Pierceson COODY (USA), a Freshman at the University of Texas and the grandson of 1971 Masters Champion Charles Coody, won the 2018 South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) with a 272 (-11) total.
The pre-tournament weather forecast suggested conditions would be challenging for the 210 players in the field, particularly on Days 2 and 3 when very strong winds were expected. That certainly proved to be the case with winds of 25mph gusting to 50 mph recorded.
Coody made a solid start to the competition with a 67 (-3) at Normandy Shores (NS) on Day 1 before backing it up with a joint best of the day 67 (-4) at Miami Beach (MB). However, the SBIA was won in Round 3. Benefitting from his late tee time and the subsequent suspension of play due to the high winds he was able to complete his third round in the calmer conditions of this morning. His 64 (-7) at Miami Beach, which included eight birdies, was four shots better than any other player managed.
Despite taking a 6 shot lead into the final round a fast finishing Manuel TORRES (VEN) made the Texan sweat. Torres, who studies at the nearby Lynn University, shot an impressive 33 on the back nine for a 66 (-5) but was left rueing a final hole bogey.
Coody played the front nine in Round 4 in even par but started to leak oil on the back side. When he also bogeyed the last he was left signing for a 74 (+3) and relieved to hear he had secured a narrow one shot victory.
Ranked 183rd in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR) at the start of the week Coody now sits 40th after the biggest win of his career.
Jake BURNAGE (ENG) was our leading performer, finishing a clear 3rd on 275 (-8). Jake shot a 64 (-6) at Normandy Shores on Day 1 to share the lead before playing very consistently throughout the remainder of the tournament; rounds of 70, 70 and 71 at Miami beach testament to that.
I assume all of those rounds on the exposed links of Saunton G.C. came in useful when the wind started to blow in South Florida. With six birdies on his card in Round 4 and Torres’ late run he probably feels a little frustrated not to have been closer to the win and certainly the runner-up spot.
Nevertheless this is notable result for Jake who now sits 44th in the SPWAR. Just a handful of points behind Harry Hall amortisation over the next few days may still see him finish as GB&I’s leading golfer by the year end. Not a bad place to be going into a Walker Cup year.
Jake Burnage at Miami Beach G.C. (Photo: Burnage Family)
Fellow Englishmen Jake BOLTON 71 NS, 70 MB, 74 and 69 (+1) finished tied 21st and Joe PAGDIN 68 NS, 73 MB, 74 and 71 (+3) was tied 26th.
The two other GB&I players to make the cut found the going harder over the final two rounds finishing tied 62nd on +10. Max MARTIN recorded rounds of 66 NS, 75 MB, 80 and 72 and Ben JONES, who finished tied 2nd last year, 71 NS, 71 MB, 74 and 77.
74 players made the 36 hole cut on Thursday which fell at 144 (+3) with each competitor having played a round at Miami Beach G.C. (par 71) and Normandy Shores G.C. (par 70).
The remaining GB&I players in the field all missed the cut: –
145 (+4) Sam ROOK (ENG) – 71 NS 74 MB Charlie THORNTON (ENG) – 71 NS 74 MB David LANGLEY (ENG) – 68 NS 77 MB
146 (+5) Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) – 71 NS 75 MB Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) – 67 NS 79 MB Michael YOUNG (IRE) – 75 MB 71 NS
The 8th South Beach International Amateur (SBIA) will be played between 19th – 22nd December 2018 in Miami Beach, Florida.
First played in 2011 it has within a few years become one of the world’s leading amateur golf competitions.
It has always attracted an International field and many of Europe’s leading amateurs will again be competing this year.
Format
The SBIA is a 72 hole stroke play competition played over four days.
18 holes are played at both Miami Beach G.C. and the nearby Normandy Shores G.C. over the first two days. Tee times between 7.30am and 12.19 pm (GMT -5 hrs).
After a top 72 and ties cut the final 36 holes are played exclusively at Miami Beach over the remaining two days.
Players
A field of 210 players have paid the $385 entry fee and will contest the 2018 SBIA.
In 2017 the SBIA was ranked 5th in terms of field quality by the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR). Only the U.S. Amateur (1st), The Amateur (2nd), Western Amateur (3rd) and NCAA Division I National (4th) were stronger. It is likely to be 6th in 2018 as the World Amateur Team has been played this year too.
A review of the 2018 entries suggests it will retain its status after this latest edition.
Historically around 50% of the field has been drawn from overseas with as many as 30 countries represented.
This year the highest ranked player competing is Tyler STRAFACI (USA) who is 19th in the SPWAR. Floridian Tyler is a junior at Georgia Tech. He was medalist at the 2017 U.S. Amateur, qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open and reached the semi-finals of the 2018 Western Amateur.
