Online Videos by Veoh.com
VILLAGE OF PINEHURST, N.C. (August 20, 2008) – Three members of the winning 2007 USA Walker Cup team were among the 32 who advanced in first-round matches Wednesday at the U.S. Amateur on the No. 2 course at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.
Rickie Fowler, 19, of Murrieta, Calif.; Billy Horschel, 21, of Grant, Fla.; and Kyle Stanley, 20, of Gig Harbor, Wash., each pulled away on the final holes over the 7,281-yard, par-70 layout that has hosted two U.S. Opens in the last 10 years.
Three past U.S. Junior Amateur champions also advanced – Sihwan Kim, 20, of Buena Park, Calif.; Brian Harman, 21, of Savannah, Ga.; and Kevin Tway, 19, of Edmond, Okla.
Play continues Thursday with the second and third rounds of match play. The championship runs through the end of the week, with the 36-hole final match scheduled for Sunday.
Fowler lost two of the first four holes but rallied to beat Isaiah Telles, 18, of Tualatin, Calif., 4 and 2. Horschel never trailed in defeating Drew Lethem, 22, of Camdenton, Md., 3 and 2. Stanley won three of the first six holes on his way to a 4-and-3 win over Seung-Su Han, 22, of Irvine, Calif.
"I haven’t had the greatest summer," said Fowler, even though he made the cut at the U.S. Open. "I won the Sunnehanna Amateur, but I snuck into match play here (4-over-par 144 for 36 holes) and won my first match. Hopefully, I can keep it going."
Kim gave away the last three holes and needed a winning par on the first extra hole against Arnold Palmer’s grandson, 20-year-old Sam Saunders of Orlando, Fla. Harman, a 2005 USA Walker Cup team member, edged Kevin O’Connell, 20, of Cary, N.C., 1 up. Tway, who had PGA Tour veteran and father, Bob, as caddie, won four of the final seven holes to close out 2006 U.S. Junior champion Philip Francis, 19, of Scottsdale, Ariz., 2 up.
Returning quarterfinalist Derek Fathauer, 22, of Jensen Beach, Fla., won a close match against Jhonattan Vegas, 24, of Venezuela, 1 up. Most of the matches were closely contested, with only five not reaching the 16th hole. Jeff Edelman, 20, of Southlake, Texas, was an exception. He was the biggest winner, beating Carlos Santos-Ocampo, 20, of Naples, Fla., 5 and 3. Top-seeded Robbie Filmore, 22, of Provo, Utah, who led stroke-play qualifying at 6-under-par 134, also easily advanced. He beat Ross Beal, 23, of Uniontown, Ohio, 3 and 2.
Fifty-two-year-old Brady Exber of Las Vegas, Nev., was the oldest player to advance. He lost the final two holes of regulation before making a winning birdie on the second extra hole against Josh Anderson, 19, of Murrieta, Calif. The youngest is highly regarded Danny Lee, an 18-year-old from New Zealand, who finished tied for 20th at last week’s Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour. He also won the coveted Western Amateur title last month. Lee won three of the first four holes and marched to an easy win over David Bartman, 37, of Los Angeles, Calif., 4 and 3.
Lee is playing in his seventh tournament in as many weeks.
"I probably started in June," said Lee, who is a high school senior in New Zealand. "You know, I really want to have a break right now, but I can’t. I need to keep playing well and winning my matches. It’s worth it."
Four other 18-year-olds also are headed to the second round – Wesley Bryan of Chapin, S.C.; Jacob Burger of Orangeburg, S.C.; Patrick Reed of Augusta, Ga.; and Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla.
The Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
--Story written by Craig Smith, the USGA’s Director of Media Relations.