Old Father Tim (50) sets US Amateur
No 1 qualifier record - despite penalty!
Fifty-year-old Tim Jackson shot a second-round 72 to become the oldest leading match-play qualifier in the history of the United States men's amateur championship - and he did it despie a one-stroke penalty for slow play!
Jackson finished at even-par 140 after two rounds at Cedar Ridge and Southern Hills. This performance comes four weeks after the U.S. Senior Open, where he was the 36-hole leader and earned low amateur honours by finishing in joint 11th place.
“I’m not really a record book reader, or anything like that, but today, ... I went out there and I just went for it,” Jackson said. “I said, ‘I’m going to try to win this thing and be the medalist.’ I hit shots today that, in years past, I might have just laid up or played 40 feet away from the hole. I just went for it.”
Jackson broke a record that was over 100 years old. He ousted Walter Travis, who earned the top seed status in in 1908 at 46.
The only thing that upset Jackson was a slow-play penalty that he received after the round. “I’m not real happy about it, let’s put it that way,” Jackson said. His group was warned at three of the four timing checkpoints (the fourth, ninth and 13th holes).
When it was confirmed that Jackson, who’d finished earlier in the day, was the No 1 qualifier, he replied: “Well that’s wonderful, I beat everybody by two shots.”
Jackson is a veteran of U.S. Golf Association events. He has won two U.S. Mid-Amateurs (1994, 2001) and played in 15 U.S. amateur championships. He’s also played on two U.S. Walker Cup teams, and helped his chances of making a third.
Finishing one stroke back were a U.S. Amateur rookie (Will Strickler), a player competing with Jackson for one of those final two spots on the U.S. Walker Cup team (Mark Anderson) and Clemson senior Ben Martin, who played in this year’s U.S. Open. Martin shot 68 Tuesday to tie for the low round at Southern Hills this week.
Strickler is making his first and final U.S. Amateur appearance after failing to qualify in seven previous tries; he graduated from the University of Florida this spring with a double major in economics and anthropology. He will turn pro in early September for Canadian Tour Q-School, then try his hand at the PGA Tour qualifying tournament.
Strickler shot 69 Monday at Cedar Ridge and followed that with a 2-over 72 at Southern Hills.
“I putted really well,” Strickler said. “I’m not really ecstatic about my ballstriking, but match play is all about putting.”
Anderson, who won the South Carolina Amateur earlier this month, is one of several US Walker Cup hopefuls that made the cut. Cameron Tringale (143), Dan Woltman (144), Mike Van Sickle (145), Bronson Burgoon (146), Peter Uihlein (147) and Wesley Bryan (147) all advanced to match play. Bryan had six birdies in his second-round 70.
Team USA has two spots left on the Walker Cup team. Will anyone make a run at the U.S. Amateur to make the USGA’s decision a no-brainer?
Of course, every American to make match play has a chance to make the team if they win this week.
The cut to make match play fell at eight over par. A 27-for-4 spots play-off will begin at 7:30 a.m. (local time) Wednesday on Southern Hills’ 14th hole.
U.S. Walker Cup captain Buddy Marruci, playing in Tuesday’s final group, posted a 2-over 72 at Southern Hills to make match play; Marucci also won last year’s USGA Senior Amateur.
Other notables who will take part in the play-off are NCAA champ Matt Hill, former U.S. Amateur Public Links champ Tim Hogarth and U.S. Junior champ Jordan Spieth. University of Illinois sophomore Luke Guthrie shot 69 Tuesday at Cedar Ridge, a 10-shot improvement from his first round, to also finish at 8 over.
Notables to miss the cut include 2008 U.S. Amateur runner-up Drew Kittleson (149); 2008 U.S. Junior champ Cameron Peck (149, including a second-round 69 at Southern Hills); Southern Amateur champ Gregor Main (152); and Nick Taylor (153), the No. 2 player in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Amateur Rankings.
Walker Cup team members Drew Weaver (149), Adam Mitchell (151) and Brendan Gielow (154) also missed the cut.
• U.S. Amateur: Second-round qualifying results
No 1 qualifier record - despite penalty!