There are 19 golfers from Great Britain & Ireland (GB&I) playing this year. The previous highest number was 13 in 2014. I’ve listed them all below with their current SPWAR: –
Bradley BAWDEN (ENG) #404 Jake BOLTON (ENG) #483 Jake BURNAGE (ENG) #121 Enrique DIMAYUGA (ENG) #2,949 Conor GOUGH (ENG) #338 John GOUGH (ENG) #267 Ben JONES (ENG) #123 David LANGLEY (ENG) #140 Eoin LEONARD (IRE) #295 Maxwell MARTIN (ENG) #1,053 Tom MCKIBBIN (N.I.) #1,067 Daniel O’LOUGHLIN (ENG) #191 Joe PAGDIN (ENG) #321 Thomas PLUMB (ENG) #136 Conor RICHARDS (ENG) #1,558 Sam ROOK (ENG) #510 Charlie THORNTON (ENG) #609 Robin WILLIAMS (ENG) #199 Michael YOUNG (IRE) #2,526
This event starts the countdown for me to the 2019 Walker Cup match and a high finish in Miami this week will certainly be rankings enhancing and lay down a nice early marker to the GB&I selectors.
In 2017 Ben JONES was our leading finisher, securing tied 2nd with an impressive -12 total. Harry HALL (ENG) -7 was tied 10th and Joe PAGDIN -4 tied 19th.
Both courses were designed by Arthur Hills and play to around 6,800 yards.
They are typical Florida layouts with numerous lakes coming into play throughout the 18 holes. As a result scores can be high if the wind blows – which it often does.
Normandy Shores plays to a par of 70 and Miami Beach a par of 71 during the SBIA.
Weather Forecast
As one would expect the weather forecast looks generally good for the duration of the competition, albeit strong winds are expected to move around from day to day.
Wed 19th Dec. – Sunny / Wind 13 mph SE / Temp. Min. 20°C, Max. 27°C. Thur 20th Dec – Thundery Showers PM / Wind 24 mph S / Temp. Min. 20°C, Max. 29°C. Fri 21st Dec – Sunny / Wind 28 mph W / Temp. Min. 11°C / Min 22°C. Sat 22nd Dec – Sunny / Wind 11 mph NW / Temp. Min. 8°C / Max. 21°C.
Viktor HOVLAND (NOR) beat Devon BLING (USA) 6&5 in the 36-hole Final of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Viktor Hovland (Photo: USGA)
The Final was effectively won around the turn on the first 18 holes when Hovland won four holes in a row. Bling bogeying 8, 9 and 10 before Hovland birdied 11. The Californian battled to the end but was always unlikely to recover such a deficit against the in form Norwegian.
Hovland is just the second Continental European to win the U.S. Amateur. Edoardo Molinari (ITA) won in 2005 at Merion Golf Club, besting Dillon Dougherty (USA) 4&3 in the Final.
Devon BLING (USA) beat Isaiah SALINDA (USA) by 1 Hole to win the first Semi-Final.
Devon will play Viktor HOVLAND (NOR) in tomorrow’s Final after the Norwegian overcame Cole HAMMER (USA) 3&2 in the other match.
Match Play Semi-Finals Results (Photo: USGA)
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Friday 17th August 2018
Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) lost 3&2 to Cole HAMMER (USA) in their Quarter Final match.
Cole (18), arguably the best amateur golfer in the world at the moment, came into this week having already won the Azalea Invitational, the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball (with partner Garrett Barber) and most impressively the Western Amateur Championship this season. He starts his college career at the University of Texas in September and is certainly one to watch.
After the match Cole said to the U.S.G.A.: “I think when I won the Azalea earlier this year, when I came out on top in a playoff against Hugo Bernard and Joe Pagdin, I felt like I belonged in amateur golf rather than just in junior golf. Actually even before that, last year at the Jones Cup, I came in third, and that’s a pretty solid finish for 17 [years old]. But this whole year has gradually been a rise to the confidence that I have now.”
As can be seen from the hole-by-hole scores below this was a hard fought contest with both players in good form. Cole was -3 for the holes played and Alex -2.
C. Hammer v. A. Fitzpatrick Match Play Quarter Final Scores (Photo: USGA)
Fitzpatrick (19) can now look forward to starting his freshman season at Wake Forest in September with renewed confidence knowing he belongs at this level.
As this year’s eight quarter finalists each earn an exemption into the 2019 U.S. Amateur he can at least take solace in the fact he has also punched his ticket for next year’s U.S. Amateur already.
Europe’s other representative Viktor HOVLAND (NOR) continues to impress. Following his second successive 7&6 win the Oklahoma State player appears to be the man to beat. In beating Austin SQUIRES (USA) he won seven consecutive holes (2-8) and equalled the largest margin of victory in an 18 hole Quarter Final record.
Here are the full results from the Quarter Finals: –
Match Play Quarter Finals Results (Photo: USGA)
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Thursday 16th August 2018
Match Play Round 3
For the second time on Thursday Alex FITZPATRICK required extra holes to get the win.
