Sunday 20th August 2017
Final Results
Doc REDMAN came back from 2 Down with two holes to play to beat Doug GHIM in the 36 hole U.S. Amateur Final at Riviera Country Club.
Redman eagled the 17th and birdied the 18th to force extra holes. Ghim, presumably in shock, then made a mess of the tricky short par 4 10th, the 37th hole played, and having made a bogey conceded Redman his birdie putt and the Championship.
Doc Redman, 2017 U.S. Amateur Champion (Photo: USGA)
Click here to review the full Stroke Play Qualifying Match Play results – U.S. Amateur Championship Live Scoring
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Final Preview
Doug GHIM (21) will play Doc REDMAN (19) for the Havemeyer Trophy in today’s 36 hole U.S. Amateur Final at Riviera Country Club. The Final will tee off at 7.45am (3.45pm GMT).
The champion will also receive a Gold Medal, whilst the runner-up a Silver one.
Both finalists are now exempt in to the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills G.C. The champion will also be exempt in to the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links and can expect an invitation to play in the 2018 Masters at Augusta National G.C.
Finalists Doug Ghim (l) and Doc Redman (r) with the U.S. Open Trophy (Photo: USGA)
Both players are US College students; Ghim plays for the University of Texas and Redman for Clemson University.
Doug Ghim is ranked 1st in the SPWAR (updated as at 19/08/17) and 7th in the WAGR (as at 13/08/17). Ghim has enjoyed a very strong season and was already a very likely Walker cup pick for the U.S.A.
Doc Redman is ranked 7th in the SPWAR (as at 19/08/17) and 70th in the WAGR (as at 13/08/17). Redman has come on strong in the last few weeks. He was runner up in the Final of the Western Amateur a couple of weeks ago and has now backed it up with a great run at the U.S. Amateur. He must therefore be right in the Walker Cup picture too.
Sophia Schubert, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur last week also studies at Texas. Whilst I am sure Doug Ghim won’t be thinking too much about it never in the history of the USGA have their reigning men’s and women’s amateur champions attended the same College.
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Saturday 19th August 2017
Semi-Finals (4)
Doug GHIM (USA) beat Theo HUMPHREY (USA) 2&1
Mark LAWRENCE Jr (USA) lost by 1 hole to Doc REDMAN (USA)
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Friday 18th August 2017
Quarter Finals (8)
In a game where neither player was at their best Connor SYME eventually lost 2&1 to Doug GHIM (USA) in the Quarter Final match.
Connor was 5-over par for the 17 holes played, albeit a double bogey on the 16th hole makes this appear worse than it really was. A single birdie on the 8th only produced a half for the Scotsman and against an in form and confident Ghim this was unlikely to be enough.
In his post round interview with the USGA Connor said “I just didn’t quite have my best stuff today. I was grinding away as much as I could. It was a good Championship but I’m obviously disappointed to lose today.”
Nevertheless a great week for Connor and he can now positively look forward to the Walker Cup down the road at Los Angeles Country Club.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
Match Play Quarter Finals Qualifying Hole Locations (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
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Thursday 17th August 2017
PM – Match Play Round 3 (16)
Connor SYME beat Norway’s Kristoffer VENTURA by 1 hole in their Round of 16 match.
In the previous round Ventura beat Stroke Play medalist Hayden WOOD (USA) 3&2.
In a tight match it took a forty yard chip in on the 18th hole for Connor to come out on top.
What a way to close out a match. Connor Syme is in the #USAmateur quarterfinals. https://t.co/pQLfhrz145
— USGA (@USGA) August 17, 2017
Connor was 1-under par for the round and continues to play very well.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
After the round Connor spoke with Shane O’Donoghue on Fox Sports.
Watch @connor_syme‘s post round interview with @ShaneODonoghue on @FOXSports. https://t.co/7IJ2Nfy7q9
— Golf Bible (@GolfBible) August 18, 2017
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AM – Match Play Round 2 (32)
Connor SYME beat Ricky CASTILLO (USA) 4&3 in a very impressive performance. Teeing off at 7.25am Connor wasted little time in taking the lead, birdieing the 493 yard 1st. A sequence of birdies on holes 6, 7 and 8 put the Scotsman 4 Up and cruising. The match finished on the 15th with Connor -4 for the holes played and bogey free. Let’s hope he can maintain that kind of form for a little while longer.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
Robert MACINTYRE lost 3&1 to Dawson ARMSTRONG (USA) in their Round of 32 match. Robert made a great start – two birdies helping him into a 3Up lead after four holes. However, Armstrong, one of USA’s strongest players, won the 5th with a birdie before winning five holes in a row between the 7th and 11th to lead 3Up. Unfortunately he didn’t have to work too hard for this match turning run as MacIntyre bogeyed four of the five. The end of the line for Robert but he can take comfort in a good Championship which must surely have secured his GB&I Walker Cup place.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
Match Play Round 2 (32) & Round 3 (16) Qualifying Hole Locations (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
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Wednesday 16th August 2017 – Match Play Round 1 (64)
The day started badly for GB&I with Harry ELLIS losing out in the play-off on the famous short par 4 10th hole at Riviera Country Club. His double bogey 6 in the second group out sadly saw him fall out of contention quickly.
