Before the 119th U.S. Amateur Championship teed off Monday, we highlighted 18
"Players to Watch".
After 36 holes of stroke play qualifying at Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4, the 312-player field was whittled down to 88 on Wednesday morning: 61 who made it into match play, and 27 who competed in a playoff for the final three qualifying spots. After four holes determined the final qualifier, the match play field was set.
All 18 of our Players to Watch got within four shots of match play, with 11 making match play and two more failing to get out of a difficult 27-for-3 playoff for the final match play spots. Four players, including medalist Brandon Wu and Walker Cup selection Stewart Hagestad, lost their first-round match, leaving seven still in the field.
Six of the seven got through their second-round match on Thursday morning, but the afternoon matches were very unkind to all but Spencer Ralston, who was the only Player to Watch to advance to the quarterfinals. There he would fall to the eventual champion, Andy Ogletree.
FINAL Players to Watch Leaderboard
Lost in the match play quarterfinals
69-72--141 (T12)
Spencer Ralston
Beat Brent Ito 2 and 1, Beat Julien Sale 1 up, Beat Parker Coody 6 and 5, Lost to Andy Ogletree 6 and 5
Lost in the final 16 of match play
72-66--138 (T2)
Ricky Castillo
Beat Chad Sewell 5 and 3, Beat Takumi Kanaya 3 and 2, Lost to John Augenstein 1 up
68-75--143 (T28)
Isaiah Salinda
Beat Travis Vick 1 up, Beat Alejandro del Rey 1 up, Lost to Palmer Jackson 2 up
72-71--143 (T28)
Pierceson Coody
Beat Sahith Theegala 6 and 5, Beat Van Holmgren 3 and 1, Lost to William Holcomb 2 and 1
76-68--144 (T44)
John Pak
Beat Blake Windred 3 and 1, Beat Eduard Rousaud 1 up, Lost to Austin Squires 2 and 1
Lost in the 2nd round of match play
71-69--140 (T9)
Steven Fisk
Beat Devon Bling 6 and 5, Lost to Karl Vilips 3 and 1
72-72--144 (T44)
Akshay Bhatia
Beat R.J. Manke 3 and 2, Lost to John Augenstein 4 and 2
Lost in the 1st round of match play
65-72--137 (1)
Brandon Wu
Lost to Austin Squires 2 up
67-74--141 (T12)
Blake Windred
Lost to John Pak 3 and 1
73-68--141 (T12)
Stewart Hagestad
Lost to Maxwell Moldovan 3 and 2
72-71--143 (T28)
Noah Norton
Lost to Parker Coody 7 and 6
Did not qualify for match play
75-70--145 (T62)
Cole Hammer*
74-71--145 (T62)
Alex Smalley*
69-77--146 (T89)
Quade Cummins
76-70--146 (T89)
Euan Walker
75-72--147 (T104)
David Micheluzzi
73-75--148 (T120)
Chun An Yu
72-77--149 (T134)
Garrett Rank
*did not advance through a 27-for-3 playoff
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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