This time McClure MEISSNER was beaten on the 19th Hole. As with this morning’s round Alex bogeyed the par 3 17th to put himself under pressure. After three putting the 18th for a 6 and a fortunate half it was great to see the Yorkshireman birdie the 1st extra hole to end the match. 39 holes in a day is more than enough for anyone.
Mesissner is not someone I have heard too much about but having beaten both Brad DALKE and John AUGENSTEIN in the previous rounds he was clearly playing very well.
A. Fitzpatrick v. M. Meissner Match Play Round 3 Scores (Photo: USGA)
Speaking to the U.S.G.A. after the match Alex was understandably delighted to have made the Quarter finals: “It means a lot. This tournament has been something I’ve really wanted to get in from the start of the year. I’ve worked pretty hard to get in this, and it’s nice to actually play good golf when I get here. I didn’t expect to even qualify for the stroke play, so sort of each match getting further and further is getting more exciting, and as I said, if I was to get knocked out, I still wouldn’t be disappointed because I’ve had a great week.”
In the all-Norwegian match up Viktor HOVLAND beat Kristoffer REITAN 7&6 in a surprisingly one sided game.
Here are the full Round 3 results: –
Match Play Round 3 Results (Photo: USGA)
Match Play Round 2
It was a close run thing but Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) finally overcame Jesus MONTENEGRO (ARG) in a tight match on the 20th Hole.
Alex pared the par 5 18th to draw level before Montenegro bogeyed the 2nd extra hole to allow the man from Sheffield to progress.
A. Fitzpatrick v. J. Montenegro Match Play Round 2 Scores (Photo: USGA)
The two other remaining Europeans in the draw are Viktor HOVLAND and Kristoffer REITAN and sadly for Norwegian fans they will play each other in the penultimate game of this afternoon’s series.
Here are the full Round 2 results from Pebble Beach: –
Match Play Round 2 Results (Photo: USGA)
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Wednesday 15th August 2018
Match Play Round 1
Harry HALL (ENG) lost by 1 Hole to Stewart HAGESTAD (USA). Stewart, the mid-amateur selection for the 2017 U.S.A. Walker Cup team, came into the match full of confidence after recording the lowest qualifying round; a bogey free 66 in his Rd 2 at Pebble Beach yesterday. In a tight match where neither player led by more than one hole Stewart just came out on top.
S. Hagestad v. H. Hall – Match Play Round 1 Scores (Photo: USGA)
Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) beat Ian SIEBERS (USA) 2&1. Ian handed control of the match to Alex with four bogeys in the first six holes and Alex was good enough to see it out from there. The draw was perhaps favourable to Alex but the match still had to be won. Whilst Ian shot a 68, including 7 birdies, at Pebble Beach in Stroke Play Round 2 and qualified strongly in 7th place he is just 16 years old and therefore inexperienced at this level.
I. Siebers v. A. Fitzpatrick – Match Play Round 1 Scores (Photo: USGA)
After a birdie on the opening hole Eoin LEONARD (IRE) appeared to lose his way on the famous cliff top holes that end Pebble Beach’s front nine, effectively handing the match to Kristoffer REITAN (NOR) with a sequence of bogeys. Reitan is an experienced international player ranked 44th in the SPWAR so there was certainly no shame in losing to him for the in-form Irishman.
K. Reitan v. E. Leonard – Match Play Round 1 Scores (Photo: USGA)
Here are the complete Round 1 results: –
Match Play Round 1 Results (Photo: USGA)
Medalist Daniel HILLIER (NZL) safely overcame play-off winner Jacob BERGERON (USA) 3&2.
The main upsets in Round 1 fell in the lower half of the draw which potentially could be good news for Alex Fitzpatrick. Braden THORNBERRY (USA), Collin MORIKAWA (USA) and Justin SUH (USA), all ranked in the SPWAR’s top 10, lost their games. Brad DALKE (USA), runner-up to Curtis Luck in 2016, and highly rated Junior Akshay BHATIA (USA) also lost in this part of the draw.
24-For-1 Play-Off
The sudden death play-off for the 64th and final Match Play spot started at 7.30am (3.30pm BST) on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach. The hole was set at 208 yards for the play off with the flag tucked on the back left hand side of the green.
The play-off was televised in full by the U.S.G.A. and streamed on Facebook and Twitter.
Unsurprisingly given the hole set up and circumstances just two players made birdie on the par 3 from the 24 who were competing. They were Jacob BERGERON (USA), the 12th to tee off, and Peter KUEST (USA), the 24th and last.
Both Bergeron and Kuest then hit great drives into the fairway on 18, the next play-off hole. Unfortunately at that point things went crazy. Bergeron mis-hit his lay up right blocking himself out behind the big tree in front of the green whilst Kuest, going for the green, hooked his approach into the Pacific. To cut a long story short Bergeron ended up winning the hole with a 6 with Kuest could only manage an 8.
