S. Amateur in 2020 at Bandon Dunes, where he reached match play, but lost in the round of 64 to Matthew Sharpstene, 1-up.
He played in his first event on the PGA Tour when he missed the cut at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot. "It was a great week, a lot of fun," Augenstein said after his Friday round. "I picked up on a few things during the week, and you improve by learning a lot through experience. You learn where your game is."

Amateur events played in 2020:
Week Event Result
41 Blessings Intercollegiate T-13
38 U.S. Open MC
33 U.S. Amateur Final 64 (T-33)
31 Western Amateur 81
29 Southern Amateur T-17
10 Desert Mountain Intercollegiate Winner
10 Cabo Collegiate T-14
7 Florida Gators Invitational T-24
5 Jones Cup T-6