SERGIO GARCIA LEADS US PGA TOUR EVENT

Sergio Garcia could be playing himself into the European Ryder Cup team this weekend.
The Spaniard is leading the field in the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro in North Carolina.

TO READ ALL ABOUT IT

CLICK HERE

FORSBRAND FAVOURITE FOR SCOTTISH SENIORS OPEN

Anders Forsbrand will take a three stroke lead into the final round of the SSE Scottish Senior Open as he bids to become the first Swedish winner on the European Senior Tour.

The six-time European Tour winner, who shared the first round lead with Frenchman March Farry, carded a second consecutive six under par 66 over the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews to move to 12 under par 132 for the tournament.

On a day of low scoring, Forsbrand produced his best putting display since joining the Senior Tour to establish a three shot cushion from the strong-finishing Englishman David J Russell, who closed with a birdie on the 17^th and an eagle three on the par five 18^th to also sign for a 66.

Another Englishman, Philip Golding, playing in just his second Senior Tour event, set a new course record with an eight under par 64 to lie a further shot back on eight under par.

But it is Forsbrand, one of the pioneers of Scandinavian golf in the 1980s, who is in pole position for an historic victory on the Senior Tour, 17 years after his last victory on The European Tour.

“It would be great to win but I’m just going to go out and play golf and see what happens,” said Forsbrand. “Last year was brutal for me. It was really difficult and I don’t think I was ready, but I’ve played better and better this year.

“I’ve had rounds where I could have shot really good numbers but the putter has held me back. It’s been close a lot of times and hopefully I can go out tomorrow and shoot another low number.”

Forsbrand was joint runner-up in the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship in June and feels his game is coming together at the right time, despite a shaky start to his second round.

“It was weird because I hit it great on the range and then hit a poor drive on the first and the same on the second and third and fourth, but I holed some great putts there and three birdies in a row was great,” said Forsbrand, who carded eight birdies and two bogeys.

“My irons were great today as well. I had some solid golf today and after three putting the seventh it was really good after that.

“My putting was much better today. That was probably the best putting round I’ve had on the Senior Tour. They were good, solid putts on line.

“This kind of golf is nice and 12 under is always good, but today was much harder as the wind really picked up on the back nine.”

Fresh from winning the British Par 3 Championship last week, Russell is hoping for another success in the penultimate event with his son Chris on the bag before the 29 year old begins a new job as the professional at the soon to be opened International Course in Amsterdam, created by Ian Woosnam and Russell’s RAW Design company.

Russell was sharing the leading in the 2010 event with nine holes to play but fell away and after a rampaging finale to his round, he is hoping to make amends for that and give Chris a special send off.

“What a finish,” said Russell, who holed a 30ft eagle putt on the last. “That’s thrust me into the limelight.

“You’re waiting for the finish at this course. The 17^th has to be one of the toughest and best holes in golf. So to finish three, three and shoot 66 is wonderful.”

Former Open de France winner Golding, who made his Senior Tour debut in last month’s Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex, carded eight birdies and no bogeys in his course record 64.

“Yesterday after a 72 I thought I was too far back, being six shots off the pace on day one, but in golf you never know what is going to happen,” he said. “ A 64 today is really good and I’m happy with that.”

Defending champion Barry Lane, who is bidding for a third consecutive victory in the SSE Scottish Senior Open, revived his chances of a Tartan Treble with seven under par 65 to move to  five under par 139 – seven shots off the pace.

Andrew Oldcorn is the leading Scot a further shot back on four under par after a one over par 73. He is tied with Farry (74), former World Number One Woosnam (71) and the Senior Tour’s most successful player Carl Mason (73) in a share of 13^th position.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

132 A Forsbrand (Swe) 66 66,

 135 D Russell (Eng) 69 66,

 136 P Golding (Eng) 72 64,

 137 G Manson (Aut) 69 68,

 138 A Sherborne (Eng) 67 71, K Tarling (Can) 71 67, G Ryall (Eng) 72 66,

 139 J Bruner (USA) 72 67, S Cipa (Eng) 70 69, B Lane (Eng) 74 65, C Williams (RSA) 73 66, G Ralph (Eng) 71 68,

 140 I Woosnam (Wal) 69 71, M Cunning (USA) 71 69, M Farry (Fra) 66 74, C Mason (Eng) 67 73, A Oldcorn (Sco) 67 73,

 141 B Longmuir (Sco) 71 70, S Torrance (Sco) 72 69, M Harwood (Aus) 68 73,

 142 D Durnian (Eng) 73 69, M Belsham (Eng) 72 70, M James (Eng) 68 74, R Drummond (Sco) 74 68, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 72 70, D Smyth (Irl) 68 74, B Cameron (Eng) 72 70, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 69 73,

