McCulla’s last chance turns out to be perfect chance to earn spot playing Bellerive

ROLLA, Mo. — The lure of Bellerive proved far too tempting for Alex McCulla to ignore.

So he withdrew from a qualifier for the Illinois State Amateur, paid to join the Missouri Golf Association and an extra origination fee for a spot in Monday’s Missouri State Amateur Last Chance Qualifier and trekked to Oak Meadow Country Club for 18 holes of do-or-die golf.

“If there was no return on the investment to get on Bellerive, I wouldn’t have been happy,” McCulla said.

Well, consider him giddy.

The Quincy native blistered the back nine at Oak Meadow, playing the final six holes in 4-under and posting a 5-under 65 to win the qualifier and a spot in the 115th Missouri Amateur Championship, which begins next Monday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.

“It’s probably one of the best feelings I’ve had leaving a course,” McCulla said.

McCulla, who will be a sophomore at Illinois State University, will be one of 144 golfers playing 36 holes over two days at the Missouri Am before the field is cut to the top 64 for match play. The two golfers who each win their first five matches will square off in a 36-hole finale June 25.

All of it will be played on the iconic Bellerive layout that has been home to three major championships — the U.S. Open in 1965 and the PGA Championship in 1992 and 2018.

McCulla has been there before — he and a college teammate played Bellerive last November.

“That was really fun, even when it was dormant,” McCulla said. “We both kind of agreed it might be the best layout we’ve seen. Top three for sure.”

Still, it won’t compare to playing one of the Midwest’s true golfing jewels when the fairways are watered and lush and the rough is thick and treacherous.

“I kept telling people if I could see that place in the summer it would be unreal,” McCulla said.

It’s why he took a chance on this last chance.

“When they say last chance, this is really the last chance,” McCulla said of the final qualifier in which four players from an 85-player field advanced to the Missouri Am. “I didn’t even get a first chance, so I was kind of at a disadvantage.”

However, he had the motivation.

“I came down and played a practice round, which wasn’t that enjoyable because it was like 109 degrees when I teed off,” McCulla said. “But I was focused on what I wanted. So I spent a lot of time out there (Monday). I just kept thinking of Bellerive. That’s what got me through my day.”

When Tuesday came, he was ready.

“I woke up this morning and thought, ‘This isn’t going to be easy at all,’” McCulla said. “Obviously, there was some risk there, but I was ready.”

He opened with a birdie on the par-4 first hole and rebounded from a bogey on the par-3 third by making birdie at No. 4. He finished the front nine at 1-under 33 and started the back nine with three consecutive pars.

A birdie on the par-4 13th got McCulla rolling, and two of his final three birdies came on par-5s. 

“I knew I was going to have to get after it,” McCulla said. “I liked the way I played.”

The end result was as good as it gets.

“I’m truly excited to play Bellerive,” McCulla said. “This is what I wanted.”