Fifty-year-old Tim Jackson shot a second-round 72 to become the oldest leading match-play qualifier in the history of the United States men's amateur championship - and he did it despie a one-stroke penalty for slow play!
Jackson finished at even-par 140 after two rounds at Cedar Ridge and Southern Hills. This performance comes four weeks after the U.S. Senior Open, where he was the 36-hole leader and earned low amateur honours by finishing in joint 11th place.
“I’m not really a record book reader, or anything like that, but today, ... I went out there and I just went for it,” Jackson said. “I said, ‘I’m going to try to win this thing and be the medalist.’ I hit shots today that, in years past, I might have just laid up or played 40 feet away from the hole. I just went for it.”
Jackson broke a record that was over 100 years old. He ousted Walter Travis, who earned the top seed status in in 1908 at 46.
The only thing that upset Jackson was a slow-play penalty that he received after the round. “I’m not real happy about it, let’s put it that way,” Jackson said. His group was warned at three of the four timing checkpoints (the fourth, ninth and 13th holes).
When it was confirmed that Jackson, who’d finished earlier in the day, was the No 1 qualifier, he replied: “Well that’s wonderful, I beat everybody by two shots.”
Jackson is a veteran of U.S. Golf Association events. He has won two U.S. Mid-Amateurs (1994, 2001) and played in 15 U.S. amateur championships. He’s also played on two U.S. Walker Cup teams, and helped his chances of making a third.
Finishing one stroke back were a U.S. Amateur rookie (Will Strickler), a player competing with Jackson for one of those final two spots on the U.S. Walker Cup team (Mark Anderson) and Clemson senior Ben Martin, who played in this year’s U.S. Open. Martin shot 68 Tuesday to tie for the low round at Southern Hills this week.
Strickler is making his first and final U.S. Amateur appearance after failing to qualify in seven previous tries; he graduated from the University of Florida this spring with a double major in economics and anthropology. He will turn pro in early September for Canadian Tour Q-School, then try his hand at the PGA Tour qualifying tournament.
Strickler shot 69 Monday at Cedar Ridge and followed that with a 2-over 72 at Southern Hills.
“I putted really well,” Strickler said. “I’m not really ecstatic about my ballstriking, but match play is all about putting.”
Anderson, who won the South Carolina Amateur earlier this month, is one of several US Walker Cup hopefuls that made the cut. Cameron Tringale (143), Dan Woltman (144), Mike Van Sickle (145), Bronson Burgoon (146), Peter Uihlein (147) and Wesley Bryan (147) all advanced to match play. Bryan had six birdies in his second-round 70.
Team USA has two spots left on the Walker Cup team. Will anyone make a run at the U.S. Amateur to make the USGA’s decision a no-brainer?
Of course, every American to make match play has a chance to make the team if they win this week.
The cut to make match play fell at eight over par. A 27-for-4 spots play-off will begin at 7:30 a.m. (local time) Wednesday on Southern Hills’ 14th hole.
U.S. Walker Cup captain Buddy Marruci, playing in Tuesday’s final group, posted a 2-over 72 at Southern Hills to make match play; Marucci also won last year’s USGA Senior Amateur.
Other notables who will take part in the play-off are NCAA champ Matt Hill, former U.S. Amateur Public Links champ Tim Hogarth and U.S. Junior champ Jordan Spieth. University of Illinois sophomore Luke Guthrie shot 69 Tuesday at Cedar Ridge, a 10-shot improvement from his first round, to also finish at 8 over.
Notables to miss the cut include 2008 U.S. Amateur runner-up Drew Kittleson (149); 2008 U.S. Junior champ Cameron Peck (149, including a second-round 69 at Southern Hills); Southern Amateur champ Gregor Main (152); and Nick Taylor (153), the No. 2 player in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Amateur Rankings.
Walker Cup team members Drew Weaver (149), Adam Mitchell (151) and Brendan Gielow (154) also missed the cut.
• U.S. Amateur: Second-round qualifying results
Labels: Amateur Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Wednesday, August 26, 2009
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home