 143 N Job (Eng) 75 68, M Martin (Esp) 73 70, M Mouland (Wal) 72 71, P Wesselingh (Eng) 70 73, A Fernandez (Chi) 71 72, D Wettlaufer (Can) 72 71, K Spurgeon (Eng) 69 74, G Banister (Aus) 71 72, T Thelen (USA) 69 74, P Walton (Irl) 70 73,

 144 P Fowler (Aus) 72 72, B Lincoln (RSA) 68 76, T Price (Aus) 75 69,

 145 P Mitchell (Eng) 73 72, R Davis (Aus) 70 75, S Van Vuuren (RSA) 74 71, G Norquist (USA) 70 75, D Merriman (Aus) 71 74,

 146 B Smit (RSA) 74 72, C Bolling  (USA) 72 74,

 147 J Rhodes (Eng) 74 73, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 76 71, Z Martinez (USA) 75 72, M Gray (Sco) 76 71, C Elliott (Sco) 72 75, N Ratcliffe (Aus) 74 73, P Horrobin (Jam) 74 73,

 148 F Mann (Sco) 74 74, R Gibson (Can) 73 75, T Elliott (Aus) 74 74,

 149 G Harvey (Sco) 78 71, G Brand (Eng) 75 74, J Gould (Eng) 76 73, S McAllister (Sco) 79 70, J Chillas (Sco) 74 75,

 150 R Sabarros (Fra) 76 74, J Harrison (Eng) 76 74, P Smith (Sco) 73 77, J Hall (Eng) 80 70,

 151 T Burgoyne (Sco) 78 73, D Cambridge (Jam) 77 74,

 152 L Carbonetti (Arg) 80 72,

 155 M Piñero (Esp) 76 79,

 171 T Stafford (am) (Sco) 84 87,

 172 A Garrido (Esp) 82 90,

 

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

THE EUROPEAN TOUR - CELEBRATING GOLF

 

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

CRAIG LEE FINISHES IN TOP FIVE IN DENMARK

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes

Stirling’s Craig Lee warmed up for the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles with a highly creditable top five finish at the ECCO Tour Championship hosted by Thomas Björn and Mercedes-Benz.
Lee closed with a round of 66 at Stensballegaard Golf in Horsens, Denmark, to finish on ten under par, two shots behind the winner, Italian Alessandro Tadini.
The 35 year old will now head home to prepare for this week’s £1.4million European Tour event in Perthshire, where a strong showing would go a long way toward securing his card for next season.

He said: “I’m very pleased with the week – I’d taken a few weeks off, so it was important to see if the practice I’d been putting in had paid off, and it’s worked out very nicely. I’m happy enough with the state of my game, and it gives me a nice wee bit of confidence to take forward.

“It’ll be great to play on home soil, and to sleep in my own bed. Gleneagles is a great track and I’m sure I’ll have a bit of support, so I’m really looking forward to the week. But I can’t let it distract me from the task in hand, because every week from now on in is a very big week. I’ve probably only got five or six tournaments left, so it’s coming to crunch time. The pressure’s on to getting across the finishing line, and hopefully I’ve got a few decent left performances in me.”

Fellow Scot Steven O’Hara finished alongside Lee in a tie for fifth place on ten under par after signing off with a round of 67, whilst Lloyd Saltman closed with his best round of the week, a 68 for a seven under par aggregate total.

Final scores:

276 A Tadini (Ita) 69 71 67 69, J Busby (Eng) 68 71 67 70,

 277 K Broberg (Swe) 70 69 67 71, K Eriksson (Swe) 70 62 73 72,

 278 S Kim (Kor) 70 73 69 66, C Lee (Sco) 71 71 70 66, M Tullo (Chi) 69 74 67 68, S O'Hara  (Sco) 71 69 71 67, N Meitinger  (Ger) 69 69 70 70, B Hafthorsson (Isl) 69 70 69 70, C Paisley  (Eng) 73 71 63 71, A Hansen  (Den) 72 72 68 66, G Clark (Eng) 71 66 69 72,

 279 J Hansen  (Den) 67 75 64 73, M Madsen  (Den) 74 71 67 67,

 280 J Abbott (Eng) 71 74 70 65, M Korhonen (Fin) 69 75 68 68, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 71 73 64 72, J Parry (Eng) 72 72 70 66,