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Tuesday 14th August 2018
63 players on +3 or better secured places in the Match Play Stage of the U.S. Amateur championship today.
A further 24 players on +4 will play-off tomorrow morning on Pebble Beach’s 17th hole to determine who takes up the final qualifying spot.
Stroke Play Qualifying Results Summary (Photo: USGA)
Daniel HILLIER (NZL) secured medalist honours from Cole HAMMER (USA) after both finished on 137 (-6). Daniel edged Cole on Pebble Beach count back. Both played the lead venue on Day 1 with Daniel recording a 67 (-4) to Cole’s 69 (-2).
As expected after Day 1 only Eoin LEONARD (IRE) on 145 +2 [74 SH / 71PB], Harry HALL (ENG) 146 +3 [72 PB / 74 SH] and Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) 146 +3 [72 PB / 74 SH] qualified from the seven strong Great British and Irish contingent.
Eoin qualified in some style. Standing at +5 after 27 holes he needed something special on Pebble Beach’s front nine to make the cut. Thankfully he was able to deliver a 32 including an eagle and two birdies to qualify comfortably.
Eoin Leonard’s Front 9 Scorecard At Pebble Beach (Photo: USGA)
Eoin has been seeded 43rd, Alex 56th and Harry 52nd for the Match Play Stage based on their qualifying scores.
Norway’s Kristoffer REITAN Ev T19 and Viktor HOVLAND +1 T24 were the only other European qualifiers. Fred LACROIX (FRA) +4 T64 has the opportunity to make it 8 European qualifiers as he is one of the players contesting tomorrow morning’s 23-for-1 play-off.
Whilst Matthew JORDAN (ENG) 148 +5 [77 SH / 71 PB], Todd CLEMENTS (ENG) 148 +5 [78 SH / 70 PB], Robin DAWSON (IRE) 150 +7 [76 SH / 74 PB] and Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) 150 +7 [78 SH / 72PB] all produced improved scores at Pebble Beach in Round 2 they had simply left themselves too much to do after struggling at the tough Spyglass Hill on Day 1.
Amateur champion Jovan REBULA (RSA) also missed out on with a 148 +5 [76 SH / 72 PB].
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Monday 13th August 2018
Daniel HILLIER (NZL) and Trevor PHILLIPS (USA) lead the Stroke Play Qualifying competition at the US Amateur Championship at the end of Day 1.
Hillier, 19, shot a 67 (-4) at Pebble Beach which included 5 birdies and an eagle.
Phillips, 20, recorded a 68 (-4) at Spyglass Hill which included 6 birdies, 4 on an unblemished back 9.
Recent winners in the U.S. Isaiah SALINDA (USA) -3 (PB) 3rd, Cole HAMMER (USA) -2 (PB) T4, Akshay BHATIA (USA) -1 (PB) T12 and Michael THORBJORNSEN (USA) -1 (PB) T12 have all clearly brought their form to California.
Hammer is 18, whilst Bhatia and Thorbjornsen are just 16. All three are amongst the favourites this week.
Norway’s Kristoffer REITAN -1 (SH) T12 and Viktor HOVLAND Ev (PB) T28 are the leading European entrants after Round 1.
As you can see from the table below it was a generally disappointing day for the Great British and Irish players. Harry HALL, Alex FITZPATRICK and Eoin LEONARD now have the best chance of making the top 64 Match Play Stage. The other players will need something very special on day 2 to progress where the cut can now be expected to fall at +2 or +3 based on the first round scores.
Amateur champion Jovan REBULA (RSA) also has a lot of work to do if he is to progress.
Stroke Play Qualifying Round 1 Scores Summary (Photo: USGA)
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Sunday 12th August 2018
The 118th U.S. Amateur Championship starts tomorrow in Pebble Beach, California.
This year the championship is being staged at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
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 13th and Tuesday 14th August all of the contestants will play 36-holes of stroke play, one at Pebble Beach and the other at Spyglass Hill.
The Top 64 qualifiers will then progress 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 15th and Saturday 18th, culminating in a 36-hole Championship Final on Sunday 19th August. Extra holes will be played to resolve any halved games.
2018 Field
A field of 312 players from 24 (2017: 29) different countries will contest this year’s Championship.
261 players are from U.S.A. with Canada (10) and Australia (8) the next best represented countries.
This year 96 (2017: 100) 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, remains long overdue.
This year’s average competitor age is 22.59 (2017: 22.39).
The oldest player will be Paul SIMSON (67, b. 10th May 1951) and the youngest Gaven LANE (14, b. 16th June 2004).
