Brad Reeves, playing in his first USGA championship, shot even-par 70 at Oakmont on Tuesday post 135 through 36 holes. (Justin Aller/USGA)
More than a few players are likely to experience a restless night's sleep after a near four hour weather delay suspended the second round of stroke play at the U.S. Amateur on Tuesday.
The morning wave of players on both Oakmont Country Club – which is hosting the championship for a record-tying sixth time – and stroke-play co-host the Longue Vue Club, in nearby Verona, Pa., were able to complete 36 holes of stroke play.
However, the 156 afternoon starters in the field will have to complete Round 2 on Wednesday, starting at 7:30 a.m. EDT, after which the 64-player bracket for match play will be decided, likely in the early afternoon. The Round of 64 will begin after a playoff, if necessary, to decide the final spots in the bracket.
Brad Reeves, of Woodbridge, Calif., is the clubhouse leader at 5-under par 135 after carding an even-par 70 at Oakmont onto the 5-under 65 he shot on Monday at Longue Vue. Cole Sherwood, of Austin, Texas, who shot a 1-under 69 at Oakmont on Monday, added a 68 at Longue Vue and is currently in second among those who completed play at 3-under 137.
Reeves, the 2021 Pac-12 Player-of-the-Year at the University of Arizona, had a roller-coaster day at Oakmont on Tuesday, with six pars, six birdies and six bogeys.
“It was blowing [before the delay] and there were holes that were playing ridiculously hard,” said Reeves. “My birdie run [on Holes 4, 6 and 7] came from just trying to hit on the smart side, and if you made par, knowing that that was a really good score. I was struggling, grinding it out, but I knew everybody else was probably doing the same thing.”
Cooper Schultz, of Wichita, Kan., and Hugo Townsend, of Sweden, finished 36-hole and are at 2-under 138, while Trent Phillips, of Boiling Springs, S.C., and Devon Bling, of Ridgecrest, Calif., the runner-up to Viktor Hovland in the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach, were the only other players who finished on Tuesday to post under-par scores, at 1-under 139. Donald Kay, of San Diego, improved by 10 strokes on Tuesday at Longue Vue (75-65) and was one of three players at even-par 140.
After shooting a 6-under 64 on Monday at Longue Vue Club, Mark Goetz of nearby Greensburg, Va. moved over to meatier Oakmont on Tuesday and was 3-under on his round when play was suspended. Starting on hole No. 10, the former West Virginia standout made eight straight pars to start his round before collecting his first birdie on the day on the short par-4 17th hole (his 8th) and made the turn in 34. Birdies on his 10th (No. 1) and 11th holes moved him to 3-under on the day.
At 9-under, Goetz holds a two-stroke advantage on the scoreboard over first round leader Jacob Bridgeman (Inman, S.C.) and Brian Ma (Milpitas, Calif.), who are 5-under with more than a half of their rounds still be be played at Oakmont on Wednesday.
Joe Highsmith, who helped lead Pepperdine to the national championship in June, is even par through 10 holes at Oakmont and remains 6-under for the tournament after carding a 64 at Longue Vue Club on Monday.
Travis Vick, a rising junior at the University of Texas, was 3-under through eight holes at Oakmont when play was suspended. Vick followed a opening par on the 10th hole with a birdie on 11 and an eagle on the par-5 12th to move to 6-under for the tournament.
While earning medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur is no small feat, the Wednesday's drama will be focused on the players near the cutline, which is projected at 4-over par.
Some notable names who have their work cut out for them tomorrow include the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, Keita Nakajima (+11) of Japan; Walker Cup team member William Mouw (+6); Sam Bennett (+8), a quarterfinalist last year at Bandon Dunes; Dylan Menante (+7), winner of the Northeast Amateur; and Cohen Trolio (+7), who advanced to the finals of the U.S. Junior Amateur in late July at the Country Club of North Carolina.
The USGA contributed to this report
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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