A Coloradan made match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur for the first time in three years on Tuesday, but representatives of the state didn’t stop there.
Two junior golfers from Colorado ended up advancing to the 64-golfer match play bracket, marking the first time that’s happened since Josh Seiple and Spencer Painton pulled it off in 2013.
Moving on Tuesday at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., were Jackson Solem of Longmont and Davis Bryant of Aurora, who next week will be Colorado teammates for the third consecutive year at the Junior America’s Cup tournament. (The two are pictured, with Bryant at left.)
Solem, a former 4A state high school champion who will play his college golf at the University of Denver beginning this fall, came back from a first-round 75 to shoot a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday, finishing 39th in stroke play in his first U.S. Junior Am. Solem made seven birdies and five bogeys in round 2. He recorded just one par in his final 10 holes on Tuesday.
Two years after making his U.S. Junior Amateur debut by shooting 81-80 as a 15-year-old, Bryant proved a much different player this time around, finishing 47th out of 156 players in the 36-hole stroke-play portion of the championship. The winner of both Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors held so far this year, Bryant shot rounds of 71-74 for a 3-over-par 145 total. The future Colorado State University golfer, who made three birdies and three double bogeys on Tuesday, ended up 13 strokes behind medalist Austin Eckroat of Edmond, Okla.
Match play will begin on Wednesday, and if either Solem or Bryant wins in the round of 64, it would be the first time since Wyndham Clark went to the round of 16 in 2009 that a Coloradan has won a match in the U.S. Junior Amateur.
The third Colorado competing in the U.S. Junior Am, TJ Shehee of Mead, didn’t advance to match play after posting rounds of 78-80 for a 158 total.
Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing this week:
Advance to Match Play
39. Jackson Solem, Longmont 75-69–144
47. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-74–145
Failed to Advance to Match Play
127. TJ Shehee, Mead 78-80–158
For all the scores from the Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
