PINE VALLEY, N.J. (September 15, 2018) - After two rounds of match play, the favorites have been knocked out and a first-time champion is guaranteed at the 94th Crump Cup at Pine Valley Golf Club.

The championship bracket featured four U.S. Mid-Amateur champions and three past Crump Cup champions, but all are gone.

The four semifinalists who remain have one thing in common -- they all reside in the central time zone. It'll be Iowa vs. Nebraska in one semifinal, and Missouri vs. Louisiana in the other.

Dennis Bull (Norwalk, Iowa) played 37 holes on Saturday, going 19 holes to beat Andrew Price (Lake Bluff, Ill.) in the morning, and then edging the stroke play medalist Stewart Hagestad (Newport Beach, Calif.) 1 up in the afternoon.

Related: Crump Cup: Hagestad medals as match-play brackets set

For Hagestad, it was a second Saturday elimination in as many years at Pine Valley, although he made it one round farther than he did last year in his first Crump Cup. His first-round match was a rematch of the biggest match of his life so far, the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur final where he came back from four down with five holes to go to shock the 2014 champion Scott Harvey in 37 holes. He got the best of Harvey again on Saturday morning, winning 2 and 1.

Patrick Duffy (Omaha, Neb.) played 39 holes, knocking out Seth Sargent (Birmingham, Ala.) in the morning and then outlasting Danny Simmerman (Shavano Park, Texas) in 21 holes.

First-round co-leader Brad Nurski (St. Joseph, Mo.) got through two of the more decorated players in the field, each by a 2 and 1 margin. First up was 2-time Crump Cup champion Michael Muehr (Potomac Falls, Va.), followed by 5-time USGA champion Nathan Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.).

Derek Busby (Ruston, La.) was equally impressive. His first-round opponent was another 2-time Crump Cup champion, Carlton Forrester (Atlanta, Ga.), and he was able to close him out by a 3 and 1 margin. He then cruised past the defending U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Matt Parziale (Brockton, Mass.), 5 and 4.

Championship Semifinals
8:10am, #1 tee, Dennis Bull v. Patrick Duffy
8:20am, #1 tee, Brad Nurski v. Derek Busby

Second Flight
7:30am, #1 tee, Matthew Mattare v. Aaron Hickman
7:40am, #1 tee, Joe Sanders v. Jeff Osberg

Third Flight
7:30am, #10 tee, Arnie Cutrell v. Gregor Orlando
7:40am, #10 tee, Michael Kelley v. Scott Strickland

In the Senior Division, only one round of matches was played on Saturday. The stroke play medalist Jeff Burda (Modesto, Calif.) beat Steve Harwell (Mooresville, N.C.) 1 up and will next face Allan Small (Savannah, Ga.), who beat Oscar Mestre (Berwyn, Pa.) 3 and 2.

The other semifinal will be a battle of heavyweights, with 2016 U.S. Senior Amateur champion Dave Ryan (Taylorville, IL) facing off against the current #1 player in the AmateurGolf.com Senior Amateur Rankings, Gene Elliott (W. Des Moines, Iowa).

Ryan took out the defending senior Crump champion John McClure (Austin, Texas) 4 and 3. Elliott survived a 19-hole challenge from Matthew Sughrue (Arlington, Va.) and is two match wins away from adding a Senior Crump title to the one he won as a mid-amateur in 2013.

Senior Championship Semifinals
7:50am, #1 tee, Jeff Burda v. Allan Small
8:00am, #1 tee, Dave Ryan v. Gene Elliott

Senior Second Flight
7:50am, #10 tee, Alan Fadel v. Marty West
8:00am, #10 tee, Buddy Marucci v. Bob Kain

All semifinal matches will be contested in the morning, followed by the championship matches in the afternoon. In a Pine Valley tradition, the public is invited to view the final matches, with the gates opening at approximately 12:45 pm. It is the one opportunity the public has each year to walk the grounds of the #1 ranked golf course in the world.

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