The last time the U.S. Amateur was held in Colorado, no golfers with major ties to the state advanced to match play.
But 22 years later, Colorado wouldn’t be denied again.
Two of the nine U.S. Amateur competitors with strong Colorado connections are guaranteed to make the 64-man match play, which begins Wednesday at 8 a.m., at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Justin Spray, who grew up in Colorado Springs and recently graduated from Colorado State University, overcame a triple bogey Tuesday on a hole where he drew a one-stroke penalty to finish 25th out of the 312 players in stroke play.
Spray (pictured above) followed up his 1-under-par 69 at CommonGround Golf Course with a 1-over 72 Tuesday at Cherry Hills, giving him an even-par 141 total.
“This was a goal,” the 24-year-old said of making match play. “It’s not surprising; I’ll say that. But it’s an honor. It feels great. And I’m ready. My game is the best it’s been in 24 years. I’m ready to go play with the best of them.”
Meanwhile, Michael Schoolcraft of Englewood, one of two Cherry Hills members to qualify for the U.S. Am, fired a 73 on his home course Tuesday to finish stroke play at 142, good for 39th place.
Schoolcraft (pictured below) played his final nine at Cherry Hills in 1-under-par to assure himself a match play spot without a playoff.
“It’s fun because in match play the 64th seed can beat the 1 seed,” the University of Oklahoma golfer said. “Everyone here is just trying to make match play. It doesn’t matter what seed you are because it all starts over. It’ll be fun.”
Overall, University of Alabama golfer Bobby Wyatt earned medalist honors with a 9-under-par 132 total after a 2-under-par 68 at CommonGround Tuesday. The 132 ties the lowest 36-hole total by a medalist, joining Hank Kim (1994) and Gregor Main (2011).
“It’s very humbling to have part of that record,” said Wyatt, the No. 7 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and the winner of the Sunnehanna Amateur. “It’s an honor. There have been a lot of great names to play in this championship, and to do that certainly means a lot. But I have a lot of work to do this week.”
But while gaining the medal and part of the record is nice — and it may help for seeding purposes — all 64 players start from scratch on Wednesday.
A total of 1-over-par 142 or better was needed to make match play without a playoff. That playoff — 17 players for 14 spots for the golfers who posted 143 totals — will begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday. Among the competitors in that playoff is NCAA champion Thomas Pieters (73-70).
Spray, a former CSU and Fort Lewis College golfer, made a triple bogey on Cherry Hills’ fourth hole Tuesday after incurring a one-stroke penalty for picking up his ball — which he thought was embedded — without marking the spot first. But he played the rest of his round in 2 under par, making an eagle on the 595-yard 11th hole, hitting a 3-wood to 10 feet and canning the putt.
Spray and his playing partners were also nearly assessed a one-stroke slow-play penalty on Tuesday, but after much discussion in the scoring tent, USGA officials didn’t penalize them.
“Every day, I’m learning more and more,” Spray said. “If it’s not about your swing, it’s about the game. If it’s not about the game it’s about life.”
But even with the triple bogey and the penalty on the fourth hole, “I stayed level-headed,” Spray said. “I wasn’t letting it get to me. I stayed patient all the way through.”
As for Schoolcraft, Tuesday was a day of survival as he didn’t have his “A” game. He bogeyed three of the first four holes, but held it together and made three crucial birdies early on the back nine.
“My warmup wasn’t great today,” the 20-year-old said. “I got off to a really, really poor start and because of that it didn’t feel good all day. My swing really felt off. I made a couple putts on the back nine that helped out. Overall that’s probably the best I could have shot today. But I always enjoy playing this course.”
As you might imagine, Schoolcraft has quite a bit of local support this week, especially at Cherry Hills.
“It’s been really special,” he said. “I’ve been trying to keep the pressure off. It’s been so nice. I was telling one of the USGA guys — he was asking me if I feel comfortable (competing) at home — and I said, ‘You know what? I feel so comfortable.’ My mom is cooking for me. I live across the street. It’s really, really enjoyable to know the restaurants around here, to live close and come out and practice on your own range. It’s really special.”