 281 N Lemke (Swe) 70 72 69 70, A Kaleka  (Fra) 71 73 68 69, L Saltman (Sco) 71 71 71 68, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 71 65 74 71, L Goddard  (Eng) 74 68 71 68, D Brooks (Eng) 69 71 71 70,

 282 J Legarrea (Esp) 71 69 73 69, E De La Riva  (Esp) 72 72 71 67, B Parker  (Eng) 69 71 73 69, F Fritsch  (Ger) 72 73 67 70, M Ford (Eng) 74 69 70 69,

 283 A Velasco (Esp) 74 70 68 71, A Otaegui  (Esp) 74 69 74 66, S Tiley (Eng) 71 74 69 69, J Doherty  (Sco) 78 66 71 68,

 284 B An (Kor) 71 74 71 68, J Palmer (Eng) 71 70 69 74, R Hjelm (Den) 74 70 69 71, M Carlsson  (Swe) 72 73 68 71, D Palm (Swe) 71 70 69 74,

 285 D Vancsik (Arg) 70 75 68 72, T Sluiter  (Ned) 75 68 69 73, R Echenique (Arg) 72 69 71 73, N Møller (am) (Den) 73 70 71 71,

 286 C Lange  (Den) 72 68 73 73, A Bernadet  (Fra) 75 70 72 69, F Christensen (Swe) 71 73 68 74, M Southgate  (Eng) 72 73 71 70,

 287 C Russo (Fra) 70 75 72 70, C Monasterio (Arg) 71 73 71 72, V Riu  (Fra) 72 73 71 71, P Relecom  (Bel) 72 72 74 69,

 288 L Claverie (Esp) 70 74 73 71, D Ulrich (Sui) 73 72 72 71, P Oriol (Esp) 71 73 71 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 74 70 72 72,