2015 Walker Cup player Mike McCOY will be making his 19th appearance in the Championship.
Denmark’s Nicolai HØSGAARD has chosen not to take up his exemption that came with his European Amateur Championship win at Royal Hague in late June. He is instead playing in the Boys’ Amateur Championship in Northern Ireland, aiming to secure his spot on Europe’s Junior Ryder Cup team.
There are 7 GB&I players competing. There were 9 in 2017 and 11 in 2016 at Riviera and Oakland Hills respectively.
Here is a list of the GB&I players with their exemption category or Sectional Qualifying event noted: –
Todd CLEMENTS (ENG) – Top 50 WAGR 27/6/18
Robin DAWSON (IRE) – Top 50 WAGR 27/6/18
Alex FITZPATRICK (ENG) – Top 50 WAGR 27/6/18
Harry HALL (ENG) – Qualifier at Santa Rosa, California (23/07/17), 68 66 (-10) 1st.
Matthew JORDAN (ENG) – GB&I Walker Cup 2017 and Top 50 WAGR 27/6/18
Eoin LEONARD (IRE) – Qualifier at Westfield, New Jersey (16/07/17), 67 70 (-5) 1st.
Gian-Marco PETROZZI (ENG) – Top 50 WAGR 27/6/18
2018 Stroke Play Qualifying Draw
The draw for the 36-hole Stroke Play Qualifying competition can be viewed here – U.S. Amateur Tee Times
California is 8 hours behind us so much of the action will take place overnight.
Matthew JORDAN and Robin DAWSON are in the same threesome. They will tee off at 8.01am (1st) at Spyglass on Day 1 and 1.16pm (10th) at Pebble Beach on Day 2.
Host Courses
Pebble Beach Golf Links
7,039 yards, Par 71.
Opened in 1919.
Designed by Jack Neville & Douglas Grant (1919) / Herbert Fowler (1920) / H. Chandler Egan (1928) / Jack Nicklaus (1998) / Arnold Palmer & Thad Layton (2007-2016).
Pebble Beach famously enjoys nine holes perched on the cliffs above the Pacific and is one of the world’s finest courses. An occasional criticism is that the poa-annua greens can be bumpy in the morning and late afternoon.
This will be the 12th U.S.G.A. Championship Pebble beach has staged. It has hosted four previous U.S. Amateurs; in 1929, 1947, 1961 and 1999, the latter won by David Gossett.
Pebble Beach Golf Links (Photo: Bart Keagy)
Spyglass Hill Golf Course
7,049 yards, Par 72.
Opened in 1966.
Designed by Robert Trent Jones (1966) / Tom Fazio (R. 1996).
Spyglass starts with five opening holes set in sand dunes near to the Pacific coast before moving inland to more challenging holes amongst the Monterey pine covered hills. A top rated course in the U.S. many commentators believe it to be nearly as good as Pebble Beach.
Spyglass co hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1999 alongside Pebble Beach.
3rd Hole, Spyglass Hill Golf Course (Photo: Pebble Beach Company)
Weather Forecast (as at 11.00pm 12th August 2018)
A cool spell of weather is forecast for next week with playing conditions expected to be virtually identical on each day.
Stroke Play Stage
Mon 13th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 17°C / Min 12°C.
Tues 14th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 17°C / Min 13°C.
Match Play Stage
Weds 15th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 17°C / Min 13°C.
Thurs 16th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 19°C / Min 12°C.
Fri 17th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 20°C / Min 14°C.
Sat 18th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 22°C / Min 14°C.
Sun 19th August – Sunny. Wind 8mph (W). Temp. Max. 20°C / Min 14°C.
UK Television Coverage
Sky Sports will be taking the Fox U.S. television feed, via the Red Button, over the final match play weekend.
Prizes
The 2018 U.S. Amateur Champion will receive the following: –
a) A Gold Medal and custody of the Havemeyer Trophy for the following year;
and assuming they remain amateur
b) An exemption to play in the 2019 U.S. Open coincidentally to be staged at Pebble Beach Golf Links;
c) An exemption to play in the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club;
d) An invitation to play in the 2019 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club;
e) An exemption to play in the 2019 – 2028 U.S. Amateurs; and
f) Various invitations to play in PGA Tour and European Tour events.
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.
Bobby Jones Receives the Original U.S. Amateur Trophy in 1924
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 U.S.G.A. Museum in 2012 and has never been seen since.
The 2017 U.S. Amateur Championship
Doc Redman (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
The 2017 U.S. Amateur Championship was played at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.
Doc REDMAN (USA) won beating Doug GHIM (USA) on the 37th hole of the Championship match.
In an astonishing finish Redman recovered from 2-Down with 2 holes to play. On the 35th hole Redman dropped a 60 foot eagle putt before finishing the match with a birdie on the 36th and a conceded birdie on the first extra hole.
The U.S.G.A. highlights video below is worth watching just for Redman’s putt on the 35th.
2017 U.S. Amateur Highlights (You Tube: U.S.G.A.)
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).
