Western Am: Flanagan medals as 7-for-1 playoff sets Sweet 16

Angus Flanagan (Woking, England) shot a 6-under 66 at famed Crooked Stick Golf Club to finish 72 holes at 11 under par and earn medalist honors at the 118th Western Amateur Championship.

Flanagan, who recently completed his junior year at the University of Minnesota, came into the week with a good run of form that saw him win the Minnesota State Open, and then got to play in the PGA Tour's 3M Open in Minnesota last week.

His 66 was the low round of stroke play qualifying, matching the score shot by Spencer Tibbits (Vancouver, Wash.) in the second round, but it came under the pressure of the strong field all jockeying to finish in the top 16 players who will advance to the match play phase of one of golf's most grueling events.

Texas A&M's Sam Bennett (Madisonville, Texas) was poised to be the medalist but bogeyed two holes coming in to fall one shot behind Flanagan. But the main job was done, and Bennett had the added satisfaction of being the only player in the field to break par all four rounds at the difficult major championship venue.

Matthias Schmid of Germany and the University of Louisville was another shot back at 9 under.

Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.), who will be defending his U.S. Amateur title at Bandon Dunes, is safely through to match play as the fourth seed.

University of Florida teammates Ricky Castillo (Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Joseph Pagdin (Sheffield, England) also comfortably made the Sweet 16.

Turk Pettit (Sugar Grove, N.C.) of Clemson, who shared the 36-hole lead, struggled to a 75 in the morning round on Thursday but still advanced. The other 36-hole co-leader Kyle Hogan (Cypress, Texas) of Texas Tech wasn't as fortunate.

Other Sweet 16ers included Alabama commit Alexander Yang (Carlsbad, Calif.), Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (Oklahoma State/Denmark), Pierceson Coody (University of Texas/Plano, Texas), Davis Thompson (University of Georgia/St. Simons Island, Ga.), Harrison Ott (Vanderbilt/Brookfield, Wisc.), Trey Winstead (LSU/Baton Rouge, La.), University of Virginia commit George Duangmanee (Fairfax, Va.), and Connor Creasy (University of Georgia/Abingdon, Va.).

Seven players -- including the 2018 Western Amateur champion Cole Hammer -- were tied at even par for the 16th and final Sweet 16 spot, and headed to their 37th hole of the day to start a 7-for-1 playoff.

PLAYOFF TIME AT CROOKED STICK!

7 players ving for for 1 spot in the 2020 #WesternAmateur Sweet 16.

- Maxwell Moldovan
- Cole Hammer
- Travis Vick
- John Keefer
- Austin Hitt
- Spencer Tibbits
- William Mouw

— WGA Championships (@WGAChamps) July 30, 2020

Austin Hitt (University of North Carolina/Longwood, Fla.) emerged from the playoff as the winner and will face Flanagan in the first round of match play on Friday.

Two rounds of match play will pare the field down to the final four, with two more matches including the championship final on Saturday.