UNITED STATES AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

SOLID START BY GRANT FORREST, BUT

BRADLEY NEIL UNLIKELY TO QUALIFY

Grant Forrest (Craigielaw) and Bradley Neil (Blairgowrie) had contrasting fortunes today in the first qualifying round of the United States amateur championship at Atlanta Athletic Club
Forrest shot a par-matching 72 at the Riverside Course despite a double bogey 6 at the fourth.
He had four birdies which also cancelled out bogeys at the third and 14th.
Forrest is joint 44th in a massive field of 312 going into the second qualifying round over the Riverside Course. Only the leading 64 after 36 holes will qualify for the match-play stages
British amateur champion Neil struggled to a five-over-par 76 at the Highlands Course. He had only one birdie, at the sixth.
The teenager is joint 207th, needing something spectacular in his second round on Tuesday to make the 64 qualifiers.
BRITISH SCORES 
66 Sam Horsfield (England)
70 Jimmy Mullen (England)
71 Phil Howard (England)
72 Grant Forrest (Scotland)
76 Bradley Neil (Scotland).
77 Rhys Pugh (Wales), Jordan Smith (England)
78 Toby Tree (England).


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           WORLD No 1 AMATEUR MAY NOT QUALIFY

• FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
• By Adam Schupak
• 
  

JOHNS CREEK, Georgia – Ollie Schniederjans (pictured above), the world’s top-ranked amateur, could be in a world of trouble after opening with a 2-over 73 in the first round of stroke-play qualifying at the 114th U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club.
Schniederjans, a senior at nearby Georgia Tech, is playing in his first amateur event since vaulting to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings in June. He hasn’t competed since the European Tour’s Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen in mid-July.
“I was a little bit rusty,” Schniederjans said. “I didn’t play like myself. I didn’t put my best game out there.”
Part of the problem for Schniederjans was the pace of play. His round took 4hr 49min on the Highlands Course.
“It was horrible,” he said. “It was really tough to get in a rhythm.”
Both his playing partners were penalised 1 stroke for slow play.
“One had 10 slow times, the other had six. I had zero,” he said. “I was walking ahead of them all day.”
Schniederjans isn’t the only big name in danger of missing the field of 64 for match play. Walker Cupper Jordan Niebrugge and U.S. Amateur Public Links finalist Doug Ghim also posted 2-over 73s and are among a large group tied for 105th out of the field of 312.
“I had two three-putts and you can’t make those types of mistakes,” Ghim said. “But if I play well tomorrow all is forgiven.”
That was a sentiment shared by Schniederjans, who said he would do some swing drills at his room and regroup for his morning round at the Riverside Course.
“I made a lot of uncharacteristic errors,” he said, “but if I play well tomorrow, the tournament starts over on Wednesday.”