Horsfield is Western Amateur medalist, final 16 set for match play

LAKE FOREST, ILL (August 4, 2016) -- Sam Horsfield concluded his wire-to-wire run to claim the Western Amateur medalist honors. Horsfield opened with a Knollwood Club course record 63 and after a second round 75 the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award winner this past season shot rounds of 67-64 on the 36- hole stroke play final day to finish 15-under.

Heading into the final day Horsfield, a sophomore at Florida, held a one-stroke lead but pulled away to win by a dominating nine-strokes.

“I feel like I played really good,” Horsfield told the Western Golf Association. “I could have been a little better, but that is nitpicking at things. Coming into [Thursday], if you would have told me you got to 17- under par, I wouldn’t have believed you, so I will take it.”

The remarkable play for Horsfield throughout the week was mostly done on the back nine where he went a remarkable 13-under.

In the morning round on Thursday, Horsfield shot a 4-under 67, with all of his work done on the closing nine. Following a 1-over 36 on the front, the Florida Gator star birdied five holes on the second nine for a bogey-free 5- under 31.

The stellar play for Horsfield continued in the afternoon, when he fired a 7-under 64. Horsfield birdied three front nine holes and then put an exclamation point on his three days of stroke play with six birdies on the final nine. The closing stretch began with birdies on Nos. 10-13 and then additional birdies on holes 15 and 16. If Horsfield hadn't bogeyed the final two holes he would have broken the scoring record he had set in the first round.

However, for as well as Horsfield has played his work is far from done. The field has been trimmed to 16 players and the match play portion of the Western Amateur has begun. Here is a look at the 15 other players that have advanced:

* denotes advanced in playoff
** denotes eliminated in playoff

Michael DeMorat (Liberty): 2nd; -6
Andy Zhang (Incoming Floria Freshman): 3rd; -4
John Coultas (Florida Southern): T4; -3
Nick Hardy (Michigan): T4; -3
Braden Bailey (Baylor): T6; -2
Doug Ghim (Texas): T6; -2
Greyson Sigg (Georgia): T8; -1
Max McGreevy (Oklahoma): T8; -1
Eric Ricard (LSU): T8; -1
JJ Grey (Georgia State): T8; -1
*Joaquin Niemann (Chilean Junior Golfer): T12; E
*Davis Riley (Alabama): T12; E
*Vincent Whaley (Georgia Tech): T12; E
*William Gordon (Vanderbilt): T12; E
*Dylan Meyer (Illinois): T12; E

**Won Jun Lee (Saddlebrook H.S.-FL): T12; E

Of the 16 players advancing, four have made it to the sweet 16 before. Horsfield, Coultas, Hardy and Ghim.

By the time play is complete on Friday, the final four will be named, setting up the semifinal and championship matches for Saturday.