BROOKLINE, Mass. (Aug. 14, 2013) -- With
just a few days remaining
before the announcement of the final Walker
Cup selections, the pressure
is on for those under consideration. Here’s a
snapshot of how some of the
names being talked about for one of the
remaining U.S. Walker Cup roster
spots fared through stroke-play qualifying and
the first round of match play
at the U.S. Amateur:
Michael Weaver: The
runner
up at last year’s
U.S. Amateur, Weaver
reached match play but fell to Greg Eason, 3-
and-2, in
first-round action.
Still, Weaver’s consistent play since last year
has to be a factor. He
recently won the William C. Campbell Award,
which goes to the lowest
aggregate score from the Porter Cup, The
Players Amateur and the
Northeast Amateur.
Sean Dale: Dale
played his way back into
contention last week at the
Western Amateur, falling in the final match to
Jordan Niebrugge. Winner of
the Jones Cup in February, the recent North
Florida graduate lost 3-and-2
to two-time Walker Cup selection Patrick
Rodgers in the Round of 64.
Jordan
Niebrugge:
Niebrugge entered the U.S.
Amateur as the hottest
player in the world, having won, in
succession, the U.S. Public Links, the
Wisconsin State Amateur and the Western
Amateur. And, despite losing in
18 holes to Georgia Tech’s Seth Reeves,
Niebrugge remains one of three
serious contenders for the final spots.
Michael Miller: Miller
was a
contender earlier
in the year but might very
well get back into it at the most perfect of
times. A former golfer at Pennsylvania
State University, Miller took the No. 6 seed
thanks to
terrific play in the qualifying
rounds. To have a shot, he’d need to make a
deep run this week.
Brandon Hagy: Hagy turned
heads last year,
reaching the semifinals of the
U.S. Amateur. After a stellar NCAA season at
Cal, the long hitter hasn’t
won this summer but has played well. A deep
run this week could seal it
for him. Hagy was a winner in extra holes
Wednesday in the Round of 64.
Bobby Wyatt:
Another potential Walker Cup
selection from NCAA Champion
Alabama, Wyatt rolled through his first-round
match. A deep run puts him
right in the thick of things in the eyes of the
Walker Cup selection
comittee.
Mike McCoy: One of just a few
mid-amateurs
in the event, McCoy missed
match play. With that said, Walker Cup
captain Jim Holtgrieve was
impressed with the Iowa native’s decision to
play in some of the season’s
top events in hopes of qualifying, as well as
his ability to play well in those
events.
Nathan Smith: A
two-
time Walker Cup
selection and four-time U.S. Mid-
Amateur champion, Smith is a likely mid-
amateur selection. He missed
match play, though, at the U.S. Amateur.
ABOUT THE U.S. Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA
championship, was first played in 1895 at
Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The
event,
which has no age restriction, is open to
those
with a Handicap Index of 2.4 or lower. It is
one
of 14 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA, 10 of which are
strictly
for amateurs. It is the pre-eminent
amateur
competition in the world.
Applications are typically placed online in the spring
at www.usga.org.
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