Denny McCarthy
-Story by Pete KowalskiJOHNS CREEK, Ga. (August 15 ,2014) – Pepperdine University junior Frederick Wedel, 19, of The Woodlands, Texas, defeated four-time USGA champion Nathan Smith, of Pittsburgh, 4 and 3, on Friday to advance to the semifinal round of match play in the 2014 U.S. Amateur Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club’s 7,360-yard, par-71 Highlands Course.
Wedel’s opponent on Saturday morning will be San Diego State sophomore Gunn Yang, 20, of Korea, who beat high school senior Cameron Young, of Scarborough, N.Y., 2 up.
Corey Conners, 22, of Canada, a recent graduate of Kent State University, advanced to the semifinals for the second consecutive year with a 2-and-1 win over Oklahoma State sophomore Zachary Olsen and will face University of Virginia All-American Denny McCarthy, 21, of Rockville, Md., who eliminated University of Houston All-American Roman Robledo, 3 and 2.
The lanky Wedel, an all-West Coast Conference choice, won two of the first three holes against Smith and never trailed. His birdies on the 12th and 13th holes all but sealed the victory.
“I just wanted to shut the door immediately,” said Wedel, who advanced to an NCAA Regional in 2014. “Fortunately, I stuffed it to about 6 inches on the (13th). And after that, the match was mine.”
Playing in his 14th U.S. Amateur, Smith, 36, the four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and three-time USA Walker Cup Team member, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time.
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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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