Some better news was to come when the Round of 64 started in earnest.
Connor SYME beat Maverick MCNEALY (USA) 2&1. Connor won his match around the turn, winning the 9th with a par, the 10th with a conceded eagle 2 and the 11th with a birdie 4. 3Up at this point he was able to see out the match, albeit bogeys on 13 and 14 gave McNealy some hope. However, the American then proceeded to bogey the short 160 yard 16th and after shared birdies on the par 5 17th the match was over. Connor finished 2-under for the 17 holes played.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
Fellow Scot Robert MACINTYRE then beat Cameron YOUNG (USA) by 1 hole. In what appears to have been a high class game our man from Oban had to be at his match play best to overcome Young who battled all the way to the finish line. Robert finished 2-under for the 18 holes played.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
In the final GB&I match to finish Jack SINGH BRAR lost by 3 & 1 to Joey VRZICH (USA). As can be seen from the scores below Jack had a bad day at the office, starting very poorly and not really improve. He finished 7-over par for the 17 holes played. Worryingly in the context of the forthcoming Walker Cup this is the second time in three weeks, following the English Amateur, that Jack has qualified easily in stroke play before falling to a relatively unknown player in the first round of match play.
Hole-by-Hole Scores (Photo: USGA Scoring)
Here are the hole locations for the Round of 64 Match Play at Riviera Country Club: –
Match Play Round 1 (64) Qualifying Hole Locations (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
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Tuesday 15th August 2017 – Stroke Play Round 2
Jack SINGH BRAR, Robert MACINTYRE and Connor SYME have all qualified for the Match Play Stage of the U.S. Amateur Championship.
Harry ELLIS will contest a 13 player for 8 spots play-off tomorrow morning to see if he can join them.
Here are the Round 2 GB&I scores from the U.S. Amateur Championship which started today.
GB&I Round 2 Scores (Photo: USGA US Amateur Scoring)
The Stroke Play Medalist was Hayden Wood who broke the U.S. Amateur Championship 36-hole qualifying record with a total of 131. Wood followed his 64 at Riviera with a 67 at Bel-Air to beat the 132 shot by Hank Kim (1994), Gregor Main (2011) and Bobby Wyatt (2012).
Wood said. “To play that way these last two days has been good. I like where my game is. I feel comfortable on this course (Riviera) and it fits my game. I am looking forward to it because the tournament starts tomorrow.”
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Monday 14th August 2017 – Stroke Play Round 1
Here are the Round 1 GB&I scores from the U.S. Amateur Championship which started today.
GB&I Round 1 Scores (Photo: USGA US Amateur Scoring)
Here are the hole locations for the 36 hole Stroke Play Qualifying at Riviera Country Club and Bel-Air Country Club: –
Stroke Play Qualifying Hole Locations (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
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Sunday 13th August 2017
The 117th U.S. Amateur Championship starts tomorrow in Los Angeles, California.
This year the championship is being staged at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades and Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.
Administered by the United States Golf Association (U.S.G.A.) the U.S. Amateur is the most important and prestigious competition in the amateur golf calendar.
Competition Format
On Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th August all of the contestants will play 36-holes of stroke play, one at Riviera and the other at Bel-Air.
The Top 64 qualifiers will then move forward to the match play stage of the competition. Ties for the last qualifying place will be resolved by a sudden death play-off.
18 hole match play rounds will then be played between Wednesday 16th and Saturday 19th, culminating in a 36-hole Championship Final on Sunday 20th August. Extra holes will be played to resolve any halved games.
2017 Field
A field of 312 players from 29 different countries will contest this year’s Championship.
251 players are from the U.S.A. with Australia (11) and Canada (7) the next best represented countries.
This year 100 (2015: 99) 36 hole Sectional Qualifying events were held in July across the USA, with one each in Canada and Mexico too.
