Saturday, August 29, 2009

It's Martin v An in US amateur championship final

Sunday's 36-hole final of the 109th United States men's amateur championship at Southern Hills, Tulsa in Oklahoma will feature a 17-year-old South Korean, Beyeong-Hun An and a 21-year-old senior year student from Clemson Univesity, Ben Martin from Greenwood, South Carolina.
If An wins he will replace last year's winner Danny Lee, also Korean-born, as the youngest ever in the history of the championship.
If Martin wins he will end a 20-year gap since Chris Patton in 1989 became the first and only player from South Carolina and Clemson to win the coveted Havenmeyer Trophy.
Martin advanced by defeating Charlie Holland, 23, of Dallas and a senior at Texas, 5 and 4, while An, a native of South Korea who has been living in Bradenton, Florida the past 3 1/2 years, beat Bhavik “Bobby” Patel, 18, of Bakersfield, Calif., and a sophomore at Fresno State, 3 and 2 in today's semi-fnals.
While the top prize will be decided on Sunday, both finalists gained the biggest U.S. Amateur perk – the traditional invitation to play in next year’s Masters at Augusta National and a spot in the starting field at the 2010 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
“I’m still in school, so I’ll definitely play in the Masters,” said Martin, who has attended the tournament for the past 10 years with his dad, Jim, who is caddying for him this week. “So I’ll stay amateur through the summer in order to play in the (U.S.) Open again (he qualified and missed the cut this year).

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