While Spray and Schoolcraft advanced to match play, Parker Edens of Greeley just missed out when he faltered at the finish of his round Tuesday. The CSU golfer went double bogey-bogey at Nos. 17 and 18 at Cherry Hills to come in at 146, three out of the playoff.
Matt Schovee of Cherry Hills was in good shape through 28 holes of stroke play, but played his final eight holes at CommonGround in 3 over par to likewise post a 146 total.
Here are the results of the players with strong Colorado connections:
ADVANCED TO MATCH PLAY
Justin Spray, CSU graduate 69-72–141
Michael Schoolcraft of Englewood 69-73–142
FAILED TO ADVANCE
Matt Schovee of Cherry Hills Village 73-73–146
Parker Edens of Greeley 74-72–146
Eric Hallberg of Castle Rock 75-75–150
Bryan Kruse of Westminster 72-79–151
Andy Yang, DU golfer 83-70–153
Jeff Chapman of Denver 74-81–155
Ryan Axlund of Denver 74-82–156
How the ‘Big Names’ Fared: Several of the big-name players at the U.S. Amateur safely advanced to match play: Chris Williams, the world’s top-ranked amateur (65-73–138); Jordan Spieth, two-time U.S. Junior Amateur champion (69-69–138); and college player of the year Justin Thomas (65-74–139).
However, quite a few notables didn’t survive the cut: Beau Hossler, the 17-year-old who led the U.S. Open during round 2 (72-72–144), Hideki Matsuyama, the world’s No. 2-ranked player and low amateur at the 2011 Masters (73-72–145); Jack Nicklaus’ son Gary (71-74–145); and U.S. Public Links champion T.J. Vogel (74-72–146).
Notable: Zac Blair of Ogden, Utah, who had the fifth-best score in stroke play (65-71–136) is no stranger to Colorado. He was low amateur in last year’s HealthOne Colorado Open, a tournament his dad, Jim, won twice in the 1980s. … New Hampshire residents Phil Pleat, 56, and son James, 21, the first father and son to compete in the same U.S. Amateur since 2011, both failed to make match play on Tuesday. Phil withdrew Tuesday and James finished at 146. … Phil Pleat was one of two players in this year’s field to also compete in the 1990 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills. The other, Todd White of Moore, S.C., did make match play on Tuesday, going 70-72 for a 142 total. At 44, Moore is one of the oldest players to make match play in recent decades at the U.S. Amateur. … At the other end of the spectrum, 14-year-old Andy Zhang, who also played in the U.S. Open this year, exited after two days of competition, shooting rounds of 78-82–160. … Robert Mize, son of 1987 Masters champion Larry Mize, also failed to make match play after carding scores of 72-81–153.
For the stroke-play scores, CLICK HERE.
To follow first-round matches, CLICK HERE.
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U.S. Amateur: All the Essentials
What: The 112th U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA championship.
When: Aug. 13-19. Matches on Wednesday will begin at 8 a.m.
Where: Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village (7,409 yards, par-71). Cherry Hills is hosting its ninth USGA championship (3 U.S. Opens, 1 U.S. Women’s Open, 2 U.S. Amateurs, 1 U.S. Senior Open, 1 USGA Senior Amateur, 1 U.S. Mid-Amateur).
Format: 36 holes of stroke play Aug. 13 and 14, with each golfer playing 18 holes each at Cherry Hills and CommonGround. The top 64 players will advance to match play, which will be held exclusively at Cherry Hills. The first round of matches is Aug. 15, the second and third rounds are Aug. 16, the quarterfinals Aug. 17, the semifinals Aug. 18 and the 36-hole final is Aug. 19.
Starting Field: 312 players. (6,403 golfers originally sent in entries.)
Winner Receives Exemptions In: 2013 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open, along with the next 10 U.S. Amateurs, providing he remains an amateur.
Tickets: Available at King Soopers stores and at TicketsWest.com. A daily ticket is $17.50. A weekly pass is $85. Kids 17 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
Television: Aug. 15 2-4 p.m., Golf Channel; Aug. 16 4:30-6:30 p.m., Golf Channel; Aug. 17 6:30-8:30 p.m., Golf Channel; Aug. 18 2-4 p.m., NBC; Aug. 19 2-4 p.m., NBC.
