Western Amateur down to final four at Rich Harvest Farms

SUGAR GROVE, Ill. — Saturday's semifinal matchups are set for the 113th Western Amateur. Two kids from the Southeast will do battle while two Pac-12 collegians, both natives of California, will dual it out on the other side of the bracket.

Medalist and No. 1 seed Robby Shelton of the University of Alabama was the first player through to the semis on Friday afternoon, handing Australian junior golfer Ryan Ruffels a 4-and-3 defeat. The win will pit him against Tennessee native Dawson Armstrong on Saturday morning.

Armstrong, who at one point held the 36-hole stroke play qualifying lead after opening rounds of 67 and 66, is a sophomore at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He took down 2013 Western Amateur winner Jordan Niebrugge in the quarterfinals to punch his ticket to Saturday.

RELATED: Shelton claims medalist honors at Western Amateur
QUARTERFINAL RECAP: Shelton among eight advancing Friday morning

The most compelling match of the afternoon wound up being the duel between UCLA senior Jake Knapp and University of Texas junior Gavin Hall. The pair needed six extra holes after Hall forced sudden death with a clutch birdie at 18. Knapp and Hall managed to both make birdies on the fifth extra hole, the par-3 5th at Rich Harvest Farms, to force what was eventually their final hole. Knapp knocked an incredible fairway bunker shot to two feet and tapped in to eliminate Hall.

Knapp will face fellow Southern Californian Aaron Wise on Saturday morning. Wise, a sophomore at the University of Oregon from Lake Elsinore, Calif., would be a remarkable champion at tournament's end considering he won last week's Pacific Coast Amateur. Wise defeated soon-to-be University of Florida freshman Sam Horsfield of England in his quarterfinal match by a count of 3-and-2.