Jack SINGH BRAR, Robert MACINTYRE and Connor SYME all qualified for the Match Play Stage. Harry ELLIS lost out in the play-off on Riviera’s famous short par 4 10th hole. His double bogey 6 in the second group out saw him fall out of contention quickly.
Connor SYME went the furthest reaching the Quarter Finals before eventually losing 2&1 to Doug GHIM.
U.S. Amateur Championship History
The U.S. Amateur is the oldest golf championship in America and this will be its 118th 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
2019 – Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, North Carolina – Courses No. 2 and 4.
Scotland’s Sam LOCKE saved the day for GB&I amateur golf at Final Qualifying today. Rounds of 69 and 66 helped the Stonehaven man to medalist honours on 135 (-7) at The Renaissance and a place in The 147th Open Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links.
(l-r) Thomas Curtis, Sam Locke and Grant Forrest (Photo: @Renaissancegc)
With only 3 qualifying places available from each site it was always going to be a big ask for any amateur to come through. It’s therefore a great achievement for Sam who had been exempted into Final Qualifying as the reigning Scottish Closed Amateur champion. He was also rewarded by a 105 place jump in the SPWAR to 140th.
Other notable amateur performances came from David HAGUE ENG (T6), Alex FITZPATRICK ENG (T6) and Jake BURNAGE ENG (T9) at Hollinwell, Ryan LUMSDEN SCO (T4) at Prince’s, Joshua MCMAHON ENG (T8) and Ben HUTCHINSON ENG (T8) at St. Annes Old Links and Eugenio LOPEZ-CHACARRA ESP (T5) at The Renaissance. All ‘came close but no cigar’.
There were 72 amateurs amongst the 288 players contesting today’s four 36 hole Final Qualifying events. 59 of them came through Regional Qualifying whilst 13 were granted exemptions.
Links to the final results are provided below, along with a list of all of the qualifiers from each site and every amateur performance.
Final Qualifying for the 2018 Open Championship will take place on Tuesday 3rd July at four courses across Great Britain.
The qualifying venues are Notts G.C. (Hollinwell), Prince’s G.C., St. Annes Old Links and The Renaissance Club.
There are currently three amateurs in The Open Championship field. These are: –
The Amateur Champion for 2018 – Jovan REBULA (RSA);
The Asia-Pacific Amateur Champion 2017 – Lin YUXIN (CHI); and
The European Amateur Championship 2018 – Nicolai HOJGAARD (DEN).
Doc REDMAN (USA), the 2017 U.S. Amateur Champion, and Joaquin NIEMANN (CHL), winner of the 2017 Mark H. McCormack Medal (Men’s World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1 in August 2017) have both turned pro and therefore foregone their exemptions.
Final Qualifying represents the last roll of the dice for the Great British and Irish amateur fraternity. There are 72 amateurs competing out of a total field of 288 players, with 65 of them coming from GB&I. 13 amateurs were exempt straight into Final Qualifying. With 12 places available hopefully one of them can come through for me.
Regional Qualifying
143 players initially progressed from the 13 Regional Qualifying events on Monday 25th June with 40 amateurs amongst them.
Following withdrawals from Final Qualifying around 55 Reserves have now also been brought forward from the Regionals. Within this number are another 19 amateurs.
For more information on the Low Amateur prize at The Open Championship you may like to take a look at an article I wrote earlier this year – ‘The Open Championship’s Silver Medal’.
As there was only limited GB&I interest in the National Championships I couldn’t justify a separate article. However, I thought I would add some comments on this event to my Regional Championships article. The original Regionals article follows immediately beneath these.
No. 1 seed Oklahoma State won the NCAA Championship for the 11th time beating Alabama 5-0 in the match-play final which fortunately for them was being staged on their home course, Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Broc Everett and Oklahoma (Photos: Oklahoma University Men’s Golf)
In the stroke-play stage of the event Broc Everett from Augusta University defeated Auburn’s Brandon Mancheno in a playoff to win the individual national championship. Playing as an individual after his team missed the 54-hole cut, the 23-year-old claimed his first college victory at just the right time.
Broc Everett (Photo: Augusta University Men’s Golf)
It proved to be a disappointing event for the handful of GB&I representatives who made it this far.
Sandy Scott (SCO) was our only player to play all four rounds in the stroke play stage. He shot rounds of 77, 73, 76 and 85 (+23) to finish T79 in the individual standings. Just one of his four rounds counted to his team’s total as Texas Tech qualified in 3rd place. Texas Tech then lost 3-2 in Round 1 of the match play to eventual runners-up Alabama. Sandy lost his match 2&1 to Davis Shore.
Daniel Sutton (ENG) shot rounds of 71, 73 and 75 (+3) but his Kansas team missed the 54 hole stroke play cut.
