It's been a busy time in the local golf scene. In case you've missed it, here is a recap of a few things that have transpired on the links.

Justin Bardgett won the Missouri Amateur in rather astounding fashion at Winghaven. The University of Colorado golfer beat arguably the best player in the state by a shocking 8 and 6. Sources tell me that while Bardgett did play well, Berkmeyer didn't have his best game in the final. Nevertheless, this was a surprising turn of events for Berkmeyer as all of his previous matches were won by at least a 3 and 2 score. So to lose was amazing in itself and to have it done this way, no one could've seen it coming.

Men's District was held last week at the venerable Norwood Hills Country Club. For those who don't know, there are two rounds of stroke play and then a cut down to the top 16 for match play. The cut was made at 148 (+6), so the boys handled the speedy greens and difficult rough rather well. Leading the way were your Missouri Amateur finalists in Skip Berkmeyer with a seven under par 135 (68-67) at his home course and Justin Bardgett in second at 139 (73-66). Scott Thomas was a shot back after two 70's and a trio was at 141. For a complete look at the scores, go to www.stldga.com.

So the brackets were set and here is how the round of 16 shook out:

Skip Berkmeyer easily handled Scott Brant 5 and 4
Andrew Pranger defeated Scott Horton 4 and 2
Matt Hines beat Van Pierce 3 and 2
Matt Kopsky upset defending champ Dustin Ashby 4 and 2
Joe Timpone shocked Missouri Amateur Champ Justin Bardgett 2 up
Tom Barry beat Darren Lundgren in another upset 2 and 1
Annbriar stalwart Mitchell Gregson beat a hot Scott Thomas 3 and 2
And my buddy Ted Moloney fell to Wake Forest golfer Justin Bryant 2 up.

In the quarterfinals, Berkmeyer had a tough time holding off a hard-charging Andrew Pranger but finally beat him on the 20th hole. Matt Hines cruised over Matt Kopsky 5 and 4. Joe Timpone beat Tom Barry 2 up. Finally, Justin Bryant continued his strong play by defeating Mitchell Gregson in an upset.

So the semifinals were set with Skip Berkmeyer facing Matt Hines and Justin Bryant squaring off with Joe Timpone. And you'll have to wait until next week's article to find out how that shook out because at press time, they were still playing. Again, though, you can go to www.stldga.com to see the scores.

Finally, I will let you know next week how Bellerive is going to play as I'm getting a sneak peek Monday. I'll report back on the difficulty next week. I'm told by sources the rough is pretty brutal and the greens have been quite slow. Next week, I'll give an honest assessment of what the conditions are. And as always, I'll be brutally honest about my waning game.

Any questions, comments, or suggestions, feel free to email me at rpohrer@insidestl.com.