The introduction of a European Sectional Qualifier, like the U.S.G.A. stage for the U.S. Open Championship, is long overdue. Perhaps it could be rolled into the South of England Open Amateur Championship ? Walton Heath have staged the U.S. Open one for many years so I am sure they would be pleased to extend their relationship with the U.S.G.A. further.
This year’s average competitor age is 22.39 (2016: 22.29).
The oldest player being George ZAHRINGER (64, b. 23rd April 1953), who successfully came through Sectional Qualifying and will be playing in his 19th U.S. Amateur.
The youngest Alec NACHMANN (15, b. 27th March 2002) will be one of three 15 year olds competing. One of them Karl VILIPS (AUS), who is certainly one to watch, turns 16 on 16th August.
There are nine GB&I players competing this year. There were 11 in 2016 at Oakland Hills.
Here is a list of them with their exemption category or sectional qualifying event noted: –
David BOOTE 22 (WAL) – QF 2016 U.S. Amateur, Top 50 WAGR 21/6/17
Harry ELLIS 21 (ENG) – 2017 Amateur Champion
Scott GREGORY 22 (ENG) – 2016 Amateur Champion, 2017 U.S. Open Qualifier, Top WAGR 21/6/17
Stuart GREHAN 24 (IRE) – Top 50 WAGR 21/6/17
Robert MACINTYRE 21 (SCO) – WAGR 21/6/17
Alfie PLANT 25 (ENG) – Top 50 WAGR 21/6/17
Jack SINGH BRAR 20 (ENG) – Qualifier at New City, New York (07/07/17)
Daniel SUTTON 21 (ENG) – Qualifier at Iowa City, Iowa (17/07/17)
Connor SYME 21 (SCO) – Top 50 WAGR 21/6/17
2017 Stroke Play Qualifying Draw
The draw for the 36-hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition was confirmed yesterday and can be viewed here – U.S. Amateur SP Draw
Interestingly the two Scots in the field, Robert MACINTYRE and Connor SYME, have been drawn together.
Host Courses
Riviera Country Club
7,284 yards, Par 70.
Opened 1927.
Designed by George C. Thomas and William P. Bell.
Riviera has hosted one U.S. Open (1948 Ben Hogan), two P.G.A. Championships (1983 Hal Sutton & 1995 Steve Elkington) and one U.S. Senior Open (1998 Hale Irwin) as well as serving as the perennial host of the US PGA Tour’s Northern Trust Open.
Riviera Country Club (Photo: California GOLF)
Bel-Air Country Club
6,785 yards, Par 70.
Opened 1926
Designed by George C. Thomas and William P. Bell, assisted by Jack Neville.
Bel-Air has previously hosted the U.S. Amateur (1976 Bill Sander) and 2004 U.S. Senior Amateur (2004 Mark Bemowski).
Bel-Air Country Club (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
Weather Forecast (as at 7.00pm 13th August 2017)
Stroke Play Stage
Mon 14th Aug – Sunny. Wind 8mph (N). Temp. Max. 26°C / Min 18°C.
Tues 15th Aug – Sunny. Wind 8mph (N). Temp. Max. 23°C / Min 17°C.
Match Play Stage
Weds 16th Aug – Sunny. Wind 7mph (N). Temp. Max. 25°C / Min 15°C.
Thurs 17th Aug – Sunny. Wind 7mph NW). Temp. Max. 27°C / Min 15°C.
Fri 18th August – Sunny. Wind 7mph (W). Temp. Max. 28°C / Min 16°C.
Sat 19th August – Sunny. Wind 7mph (NW). Temp. Max. 27°C / Min 17°C.
Sun 20th August – Sunny. Wind 7mph (NW). Temp. Max. 26°C / Min 17°C.
As one would expect in California in August the weather is expected to be perfect for golf all week.
UK Television Coverage
Sky Sports normally take the US television feed, via the Red Button, over the final weekend.
Prizes
The 2017 U.S. Amateur Champion will receive the following (assuming they remain amateur): –
a) A Gold Medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the ensuing year.
b) An exemption to play in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills G.C.
c) An exemption to play in the 2018 Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links.
d) An invitation to play in the 2018 Masters at Augusta National G.C.
e) An exemption to play in the 2018 – 2027 U.S. Amateurs; and no doubt
f) Invitations to play in a variety of PGA Tour and European Tour competitions.
A Silver Medal is awarded to the runner-up and Bronze Medals to the two losing semi-finalists.
The original silver Havemeyer Trophy was presented to the U.S.G.A. on March 1895 in honour of the Association’s first President Theodore A. Havemeyer. This was lost in a fire at Bobby Jones’ home club, East Lake, in 1925.
