Vick, Bennett lead the amateur contingent at the U.S. Open
Travis VIck (L) and Sam Bennett
Travis Vick (Houston, Texas) and
Sam Bennett (Madisonville, Texas) each opened the 122nd U.S. Open Championship with rounds of even-par 70, to lead the pack of 15 amateurs chasing the low amateur medal at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Vick, fresh off of helping the University of Texas
capture the NCAA Championship in the Arizona desert, and Texas A&M's Bennett, each had steady rounds with two birdies and two bogeys each. Each ended the day four shots behind leader Adam Hadwin.
Related: Travis Vick eagles his way into the U.S. Open at Dallas Final
Early on Thursday, it was U.S. Mid-Amateur champion
Stewart Hagestad making headlines, getting to 3 under through 11 holes for a share of the lead. But a shank on the 13th hole contributed to a poor finish, as Hagestad stumbled to a 3-over 73.
The 2021 U.S. Amateur runner-up
Austin Greaser also found himself going from lead-chasing to cut-chasing in round one, going from 2 under at the turn to a 2-over 72.
AMATEUR LEADERBOARD, ROUND 1
70
Sam Bennett
70
Travis Vick
72
Austin Greaser
72
Adrien Dumont de Chassart
73
Stewart Hagestad
73
Keita Nakajima
75
William Mouw
75
Laird Shepherd
75
Maxwell Moldovan
76
Charlie Reiter
77
Michael Thorbjornsson
77
Ben Lorenz
78
Nick Dunlap
79
Fred Biondi
83
Caleb Manuel
ABOUT THE
U.S. Open Golf Championship
The U.S. Open is the biggest of the 15 national
championships conducted by the USGA.
Open
to amateurs and professionals. Amateurs gain
entry via USGA win or runner-up finishes while having the opportunity
to qualify alongside non-exempt professionals in an 18-hole "Local' qualifying followed
by 36-hole "Final" qualifying which is affectionately known as golf's longest day.
Highly-ranked amateurs will be exempted past the 18-hole Local Qualifying. See the
USGA website for details. And if you are exempt on any level be sure to apply by the deadline anyway.
The USGA intends to make the U.S. Open
the
most rigorous, yet fair, examination of golf
skills, testing all forms of shot-making. The
USGA prepares the course after careful
consideration of 14 different factors.
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