Western Amateur Semifinalist Doc Redman

If you've followed amateur golf this summer, you know three of the Western Amateur semifinalists pretty well. There's Derek Bard of Upstate New York, who played for Virginia and won the Monroe Invitational and Palmetto Intercollegiate in the spring. But his 2015 is what really put Bard on the map -- he was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur and won the prestigious Sunnehanna Invitational. (His current Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Ranking is 26)

Bard's semifinal opponent is Californian Norman Xiong, the Western Amateur medalist, member of the Oregon Ducks golf team, and winner of the 2016 Junior PGA championship, among other junior titles. (His world ranking is No. 76 but will take a big jump based on his play at the Western.)

Cameron Champ (also from California) qualified for the U.S. Open and was in the top-10 after a 69 in round one, but eventually lost out on low amateur honors to Scottie Scheffler. The consistent performer for Texas A&M picked up victories in big events like the Patritot All-America, and his biggest career amateur title with a victory at the Trans-Miss last month at Prairie Dunes that vaulted him up into the No. 3 position in the rankings.

But what about his opponent, Doc Redman? He doesn't get much "press" but is ranked No. 16 in the world,

The incoming Clemson sophmore was the team's top golfer during his freshman year in terms of stroke average -- the first freshman to hold that distinction since Stephen Behr in 2013, and just the second since Kyle Stanley in 2007. He was also the first freshman to win two tournaments in same year, never mind in the fall, setting countless Clemson records, including tying the mark for the low round with a 63 at the Jackrabbit in his second career event and fourth career round (that record has since been broken by teammate and classmate William Nottingham). Redman finished with a 198 at the Ka'anapali Classic, the record 54-hole score by three shots and record for a freshman by nine strokes

The native of Raleigh, North Carolina reached match play at the 2016 U.S. Amateur a few days before coming to Clemson, advancing to the round-of-32. He also won the 2016 North Carolina 4A High School championship. He'll have another chance to make an impression on Walker Cup captain Spider Miller at California's Riviera and Bel-Air Country Clubs on August 14 -- he was medalist at his sectional qualifier.

If you follow Clemson golf or reside in The Carolinas you probably knew all this. If he goes all the way at the Western, a lot of other people will too.