A new gold trophy was produced in 1926. This was retired in 1992 with a copy of the trophy being produced and passed from champion to champion ever since.
Sadly the original gold trophy was stolen from the USGA Museum in 2012 and has never been seen since.
The 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship
The 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship was played at Oakland Hills Country Club near Detroit.
Curtis LUCK (AUS) won beating Brad DALKE (USA) 6&4 in the 36-hole Championship match.
Curtis Luck (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
Alex SMALLEY (USA) earned medalist honours in the Stroke Play Qualifying. His 133 (-7) total came after two impressive rounds; a 65 on the North Course (NC), followed on Day 2 by a 68 on the tougher South Course (SC).
In the Stroke Play 56 players scored +1 or better to progress. A further 23 players finished with a +2 total and were required to participate in a sudden death play-off to determine the final 8 qualifiers.
Collectively Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) enjoyed a relatively successful Championship. Six of our players progressed to the Match Play Stage including one from each of the four home nations.
Here is a summary of the GB&I performances (in order of success): –
David BOOTE (WAL)
MP – Brad DALKE (USA) won 3&2 in the Quarter Finals.
SP – Tied 57th, SC 70 / NC 72 (+2)*
Sam HORSFIELD (ENG)
MP – Dylan MEYER (USA) won 19th hole in Round of 16.
SP – Tied 11th, NC 66 / SC 72 (-2)
Scott GREGORY (ENG)
MP – Nick CARLSON (USA) won 19th hole in Round of 32.
SP – Tied 6th, NC 69 / SC 68 (-3)
Connor SYME (SCO)
MP – Dylan MEYER (USA) won 2Up in Round of 64.
SP – Tied 30th, SC 70 / NC 70 (Ev)
Bradley MOORE (ENG)
MP – Dawson ARMSTRONG (USA) won 1Up in Round of 64.
SP – Tied 57th, NC 71 / SC 71 (+2)*
Jack HUME (IRE)
MP – Bryson NIMMER (USA) won 1Up in Round of 64.
SP – Tied 41st, SC 72 / NC 69 (+1)
Jack SINGH BRAR (ENG)
MP – Did Not Qualify
SP – Tied 80th, SC 71, NC 72 (+3)
Ewen FERGUSON (SCO)
MP – Did Not Qualify
SP – Tied 80th, NC 72, SC 71 (+3)
Robert MACINTYRE (SCO)
MP – Did Not Qualify
SP – Tied 99th, NC 68, SC 76 (+4)
Grant FORREST 23 (SCO)
MP – Did Not Qualify
SP – Tied185th, NC 73, SC 75 (+9)
Jamie BOWER (ENG)
MP – Did Not Qualify
SP – Tied 243rd, SC 74, NC 77 (+11)
* David BOOTE and Bradley MOORE both birdied the 11th in the Stroke Play Qualifying play-off to progress to the match play stage, holing putts of 20 and 45 yards respectively on the 465 yard par 4.
To review all of the U.S. Amateur Championship results click this link – 2016 U.S. Amateur Results
U.S. Amateur Championship History
The U.S. Amateur is the oldest golf championship in America and this will be its 117th playing.
It was first played in 1895, the winner being Charles B. Macdonald.
It has always been decided by match play save for an 8 year period between 1965 and 1972 when the winner was determined solely by stroke play.
Former US winners include Walter Travis (1900-01-03), Jerome Travers (1907-08-12-13), Bobby Jones (1924-25-27-28-30), Francis Ouimet (1914-31), W. Lawson Little (1934-35) Arnold Palmer (1954), Jack Nicklaus (1959-61), Deane Beman (1960-63), Lanny Wadkins (1970), Craig Stadler (1973), Mark O’Meara (1979), Hal Sutton (1980), Phil Mickelson (1990), Justin Leonard (1992), Tiger Woods (1994-95-96), Matt Kucher (1997), Ryan Moore (2004), Peter Uihlein (2010) and Bryson DeChambeau (2015).
British players have won the Championship on six occasions but just twice in the last 100 years – H.J. Whigham (1896-97), Findlay Douglas (1898), Harold Hilton (1911), Richie Ramsay (2006) and Matthew Fitzpatrick (2013).
Matthew Fitzpatrick (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
Italy’s Edoardo Molinari (2005) is the only player from the Continent of Europe to have lifted the Havemeyer Trophy.
Future U.S. Amateur Venues
2018 – Pebble Beach Golf Links, California.
2019 – Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, North Carolina.
2020 – Bandon Dunes, Oregon
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