 289 E Dubois (Fra) 71 72 72 74, N Dougherty  (Eng) 74 70 71 74, J Barnes (Eng) 74 71 71 73, E Blom (Swe) 74 70 72 73,

 290 L Kennedy  (Eng) 74 71 72 73, A Hartø  (Den) 69 75 71 75, A Ahokas (Fin) 70 75 72 73,

 291 F Delamontagne  (Fra) 66 77 72 76,

 292 N Johansson (Swe) 74 69 71 78, T Rosendahl (Swe) 72 71 77 72,

 293 J Gibb (Eng) 70 74 72 77,

 296 R Steiner (Aut) 73 72 76 75, M Delpodio  (Ita) 70 75 76 75,

 297 A Kristiansen  (Nor) 75 70 81 71,

 299 G Dear (Sco) 74 71 77 77,

 ** A John (Ger) 69 72 80 WD

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

BRECHIN AND ROBB SHARE NE DISTRICT OPEN LEAD

SCROLL DOWN PAST THE COLLATED SCORES TO GET TO SUNDAY'S TEE TIMES Clark Brechin (Murcar Links) and Meldrum House's Chris Robb were the local heroes at the end of the first round of the North-east District Open golf championship over the Dave Thomas-designed Hawkshill course at Newmachar Golf Club near Aberdeen. They left the big names from outwith the area trailing in their wake as they shared the lead on a glorious day of warm sunshine with five-under-par 67s. They lead by three shots with two rounds to play on Sunday. Brechin, who has won the NE District Order of Merit for the past two seasons, moved from the Portlethen club to membership at Murcar Links earlier this year. Robb, a former Scottish schoolboys champion, is a winner of the US college circuit. He is a student at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle), expected to be one of the front runners, could do no better than a five-over-par 77. TOP CARDS OF THE DAY Par - OUT: 4-5-4-4-4-3-4-5-3 - 36           IN: 4-4-4-4-4-3-5-4-4- 36 CHRIS ROBB OUT: 4-5-4-5-4-3-3-3-3- 34    IN: 5-3-4-4-4-2-4-4-3- 33 CLARK BRECHIN OUT: 3-4-4-4-4-4-3-5-4-35    IN: 4-4-3-4-3-3-3-4-4- 32 FIRST ROUND Par 72, CSS 75 67 Clark Brechin (Murcar Links), Chris Robb (Meldrum House). 70 Jeff Wright (Forres), Scott Larkin (Royal Aberdeen), David Morrison (Duff House Royal). 71 Ross Young (Nigg Bay). 72 Fraser Moore (Glenbervie), Bryan Innes (Murcar Links), Graham Gordon (Newmachar). 73 Euan Kennedy (Newmachar), Kenny Gunnyeon (Murcar Links), Paul McPhee (King James VI), Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon). 74 Barrie Edmond (Bon Accord), Matty Greig (Bon Accord), Justin Duff (Fraserburgh), Gordon Stevenson (Whitecraigs), Michael Daily (Erskine), Jake Scott (Buckpool). 75 Adam Fisher (Inchmarlo), Chris Lamb (Newmachar), Chris Gilbert (McDonayld Ellon), Scott Robertson (Hazlehead), Neil Mitchell (Bon Accord), Mark McKechnie (Newmachar), Conor O'Neil (Pollok). 76 Iain Wilson (Dalmahoy), Jack Harling (Banchory), Mark McLean (Fraserburgh), Malcolm Pennycott (Whiting Bay), Tom Spencer (Meldrum House), John Mitchell (Fraserburgh), Neil Henderson (Glen). 77 Ben Murray (Portlethen), Andy Campbell (Murcar Links), Ross McKen (McDonald Ellon), Neil Melvin (Oldmeldrum), John Duff (Newmachar), Greg Watson (Meldrum House), Sam Binning (Ranfurly Castle). 78 Jonathan Mullaney (Dundonald Links), Lewis Mutch (Duff House Royal), Fraser Thain (West Linton), Alan Sutherland (Ladybank), Nick Robson (Meldrum House) 79 Dave McDowell (Portlethen), Corin Stewart (Fortrose and Rosemarkie), Anthony Bews (Murcar Links), Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon), Sean Lawrie (Portlethen), Sam Kiloh (Portlethen). 80 Ewen Matthew (Kirriemuir), Andrew Carrell (Royal Aberdeen), Iain Galbraith (Murcar Links), Sam McNeil (Inchmarlo), Richard Barr (Newmachar), Paul Simpson (Aboyne), Gordon Munro (Fraserburgh), Keith Shanks (Elie), Darren Watson (Peterhead). 81 Michael Buchan (Cruden Bay), Ian Welsh (Nigg Bay),Stuart McIntosh (Ballater) 82 Dylan Smith (Alford), Michael Bacigallupolo (Longniddry), Stewart McCulloch (Cruden Bay) 83 Sam Thain (Newmachar), Ritchie Manson (Kemnay), Sam Griffiths (Cullen), 84 Greg Kennedy (Hazlehead), John Godward (McDonald Ellon). 85 Andrew Hepurn (Fraserburgh) 86 Joel Westwell (Inchmarlo) 87 Robert Lamb (Newmachar), Callum Moir (Ballater). 88 Jack Walker (Fraserburgh) 90 Evan Robertson (Inchmarlo) 92 Callum Cromar (Lumphanan) No Returns: Glen Taylor (Brechin), Christopher Forman (Peterhead) SUNDAY TEE TIMES TWO-TEE START  1st tee (am) + 10th tee (pm) 7.30 and 1.0 Jack Walker, Evan Robertson, Callum Moir. 7.39 and 1.09 Joel Westwell, Robert Lamb, Andrew Hepburn. 7.48 and 1.18 Greg Kennedy, John Godward, Ritchie Manson. 7.57 and 1.27 Sam Griffiths, Sam Thain, Darren Watson. 8.06 and 1.36 Keith Shanks, Ian Galbraith, Sean Lawrie. 8.15 and 1.45 David McDowell, Corin Stewart, Anthony Bews. 8.33 and 2.03 Neil Melvin, John Duff, Andrew Campbell. 8.41 and 2.12 Malcolm Pennycott, John Mitchell, Mark McLean 8.51 and 2.21 Nel Henderson, Jack Harling, Iain Wilson. 9.00 and 2.30 Neil Mitchell, Chris Lamb, Tom Spencer. 9.09 and 2.39 Adam Fisher, Chris Gilbert, Scott Robertson. 9.18 and 2.48 Jake Scott, Mark McKechnie, Conor O'Neil.  10th tee (am) and 1st tee (pm) 7.35 and 1.05 Stewart McCulloch, Dylan Smith, Michael Bacigalupo. 7.44 and 1.14 Sam McNeil, Ian Welsh, Stuart McIntosh 7.53 and 1.23 Paul Simpson, Andrew Carrell, Gordon Munro 8.02 and 1.32 Sam Kiloh, Richard Barr, Euan Matthew 8.11 and 1.41 Ross McKen, Lewis Mutch, Fraser Thain. 8.20 and 1.50 Ben Murray, Sam Binning, Greg Watson. 8.29 and 1.59 Gordon Stevenson, Barrie Edmond, Michael Daily. 8.38 and 2.08 Matty Greig, Kenny Gunneyon, Justin Duff 8.47 and 2.17 Paul McPhee, Adam Dunton, Euan Kennedy. 8.56 and 2.26 Fraser Moore, Bryan Innes, Graham Gordon. 9.05 aqnd 2.35 Jeff Wright, David Morrison, Ross Young. 9.14 and 2.44 Scott Larkin, Chris Robb, Clark Brechin.

US MEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATE

FROM THE USGA WEBSITE

By David Shefter, USGA
August 17, 2012

Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – Steven Fox, 21, of Hendersonville, Tenn., defeated the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur, Chris Williams, 21, of Moscow, Idaho, 4 and 2, in the quarterfinals Friday at the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship  being conducted at 7,409-yard, par-71 Cherry Hills Country Club.
Other quarterfinal winners included Justin Thomas, 19, of Goshen, Ky., who is No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), and a pair of University of California-Berkeley teammates: Michael Weaver, 21, of Fresno, Calif., and 19-year-old Brandon Hagy, of Westlake Village, Calif.
It’s the first time in a decade that the U.S. Amateur will feature four semifinalists from the United States. The 2002 championship’s final four at Oakland Hills C.C. was Ricky Barnes (winner), Hunter Mahan (runner-up), Bill Haas and Dustin Bray.
The semifinals are scheduled Saturday with Thomas facing Weaver at 8 a.m. MDT, and Fox facing Hagy at 8:15 a.m. The matches will be broadcast by NBC on tape delay from 4 to 6 p.m. EDT.
The 2012 U.S. Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. It began on Monday with a field of 312 golfers playing 36 holes of stroke play at Cherry Hills Country Club and the companion qualifying venue, CommonGround Golf Course. The low 64 scorers advanced to match play, which started Wednesday and concludes with a 36-hole final on Sunday, starting at 7:30 a.m. MDT.
Fox, a senior at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, had not defeated anyone higher than 2,367th (Doug Hanzel in the round of 32) in the WAGR prior to Friday’s encounter with Williams. But Fox, one of the final three survivors of Wednesday’s 17-for-14 playoff to determine the last spots in the match-play draw and ranked 127th in the WAGR, jumped ahead of the 2011 USA Walker Cup Team member and recent Western Amateur champion.
“I was nervous the first couple of matches, but for some reason, this match I kind of felt at home,” said Fox, who is bidding to join Clay Ogden (2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links) as the only No. 63 seeds to win a USGA championship. “I was having fun with the gallery and just enjoying myself out there.”
The lanky Fox handed Williams his first deficit of the week – after 50 holes – when he won the par-4 third with a birdie-3. A winning par at the fourth hole and 11-foot birdie at the par-3 sixth extended the lead to 3 up.
Williams, a University of Washington senior, went 4 down at the ninth after leaving his second shot in a fairway bunker when his ball hit the lip and caromed back over his head. Fox, who found the same fairway bunker off the tee, got up and down for a winning par.
“I knew I had to play well and bring out my ‘A’ game,” said Fox. “To be 4 up after nine was beyond expectations. I thought it was going to be a really close match, giving respect to him being the world’s No. 1 amateur.”
Added Williams: “He played great. I didn’t win a hole until the 14th. Obviously, you want to go all the way, but only one guy can win. I’m happy. I feel good about my game. It’s been a lot of golf the last two weeks and I’m ready to hang it up for a little while.”
Comfortable with the big margin, Fox, who shot the equivalent of three under par with match-play concessions, played more conservatively over the next seven holes and he closed out Williams at No. 16 with a birdie.
While Fox won the 2011 Tennessee Golf Association Match Play Championship and is a two-time All-Southern Conference selection, this week’s performance has been the best of his career. He also credited playing last month’s U.S. Amateur Public Links at Soldier Hollow in Midway, Utah, where he reached the round of 16, for preparing him to play at high altitude.
“This is by far the best I’ve ever done in my career,” said Fox.
In a see-saw match, Thomas finally pulled ahead early on the second nine against world No. 38 Oliver Goss, of Australia, at 18 the youngest among the eight quarterfinalists, and held on for a 2-up win, getting one step closer to his second USGA final in the last three seasons. He lost to Jim Liu in the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur championship match.
“It's the same thing as the first-round match,” said Thomas of his mind-set going forward. “You can't get ahead of yourself and can't think about anything that could happen in the future. It doesn't matter if it's to get in the finals or if it's to get into the second round. You've got to just try to beat that person you're playing and just try to play smart but aggressive at the same time. [You] just have to try to win more holes than the other guy so you can keep on moving on.”
