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116th U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club begins Monday
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI (August 14, 2016) -- Beginning Monday Oakland Hills Country Club is set to host the 116th playing of the U.S. Amateur. The field will include 312 golfers representing 46 states and 29 countries.

Monday and Tuesday play will include 18-holes of stroke play qualifying with the top 64 advancing to match play starting Wednesday. Match play will continue through Sunday when the 36-hole championship match will be held.

Oakland Hills CC boasts two Donald Ross designed courses; the South Course opening in 1918 and the North Course opened in 1924.

Over the years Oakland Hills CC has hosted numerous major tournaments, including one previous U.S Amateur in 2002, won by Ricky Barnes. The course has also hosted six U.S. Open's, three PGA Championship's, a pair of U.S. Senior Open's and the 2004 Ryder Cup won by Europe.

Notable winners include Ben Hogan in the 1951 U.S. Open, Gary Player at the 1972 PGA Championship, Arnold Palmer in the 1981 U.S. Senior Open, Jack Nicklaus at the 1991 U.S. Senior Open and Padraig Harrington in 2008 when he won his third major championship in two years.

Throughout the week both the South and North Courses will be used. The South Course, the better known of the two, is a par-72 that when played from the tips is 7,445 yards long while the par-70 North Course can be stretched to 6,908 yards.

CONTENDERS

Gunn Yang: The 2014 U.S. Amateur champion is back as he looks to capture his second title. In 2014 Yang defeated Corey Conners 2&1 in the final match at Atlanta Athletic Club. Yang is fifteen months removed from back surgery.

Maverick McNealy: The Stanford senior has been the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year each of the last two years and made a run to the Round of 16 at last years U.S. Amateur. McNealy played in the 2014 U.S. Open and on the 2015 Walker Cup team.

Sam Horsfield: Despite falling in the championship match at the Western Amateur, Horsfield is coming in full of confidence after dominating the field during medalist play. The Florida sophomore has played in two straight U.S. Opens and won last years Phil Mickelson Award, given to the top freshman in the nation.

Jack Hume: From Ireland, Hume was a member of the winning GB&I Walker Cup team in 2015. Hume has won two ranking events this year and also finished second at the Irish Open Amateur.

Scott Gregory: The winner of the British Amateur, Gregory played in the 2016 British Open at Royal Troon.

Cheng Jin: Heading to USC in the fall, Jin won the Players Amateur Championship by two-strokes this summer. Jin, from China, played in the Masters after claiming the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. Over the years Jin has competed in the U.S. Junior Amateur three-times, making it to match play each time.

Harrison Endycott: The Australian has certainly found himself in the winners circle on a regular basis this year. To date Endycott has five wins including a come from behind win in the final round of the Porter Cup.

Robert MacIntyre: Match play seems to be a forte of MacIntyre's. Last year the Scotsman won the Scottish Amateur and this year he finished runner-up at the British Amateur.

Derek Bard: The U.S. Amateur runner-up last year to Bryson DeChambeau, Bard has since played in the Masters and U.S. Open. Bard, a senior at Virginia won the 2015 Sunnehanna Amateur and is entering play this week fresh off a strong showing in the New York State Amateur.

William Zalatoris: One of the hottest players in the field, Zalatoris has won the Trans- Mississippi and Pacific Coast Amateur in recent months. Zalatoris, winner of the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur, is a junior at Wake Forest.

DARK HORSES

Fred Wedel: The recent Pepperdine graduate won both the Texas State Amateur and the Northeast Amateur in back-to-back weeks this June.

KK Limbhasut: A junior at California, Limbhaust has won twice during his collegiate career. He recently showed well at the the Pacific Coast Amateur as he finished tied for third.

Doug Ghim: The experience in USGA events is there. Ghim is playing in his third U.S. Amateur while also previously finishing runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links and as a semifinalist at the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur. Ghim is a junior at Texas were he was a second-team All-American and Big 12 first teamer.

OTHERS TO WATCH

Philip Barbaree: The LSU commit rallied from 5 down with eight holes remaining to win the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur. He was also the 2015 Rolex Junior Player of the Year.

Scott Harvey: A member of the 2015 Walker Cup team, this will mark Harvey's 20th USGA competition. The Greensboro, NC resident won the 2014 Mid-Amateur and played in the 2015 Masters.

Michael McCoy: The 2013 U.S. Mid- Amateur winner finished as the low amateur in the 2014 and 2015 U.S. Senior Open's. McCoy is from Des Moines, IA.

Sammy Schmitz: The River Falls, WI resident won the 2015 Mid-Amateur and played in the this April's Masters.

Nathan Smith: Making his third U.S Amateur appearance, Smith from Pittsburgh, PA has won four U.S. Mid-Amateur titles. Smith along with the other mid-amateurs in the field will be looking to become the first mid-am to win the U.S. Amateur in 23 years when John Harris won.

Karl Vilips: The youngest competitor in the field this week, Vilips is 14-years-old. Vilips was born August 16, 2001.

-The USGA contributed to this stroy

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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