Ryan Lumsden (SCO) started well with a 67 but fell away with subsequent rounds of 76 and 80 (+7). As I feared in my NCAA Regional Results article Ryan’s teammate Eric McIntosh (SCO) was dropped for the Finals. However, he was subbed in for the 3rd round where he shot a creditable even par 72. Nevertheless Northwestern fell just short of the first cut mark.
Harry Ellis (ENG) recorded scores of 75, 73 and 80 as UNLV crashed out on Day 3 too.
Over the last three days 81 teams and 45 individuals not on those teams have competed in six 54 hole NCAA Division I Regional Championship events.
The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each Regional have now advanced to the National Finals, which will be played on 25th – 30th May at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
This follow up article summarises the results of the 21 Great British and Irish (GB&I) players who competed in the 2018 Regional Championships.
The links for both the Team and Individual Player Results are provided in RED under each Regional heading for those seeking more detail.
Well done to Ryan Lumsden and Eric McIntosh (both Northwestern), Harry Hall (UNLV), Sandy Scott (Texas Tech) and Daniel Sutton (Kansas) who have all played this week and have seen their Teams qualify for the National Championships.
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Traditions Club – Bryan, Texas Hosted by Texas A&M University, College Station
From the 13 teams competing here Texas A&M Univesity (1), Clemson (3), Baylor (2), UCLA (5) and Kentucky (4) qualified. This was the only Regional where all of the top 5 seeds progressed.
2017 U.S. Walker Cup player Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss) finished 4th to claim the Individual qualifying spot.
San Francsico finished last on +40. I am not sure why Toby Briggs (ENG / FR) was not selected this week as he seems to have played for them throughout the College season.
Our only other representative in Texas was Lewis George (ENG / JR), the Central Arkansas man playing as an Individual. After a solid 73 in round 1 Lewis fell away with rounds of 77 and 75. He finished tied 50th out of a field of 75.
OSU Golf Club, Scarlet Course – Columbus, Ohio Hosted by The Ohio State University
From the 13 teams competing here Oklahoma State (1), Illinois (2), UNLV (4), Northwestern (6) and Texas Tech (3) qualified.
Kyle Mueller from Michigan, playing as an Individual, justified his selection by winning the event and qualifying as the low individual.
Ryan Lumsden (SCO / JR) recorded rounds of 75, 70 and 66 to finish tied 4th. Eric McIntosh (SCO / FR) finished tied 46th after rounds of 72, 78 and 77. Ryan and Eric were both in the Northwestern team who qualified for the Nationals. Eric, who was 5th in the line up, had one counting round and therefore may find his place under scrutiny next week.
Harry Hall (ENG / JR) shot rounds of 70, 70 and 75 to finish tied 13th. His team UNLV finished 3rd so he can look forward to playing in the National Championship.
Sandy Scott (SCO / SO) finished well with a 70 after earlier scores of 81 and 75. With two counting rounds and Texas Tech claiming the final qualifying team spot Sandy can also look forward to contesting the season finale.
Paul McBride (IRE / SR) finished tied 20th alongside two of his Wake Forest teammates. Paul shot three counting rounds of 76, 70 and 73 but will see his time in the U.S. come to an end without playing in the National finals, Wake Forest finishing a disappointing 8th.
Louisville finished 9th where they were seeded for the event and therefore failed to qualify. Devin Morley (IRE / SO) 75, 77 and 76 finished 51st whilst John Murphy (IRE / SO) 79, 78 and 73 was tied 57th in the individual rankings. Hugh O’Hare (IRE / FR) failed to make Louisville’s starting 5 for the Regionals.
Rhys Nevin-Wharton (ENG / SO) delivered a 76, 73 and 75 for Tennessee to finish tied 37th. Whilst all three of his rounds counted his team were well off the pace this week.
Elliott Fullalove (ENG / SR) was not selected by Jacksonville who went on to finish tied 10th. Their No. 5 player Aaeri Krishnan shot rounds of 82, 86 and 80 (+35) and finished last of those players completing all 54 holes.
Yale finished 12th out of the 13 competing teams with Eoin Leonard (IRE / JR) not finding the Ohio State University course to his liking (79,79, 80 / 67th).
Reunion Resort, Watson Course – Kissimmee, Florida Hosted by University of Central Florida
From the 14 teams competing here Oklahoma (1), Brigham Young (7), North Florida (5), Auborn (2) and Arkansas (3) qualified.
Joshua McCarthy from Pepperdine qualified as the low individual.
Florida State came into this Regional as the 4th seeds and finished 6th just one shot behind Arkansas. Jamie Li (ENG / SO) recovered from a first round 75 with rounds of 72 and 70 to end up tied 26th. Similarly Harry Ellis (ENG / RS SR) started poorly with a 79 before posting a 71 and 73. Nevertheless I am sure both he and the team would have been hoping for more than a tied 47th finish from their No. 1 player.
