New Zealand grows lead at World Am Team, U.S. right behind
New Zealand's Daniel Hillier (USGA photo)
DUBLIN, Ireland (Sept. 7, 2018) – New Zealand grew its lead Friday in the third round of the World Amateur Team Championship. This time, it was Denzel Ieremia’s turn to go low. The Iowa State junior had a 7-under 65 at the difficult Montgomerie Course to further secure his team’s spot atop the leaderboard at Carton House.
This is the second consecutive day that New Zealand has counted a round of 65. In Thursday’s second round, the round came from Daniel Hillier, who was co-medalist at the U.S. Amateur earlier this summer. Hillier also put up the second counting score for his team on Friday, a 3-under 69. It got New Zealand to 10 under for the day, and 30 under for the tournament. The team is trying to win its first medal since winning gold in 1992.
“That would be really cool,” Ieremia said of potentially emulating the 1992 team of Michael Campbell, Phillip Tataurangi and Stephan Scahill. “I played college golf and I have always said that winning a team event is way more thrilling than winning an individual one. To have an opportunity to try to convert tomorrow is pretty cool.”
The leaderboard continues to shuffle beneath that. The U.S. made more huge strides in the third round, and are now part of a three-way tie for second, just three shots off the lead. The Americans also put together a third-round score of 10-under 134 with help from Collin Morikawa’s 66 and Justin Suh’s 68.
“For us, it’s good as long as we are moving up and giving ourselves a shot," Morikawa said. "It’s going to be a shoot-out. We have to be ready. The key for today was to put ourselves in position.”
The U.S., along with Spain and Thailand, are all tied for second at 27 under, three shots behind New Zealand.
Ireland, the home team, moved the opposite direction on Friday. A 1-over 145 total was the team’s highest total of the week by eight shots. Ireland is now T-12, and 12 shots off the pace.
ABOUT THE Men's World Amateur Team
In 1958 the United States Golf Association
asked The R&A to join them in sponsoring
a world-wide amateur golf team event to
be played biennially in non-Walker Cup
years. Between 35 and 40 nations were
represented at the first meeting and
President Dwight D. Eisenhower
presented the trophy which bears his
name. The committee of the event was to
be known as the World Amateur Golf
Council and is now the International Golf
Federation. Teams of four players from
each country competed over 72 holes with
the leading three scores from each round
to count. The first competition was held
between 29 nations at St Andrews, with
Australia beating the United States in a
play-off. In 2002 the format changed to
teams of three with the two leading
scores to count.
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