Thomas, who beat medalist and University of Alabama teammate Bobby Wyatt in the third round Thursday afternoon, fell 2-down early, but won holes seven through nine to take a 1-up lead at the turn. He lost No. 10 to a Goss birdie, but birdies at the par-5 11th and par-3 12th put Thomas ahead for good. At the 11th hole, Goss reached in two shots, but three-putted for par, while Thomas got up and down for birdie from short of the green.
“That was a big momentum shift right there,” said Thomas, the winner of the 2012 Fred Haskins Award and Jack Nicklaus Award as college player of the year, and the 2012 Phil Mickelson Award as the freshman of the year. “It was a hard match … and it feels great to be moving on.”
Goss made a late push by winning the the par-5 17th with a bogey-6 after Thomas found the water twice and took an 8, but Thomas responded at No. 18 with a winning par to close the proceedings.
Gouveia, like Williams, had not trailed through his first three matches. But that streak ended at 47 holes when the 149th-ranked Weaver won the par-4 second with a par. A birdie at the par-5 fifth and two winning pars at Nos. 8 and 9 put Weaver, a redshirt junior at California, in the driver’s seat, as he cruised to a 4-and-3 victory.
“I knew it was going to be a tough match,” said Weaver of Gouveia, a University of Central Florida junior who is ranked No. 41 in the world. “He kind of struggled a bit today and I was able to take advantage of that on the front nine. I really thought I didn’t make any mistakes on the front, and that was key because it kind of got a little shaky after the turn. Fortunately, I had a nice 4-up lead to give me a cushion.”
It’s been a dream-like run this week for Weaver, who needed to play three playoff holes Wednesday morning to get into the draw. He rallied from a 3-down deficit after 11 holes to beat 2011 USA Walker Cup member Patrick Rodgers in the second round Thursday morning and went 19 holes to oust Albin Choi of Canada, who is No. 40 in the WAGR, in the round of 16.
“Awesome,” said Weaver, who was the equivalent of one under par, with the usual match-play concessions. “I am having a great week and I couldn’t be happier. I played really well against Patrick Rodgers … and in the other three matches, I feel like I have really managed my game well.”
Weaver took a year off from golf last year at Cal to focus on academics after changing majors from interdisciplinary studies to the prestigious Haas Business School.
His teammate, Hagy, did the same thing two years ago and it certainly hasn’t affected his golf game.
Ranked 60th in the WAGR, Hagy also overcame an early two-hole deficit against world No. 21 and 2011 U.S. Open qualifier Cheng-Tsung Pan, 20, of Chinese Taipei, to post a 4-and-3 win. 
A conceded eagle-3 at the par-5 fifth started the rally, which continued with Hagy winning the par-3 sixth with a par to square the match. He pulled ahead for good with a birdie-3 at the 411-yard seventh. A winning par at the 446-yard 10th and a 40-foot eagle putt at 11 pushed Hagy’s advantage to 3 up on the University of Washington sophomore.
The two halved the next three holes before Hagy closed out the match with a birdie at the 187-yard 15th hole.
“It feels incredible,” said Hagy. “[I] actually started tearing up a little bit in my [Golf Channel] interview out there with Dottie Pepper, so I guess that kind of shows you what it means. I've been playing well, and it means the world.  It validates all the hard work that I put in and all the practice.”
RESULTS
Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – Results from Friday’s quarterfinal matches at the 2012 U.S. Amateur being conducted at the par-71, 7,409-yard Cherry Hills Country Club:
Upper Bracket
 Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. (139) def. Oliver Goss, Australia (138), 2 up
Michael Weaver, Fresno, Calif. (143) def. Ricardo Gouveia, Portugal (140), 4 and 3
Lower Bracket
Chris Williams, Moscow, Idaho (138) def. Steven Fox, Hendersonville, Tenn. (143), 4 and 2
Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. (137) def. Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (134), 4 and 3
Cherry Hills Village, Colo. – Pairings and starting times for Saturday’s semifinal matches at the 2012 U.S. Amateur being conducted at the par-71, 7,409-yard Cherry Hills Country Club. (All times MDT)
8 a.m. – Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. (139) vs. Michael Weaver, Fresno, Calif. (143)
8:15 a.m. – Steven Fox, Hendersonville, Tenn. (143) vs. Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. (137)