A four hour, 23-for-8 playoff at the U.S. Amateur
Franklin Huang was among those to survive the Wednesday morning playoff
(USGA Photo)
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI (August 17, 2016) -- It took
just about four hours and seven holes; two shy of the
all-time U.S. Amateur record but the final eight spots in
the Oakland Hills Country Club Round of 64 have been
determined.
The 23 man playoff began on the first playoff hole
with three players quickly moving on with birdies.
Included in the group were Stanford junior Franklin
Huang, Vanderbilt junior William Gordon and recent
Houston graduate Blair Hamilton.
An additional four players advanced on the second
playoff hole, the 11th. Oklahoma State commit
Matthew
Wolff, Pepperdine sophomore Sahith Theegala, recent
Stanford graduate David Boote and Englishman Bradley
Moore all moved on with birdie three's.
The final spot however proved to be much more
difficult to determine. With eight eight players
remaining the group played the third extra hole where
another two players were eliminated. All six players left
parred the fourth playoff hole before Stanford senior
Maverick McNealy and two others fell on the fifth extra
hole.
McNealy had a chance to end the playoff on No.
11,
the second hole of the day,
but his four-foot birdie putt lipped out.
The remaining three of Scott Harvey, Stewart
Hagestad and Kent State junior Ian Holt pressed on to
the sixth playoff hole and after a round of pars moved
onto the seventh where Harvey was able to win with a
par.
NOTABLE PLAYERS ELIMINATED IN
PLAYOFF
-Matt Gilchrest (First Playoff Hole)
-Sammy Schmitz (Second Playoff Hole)
-Taylor Funk (Fifth Playoff Hole)
-Maverick McNealy (Fifth Playoff Hole)
-Stewart Hagestad (Seventh Playoff Hole)
-The Golf Channel contributed to this story
ABOUT THE
US 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 .4 (point four) or lower. It is
one
of 15 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA.
A new two-stage qualifying process went into effect in 2024, providing exemptions through local qualifying for state amateur champions and top-ranked WAGR playres. See the USGA website for details -- applications are typically placed online in the spring
at www.usga.org.
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