It is, by several measures, an improbable final four.
Two University of California teammates earned semifinal berths in the U.S. Amateur on Friday, and so did two players who had to survive a playoff just to make match play.
In addition, four Americans advanced to the U.S. Am final four for the first time since 2004.
But one player who didn’t make the semis was the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world, University of Washington golfer Chris Williams, who never trailed during his first three matches but never led in Friday’s quarterfinals at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Suffice it to say he was out-Foxed. University of Tennessee-Chattanooga golfer Steven Fox never gave the Idaho resident an opening in a 4 and 2 drubbing.
“This is by far the best thing I’ve done in my career,” said Fox, who didn’t lose a hole to Williams until making his only bogey, on No. 15. That’s not bad considering Williams had won his three previous matches 3 and 2, 5 and 3, and 3 and 2.
Joining Fox in Saturday’s semifinals will be Cal teammates Brandon Hagy and Michael Weaver, and college player of the year Justin Thomas from the University of Alabama.
Thomas, the No. 5-ranked amateur in the world, went to the 18th hole for the second straight match, defeating 18-year-old Australian Oliver Goss 2 up in the first quarterfinal. The the two Cal players won by 4 and 3 margins, Weaver over Ricardo Gouveia and Hagy over Cheng-Tsung Pan of Chinese Taipei.
The result is an all-American semifinals, which last happened in the U.S. Amateur eight years ago. Thomas will face Weaver at 8 a.m. on Saturday, while Fox will meet Hagy at 8:15.
Fox, seeded 63rd after barely making match play, is No. 127 in the world amateur rankings. He advanced to the round of 16 at this year’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and won the 2011 Tennessee Match Play title, and on Friday he was solid as a rock in beating Williams.
In 16 holes, Fox made three birdies and one bogey on a formidable Cherry Hills set-up. From holes 9 through 13, Fox went 4-for-4 in getting up and down from off the green.
“He played great,” Williams (pictured at left) said of Fox. “He didn’t make any bogeys (until 15). I didn’t win a hole until the 15th, so it’s hard to win a match when you do that. He didn’t make any mistakes and when he did he got up and down. He beat me. I didn’t play terrible (roughly even par); he just played great.
“Quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur isn’t bad. Obviously you want to go all the way, but only one guy can win.”
Fox knew he had to perform very well to beat Williams, but he wasn’t intimidated by his No. 1 ranking.
“I give him a lot of respect,” the bearded Tennessean said. “I knew I had to bring out my ‘A’ game, and luckily I did. … I was nervous the first couple of matches, but for some reason this match I kind of felt at home. I was finally playing with the galleries and enjoyed myself out there and really just had fun.”
With Williams out, Thomas is the top remaining player in the world amateur rankings. On Friday, he prevailed over Goss despite putting two balls in the water and making a triple-bogey 8 on the 17th hole.
Goss won that hole with a bogey to cut his deficit to 1 down, but he three-putted No. 18 to assure Thomas of the win.
Thomas has rallied to win despite being 2 down in each of his last three matches.
“It’s good to know that I’ve done it before,” Thomas said of the comebacks. “But at the same time it would be a lot nicer if I wasn’t 2 down. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with that. Hopefully I can get off to a little better starts and I won’t have to worry about that.”
As for the two Cal players, they’re both hoping to set up an all-Bear final by winning on Saturday. Weaver, like Fox, had to survive a playoff to get to match play, and he was seeded 60th in the match play bracket.
Two Cal players in the final “would be very special,” said Hagy, a long-hitter who drove a ball pin-high Friday on the 411-yard seventh hole. “We’re definitely pulling for each other.”
Three of the semifinalists are 21-year-olds: Fox, Hagy and Weaver, while Thomas is 19. The U.S. Amateur is the first USGA championship for Hagy.
For match play results and pairings, 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. Semifinal matches on Saturday 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. Kids 17 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a ticketed adult.
Television: Aug. 17 6:30-8:30 p.m., Golf Channel; Aug. 18 2-4 p.m., NBC; Aug. 19 2-4 p.m., NBC.