Jack Hermeston (ENG / SR) struggled at the Jimmie Austin OU G.C. this week. His rounds of 86, 76 and 76 and a tied 72nd finish didn’t really help his University of Missouri-Kansas City team, although two of them were counting.
Lonnie Poole Golf Course – Raleigh, North Carolina Hosted by North Carolina State University
From the 14 teams competing here Texas (3), Duke (5), North Carolina State (6), Augusta (12) and Arizona State (4) qualified.
Campbell’s Pontus Nyholm won a three way -9 play-off to qualify as the low individual.
Harrison Taee (ENG / SO) was not selected by Duke who finished 2nd as a Team on -22.
Missouri pair Rory Franssen (SCO / SO) and Jamie Stewart (SCO / FR) both played consistently well finishing on -1 to tie 32nd. Rory shot rounds of 71, 72 and 69 whilst Jamie contributed a 68,72 and 72. Missouri finished tied 8th, missing out on 5th place by just 6 shots.
Oisin Devereux (IRE / SO) recorded rounds of 75, 77 and 76 to finish 70th as his Iona team found themselves out of their depth at this level.
Charlotte’s Conor Purcell (IRE / SO), playing as an Individual, couldn’t build on his 67 in round 2. His other rounds of 79 and 74 saw him finish on +7 and tied 61st, 16 shots away from the play-off and required qualifying mark.
In passing I should note this event was won by SPWAR World No. 1 Doug Ghim. Doug shot 64, 66 and 66 for a stunning 196 (-17) total and a 3-shot victory.
The Reserve at Spanos Park – Stockton, California Hosted by University of the Pacific
From the 13 teams competing here Kansas (8), Stanford (3), Iowa State (10), Alabama (2) and Oregon (5) qualified.
Charles Corner from Texas El Paso secured the Individual qualifying spot by finishing tied 3rd on -9.
Kansas were the surprise winners of the Stockton / Pacific Regional. Daniel Sutton (ENG / SR) went along way to delivering this shock. His opening round of 67 was followed up with a 73 and 71 which secured him a tied 9th result in the individual standings, the second best in the Kansas line up..
Thomas Mulligan (IRE / FR) was not selected for the successful Oregon team this week but will have his fingers crossed the coach has a change of heart before the Nationals.
Likewise Danny Daniels (ENG / FR) of Iowa State was not selected but his Team progressed.
Colorado just missed out finishing 6th. However, Daniel O’Loughlin (ENG / SO) continues to impress. Rounds of 73, 69 and 71 saw him finish a creditable tied 16th.
This event was won by 2017 USA Walker Cup player Norman Xiong with rounds of 68, 67 and 66 (-15).
The NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Committee announced the teams and individuals they had selected to participate in the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships on 2nd May.
81 teams and 45 individuals not on those teams will compete in six 54 hole Regional Championships that will all be played on 14th – 16th May. All of the teams are seeded and spread across the various Regional events.
The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each Regional will then advance to the National Finals.
The 2018 National Team and Individual titles will be decided on 25th – 30th May at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma with Oklahoma State University hosting this year’s Championship.
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The 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf National Championships were held at Rich Harvest Farms in Illinois. Oklahoma won the team title last year, beating the defending champion Oregon 3-1-1 in the match play final. Braden Thornberry of Ole Miss claimed the individual title with a four-day stroke play total of 277 (-11).
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21 Great British and Irish (GB&I) players will be competing in the NCAA Regional Championships. Six other GB&I players have not been selected by their Colleges.
Most of our players are members of five man Teams. The two exceptions to this being Lewis George and Conor Purcell who were both selected as Individuals based on their own performances during the season. It is not easy to stand out in this way so well done to both of them.
Lewis earned his place by winning the Southland Conference Championship. He has been named to the All-Southland Conference Team and is the Conference’s Player of the Year. He led the UCA Bears in scoring average this season at 72.4 strokes, with a low round of 65. He has enjoyed two wins this season and finished runner-up twice.
Conor, an at-large selection by the NCAA panel, was named to the Conference USA’s all-conference first team. He led the Charlotte 49ers with a 71.77 stroke average this season, posting four top-10 finishes along with a top-five.
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Listed below are the teams and individuals selected to participate in the six Regional Championships.
Each Team is listed in seed order. Therefore the No. 1 team at each site can be considered the main favourites to win the National Championship. Oklahoma State, playing in Columbus, Ohio, go into the post season as the Team to beat.
After the College or University name you will also find the Team’s Golfweek / Sagarin national ranking and if they earned automatic qualification the Conference Championship they were victorious at.
I have included the names of all of the GB&I players on their rosters so we can easily see who our players are attached to and which of them will be competing this week.
Finally the links for both the Team and Individual Player Scores are provided in RED.
Traditions Club – Bryan, Texas Hosted by Texas A&M University, College Station
Doc Redman (Photo: U.S.G.A.)
Golf Bible 