U.S. Amateur Quarterfinal Matchups
August 16, 2018 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: View results for US Amateur, Merion Golf Club - East Course
312 players started the week at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. Eight players remain.
PEBBLE BEACH, CA (August 16, 2018) - The 312-player U.S. Amateur field has been whittled down to the final eight, with just three rounds of matches left at Pebble Beach. Six Americans, an Englishman, and a Norwegian are left to battle for the biggest championship in amateur golf, with the quarterfinals played Friday afternoon, the semifinals Saturday morning, and the 36-hole final match on Sunday.
All eight quarterfinalists will be exempt into the 2019 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst should they not turn pro.
Here is a look at the four quarterfinal matches:
Davis Riley (Hattiesburg, MS)
Riley, who has played 5 U.S. Amateurs, plays for University of Alabama. Two weeks ago he lost in the finals of the Western Amateur to Cole Hammer. He won the 2017 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the 2014 Terra Cotta Invitational. He is a two-time runner-up in USGA events, finishing second in both the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Juniors.
VS
Devon Bling (Ridgecrest, CA)
The UCLA golfer comes from a town of 20,000 with just one public golf course, at the China Lake naval base. He can flight his driver, hitting towering high shots when needed or working lower shots into the fairways at Pebble Beach when needed. On Thursday, Bling knocked off World #5 Shintaro Ban in the morning and 2017 U.S. Junior champion Noah Goodwin in the afternoon.
Isaiah Salinda (S. San Francisco, CA)
Salinda is riding the momentum of his first major amateur win at the Pacific Coast Amateur, where he shot a course record 62 at The Olympic Club en route to a one-shot victory. He followed it up by making the final 16 at the Western Amateur. The senior-to-be at Stanford is playing in his first USGA championship.
VS
Will Gordon (Davidson, NC)
Gordon, a Vanderbilt rising senior, is playing in his third straight U.S. Amateur, making match play all three times but winning his first matches this year. He has contended for big amateur tournaments this summer, finishing third in the Northeast Amateur and fourth in the Pacific Coast Amateur up the road at The Olympic Club.
Cole Hammer (Houston, TX)
Co-medalist this week, joining names like Bobby Jones as players who medal at both the Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur in the same year. He went on to win the Western two weeks ago. Hammer, who played the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay as a 15-year-old, will attend University of Texas in the fall. In addition to the Western, he has won the Azalea Invitational and the U.S> Amateur Four-Ball (with Garrett Barber).
VS
Alex Fitzpatrick (England)
Fitzpatrick is the younger brother of Matthew Fitzpatrick, the European Tour player who won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. In fact, Alex was on the bag for Matthew for his U.S. Amateur win. Fitzpatrick will be a freshman at Wake Forest University this fall. He was the runner-up in the Spanish International Amateur earlier this spring.
Austin Squires (Union, KY)
Squires is a rising senior at the University of Cincinnati, where he compiled a 71.91 stroke average in his junior year to make the American's All-Conference team. He has made it deep into match play before, making the semifinals of last year's North & South Amateur. This summer, Squires finished T11 at the SUnnehanna Amateur and T6 at the Northeast Amateur.
VS
Viktor Hovland (Norway)
Hovland, who was a key player for Oklahoma State's 2018 National Championship team, represented Europe in this summer's Palmer Cup Matches in France. He also made the final 16 in the British Amateur and was the runner-up in the European Amateur. He has finished T8 and T11 in the last two NCAA Championships. While the other round of 16 matches were tight, Hovland made quick work of his countryman Kristoffer Reitan, winning 7&6.
All eight quarterfinalists will be exempt into the 2019 U.S. Amateur Championship at Pinehurst should they not turn pro.
Match 1
|
Davis Riley
|
Riley, who has played 5 U.S. Amateurs, plays for University of Alabama. Two weeks ago he lost in the finals of the Western Amateur to Cole Hammer. He won the 2017 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational and the 2014 Terra Cotta Invitational. He is a two-time runner-up in USGA events, finishing second in both the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Juniors.
VS
|
Devon Bling
|
The UCLA golfer comes from a town of 20,000 with just one public golf course, at the China Lake naval base. He can flight his driver, hitting towering high shots when needed or working lower shots into the fairways at Pebble Beach when needed. On Thursday, Bling knocked off World #5 Shintaro Ban in the morning and 2017 U.S. Junior champion Noah Goodwin in the afternoon.
Match 2
|
Isaiah Salinda
|
Salinda is riding the momentum of his first major amateur win at the Pacific Coast Amateur, where he shot a course record 62 at The Olympic Club en route to a one-shot victory. He followed it up by making the final 16 at the Western Amateur. The senior-to-be at Stanford is playing in his first USGA championship.
VS
|
Will Gordon
|
Gordon, a Vanderbilt rising senior, is playing in his third straight U.S. Amateur, making match play all three times but winning his first matches this year. He has contended for big amateur tournaments this summer, finishing third in the Northeast Amateur and fourth in the Pacific Coast Amateur up the road at The Olympic Club.
Match 3
|
Cole Hammer
|
Co-medalist this week, joining names like Bobby Jones as players who medal at both the Western Amateur and U.S. Amateur in the same year. He went on to win the Western two weeks ago. Hammer, who played the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay as a 15-year-old, will attend University of Texas in the fall. In addition to the Western, he has won the Azalea Invitational and the U.S> Amateur Four-Ball (with Garrett Barber).
VS
|
Alex Fitzpatrick
|
Fitzpatrick is the younger brother of Matthew Fitzpatrick, the European Tour player who won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. In fact, Alex was on the bag for Matthew for his U.S. Amateur win. Fitzpatrick will be a freshman at Wake Forest University this fall. He was the runner-up in the Spanish International Amateur earlier this spring.
Match 4
|
Austin Squires
|
Squires is a rising senior at the University of Cincinnati, where he compiled a 71.91 stroke average in his junior year to make the American's All-Conference team. He has made it deep into match play before, making the semifinals of last year's North & South Amateur. This summer, Squires finished T11 at the SUnnehanna Amateur and T6 at the Northeast Amateur.
VS
|
Viktor Hovland
|
Hovland, who was a key player for Oklahoma State's 2018 National Championship team, represented Europe in this summer's Palmer Cup Matches in France. He also made the final 16 in the British Amateur and was the runner-up in the European Amateur. He has finished T8 and T11 in the last two NCAA Championships. While the other round of 16 matches were tight, Hovland made quick work of his countryman Kristoffer Reitan, winning 7&6.
Results: US Amateur
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | , Norway | 2000 | ||
| Runner-up | Ridgecrest, CA | 1500 | ||
| Semifinals | Houston, TX | 1000 | ||
| Semifinals | South San Francisco, CA | 1000 | ||
| Quarterfinals | Hattiesburg, MS | 700 |
About the US 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 .4 (point four) or lower. It is one of 15 national champ...
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