Match Play Field Set at Arizona Amateur
Defending Champion Cory Bacon (USGA/Chris Keane)
PHOENIX, AZ (August 1, 2017) -- Stroke-play at the 92nd Arizona Amateur Championship concluded today, meaning an early rest for the seventy-seven players who failed to qualify for Wednesday. The top-finishing sixty-four will be moving forward to the single-elimination match-play portion at Phoenix’s Moon Valley Country Club, where players will need to defeat six consecutive opponents to earn the title of Arizona Amateur Champion.
Low finishers include Ken Tanigawa, who posted 10-under-par in qualifying (68-66=134). The 49-year-old is a native of Japan who came to the United States when he was five, and after graduating college and playing pro tours in Australia and Asia for eleven years, now resides in Arizona.
Tanigawa also happens to be the 2015 champion of the event as well as the 2016 runner-up. From the looks of the UCLA graduate's performance thus far, he is looking good for another high finish in the desert this week.
The tounament’s defending champion, Cory Bacon, 27, is also in the field and through to match play. Tanigawa and Bacon have seen a lot of each other recently, so it wouldn’t be farfetched to think we might witness another great All-Arizona matchup.
After last year’s final, the pair of mid-amateurs teamed-up took home the silver medal for the state of Arizona in the USGA Men’s State Team Championship in Alabama.
Thomas Sullivan of Mesa managed to reach 11 under (66-67=133). In his opening round, Sullivan would navigate the 7,210 yard layout without a bogey, making birdies on 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, and 17 to open at 6-under-par. Tuesday would be another solid day for Sullivan, carding another six circled numbers, making his only bogey of medal play on the 16th.
Tied with Sullivan for medalist honors is Christian Muscarello (67-66=133), who produced his 11-under-par performance by way of the par fives, making birdies on three out of four on Monday, and two eagles and a birdie on Tuesday.
Sullivan’s will be the first match to leave the tee tomorrow, at 7:00am, with the final pairings beginning their matches at 11:08am.
View results for Arizona Amateur
ABOUT THE Arizona Amateur
The event will play host to a maximum field size of 156
players for qualifying rounds, with the field cut to the
top 64 players for the match play championship, all
competing in one division. The event will consist of a
36-hole qualifier, followed by a 64-player match play
championship.
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