- Involved in the match of the day (USGA Photo)
CHASKA, Minnesota (August 25, 2006) -- Latest match results from the USGA Amateur, played at Hazeltine National Golf Club follow.
Quarterfinal Summary:
Webb Simpson of Raleigh, North Carolina def. Alex Prugh of Spokane, Washington, 2 & 1
Wake Forest star Webb Simpson defeated Alex Prugh, in a battle of the belly
putters (watching these guys putt vs. Trip Kuehne struggling with the short
stick makes you want to go out and get one).
Simpson built a 4-up lead at the turn by playing 2-under-par golf, but Prugh
fought back with birdies on Nos. 11 and 14 to give himself a chance. The players
shared bogeys at Nos. 15 and 16, and Simpson closed out the match with a par
on No. 17. Simpson once played with North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith
when he was 12-years-old in what he calls one of the highlights of his career.
He shot 73 that day, and the two have remained in touch since.
Ryan Yip of Canada def Oliver Fisher of England, 4&3
Ryan Yip, the Kent State player and recent semifinalist in the Canadian Amateur,
defeated English junior star and Nick Faldo protege Oliver Fisher, 4 & 3.
Fisher was the youngest-ever player on the GB&I
Walker Cup team when he competed (with verve) at Chicago Golf Club in 2005.
There was some confusion at the close of the match, as Yip hit his 3rd shot to
inches on the par-5 with Fisher in the back bunker. As the players reached the
green, Fisher said “Is that it?” and the with the referee looking
on, Yip gave Fisher the nod to try the bunker shot, which if holed would have
forced the match to the next hole. Alas, Fisher made a nice try at holing the
shot but it finished wide-right, and the 17-year-old displayed the kind of attitude
in the TV interview that will likely result in him being around a long time,
saying “It’s only a game – good luck to Ryan the rest of the
way.”
John Kelly of St. Louis, Missouri def Trip Kuehne of Dallas,
Texas 3 & 2
Two-time Walker Cup player Trip Kuehne struggled considerably with his putting
stroke, prompting commentator Gary Koch to say “When you’re struggling
with the 4-5 footers, sometimes it seems like you have one on every hole.”
Isn’t that the truth.
But Kuehne’s opponent, John Kelly had several chances to capitalize on
Kuehne’s putting woes but didn’t convert them, an example being a
5-6 foot putt on the 15th hole that he could have made to go dormie. At No. 16,
a water-guarded, 402-yard par 4, Kuehne, two down with three holes to play, placed
his tee shot in the center of the fairway, then shockingly fired off a hosel-rocket
that found the water on the right. The match was essentially over with that shot,
as the 21-year-old Kelly played for a bogey to win the hole and match.
”I ended the week just like I started it. I shanked a ball on the first
hole of the tournament, and finished that way today,” said a disconsolate
Kuehne, the oldest player to make the quarterfinals.
Richey Ramsay of Scotland def. Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, California -
21 holes
The match of the day.
Ramsay has the club on a textbook-perfect plane on the backswing,
and he plays the rest of his game in the manner of a seasoned amateur champion,
with Irish Amateur and Scottish Amateur titles under his belt. The 17-year-old
Fowler, who earlier this week won a match with 8 birdies in 13 holes, got a bit
loose in spots but hung tough against Ramsay with his mistakes being again balanced
by his explosive style -- 5 birdies on Friday including crucial ones at Nos.
16 and 17, which brought the match back from 2-down to all square. The players
halved the difficult 18th with pars, then did the same at the first extra hole, before splitting the second extra holes with bogeys. Ramsay ended things with a birdie on the third playoff hole.
To view the scorecard from this amazing match,
click
here to visit the USGA website.
To view a complete match-play bracket, click on the name of the tournament at
the top of this page, and follow the links after clicking on the "results" tab
(amateurgolf.com Premium Membership requested).
ABOUT THE U.S. Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA
championship, was first played in 1895 at
Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The
event,
which has no age restriction, is open to
those
with a Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. It is
one
of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are
strictly
for amateurs. It is the pre-eminent
amateur
competition in the world.
Applications are typically placed online in the spring
at www.usga.org.
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