Irish Golf News
Graeme McDowell, Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke and Ireland's amateur
stars.
Dunne goes down fighting to stellar DeChambeau
Paul Dunne reacts to his putt on the 16th hole during the quarterfinal round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
Paul Dunne went down fighting in the quarter-finals of the US Amateur Championship last night when he fell 3 and 2 to US Walker Cup star Bryson DeChambeau in a painstaking but still pulsating match at Olympia Fields.
The protagonists were put on the clock by officials or reminded of their pace of place several times on the front nine alone.
But it was waywardness rather than tardiness that cost the Greystones man dear at the Chicago venue’s storied North Course and had it not been for some incredible putting — he holed half a dozen crucial putts — DeChambeau might not have been forced to make six birdies in a classy performance.
While Dunne was disappointed he could hit just three of the 14 fairways and only seven of 16 greens, he paid tribute to the American, who is vying to become the fifth player to win the NCAA title and U.S. Amateur championship in the same year and the first since Ryan Moore in 2004. The others are Jack Nicklaus (1961), Phil Mickelson (1990) and Tiger Woods (1996).
“When I am driving it well it’s a big strength of mine but my swing just wasn’t there today and I didn’t hit it well enough to compete at this level,” Dunne said.
Bryson DeChambeau reacts as he matches Dunne's birdie on the 15th hole during the quarterfinal round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
“I am proud I only made one bogey on a tough golf course but against a player as good as Bryson, he had his game today and I think I left mine in bed and it was always going to be difficult.
“The putter felt great in my hands today and I hit loads of good putts but I didn’t really have it from tee to green.”
Certain to be named in the Walker Cup side on Monday and planning to turn professional afterarwards, Dunne said: “I learned at the Open that when I am playing well, I am good enough to compete at any level. If I get a week where I am hitting my driver as well as I putted today, I think I will be okay.”
Asked what went wrong, Dunne said: “I don't know what it was. Just wasn't hitting it well today; all the other days where I hit it great I don't think it's a fundamental flaw in the golf swing or anything. Just everyone gets days where they just don't hit it well. Unfortunately mine was today. But yeah, I never gave up. I still kind of putted well.”
Dunne might have gained 20 lbs of muscle and 30 yards off the tee over the past year or two, but he was fatally wayward in his quarter-final showdown and not even a magical putter could remedy the situation.
“Only thing that was working,” Dunne said wryly of his putter. “I was happy with how I committed to all my shots, apart from a couple out there that didn't really go my way.
Paul Dunne plays his second shot on the third hole during the quarterfinal round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
“My golf swing just wasn't there today. I don't know what it was. If I could have scraped few today's round, I need a long range session to figure it out. So yeah, a little disappointing.
“Happy to only make one bogey. The way I was playing, I wasn't hitting it well. So managed to keep myself in it for a long time. Just Bryson had his game today. Five-under par is hard to keep up with on a U.S. Open golf course.”
One down after nine, he battled hard on the back nine but even though he made up for his wayward driving with some superb putting, DeChambeau’s stellar play was too much.
Having played beautifully all week in his bid to become the first Irish semi-finalists since Joe Carr in 1961, the 22-year old Wicklow man wasn’t hitting fairways early in the day but he got inside the American’s head with some uncanny par-saving halves.
At the third, he holed an 18 footer down the hill for his four and looked on as DeChambeau missed a six footer for the win.
Then at the fifth, he was short sided left of the green but played a towering flop shot that finished 12 feet below the hole from where he wriggled home the putt to remain all square.
DeChambeau was not to be overshadowed, however, and after carving his tee shot into a lateral hazard at the par-five sixth, he managed to scuttle his second across the fairway into the left rough.
With overhanging branches preventing a high shot, he chased a low bullet from 220 yards to 45 feet and holed the right to left breaking birdie putt for a four.
Dunne had laid up but he missed from 10 feet for the half in birdie to go one down and then lost the par-three seventh
Here are Bryson DeChambeau's amazing clubs, all the same shaft, different lofts pic.twitter.com/Uq1aCLYrJf
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 21, 2015The Irish star had bunkered his tee shot and faced a 10 foot par putt but DeChambeau birdied from 18 feet to go two up.
Dunne then had to hit a wedge to four feet from the rough at the eighth to remain two down as the Californian holed an eight footer for his third birdie in a row.
But the former East of Ireland winner e earned some respite with a win in par at the ninth, where he holed a 12 footer as DeChambeau bunkered his approach off a perfect drive and hit an average putt from 15 feet.
The American, who plays with a set of irons that all have a 37.5 inch six-iron shafts marked with lofts rather than numbers, looked on as Dunne made a 25 footer for par at the 10th to remain one down.
Those Bryson DeChambeau lofts pic.twitter.com/SFsQclJxJM
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 21, 2015But the NCAA Individual champion birdie the 11th from 13 feet and the 13th from 20 feet to go three up.
“Six was a bit of a turning point. I got good saves 3 and 5 to stay in it and he looked like he was dead in the hazard and managed to make a bomb for birdie. He got a good birdie on 7.
“We both got nice birdies on eight. Nine was playing tough, so I got a nice par to win the hole to get back to 1. But managed to get a good save on 10. Then he birdied 11. Hit two good shots in, made the putt. So went to 2-down.”
Dunne did not go down without a fight took the match to the 16th by holing a 35 footer for a two at the 15th that DeChambeau matched brilliant from six feet.
He couldn’t make another bomb on the 16th and DeChambeau made a five footer for par to advance to semi-finals where he will face Zimbabwe born fellow Californian, Sean Crocker.
Bryson DeChambeau prepares to play his shot from the trees on the sixth hole during the quarterfinal round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
Dunne added: “I thought at some point if I could get some pressure on him, you find out if he is really hitting it well. It's easy to get up there - it's not easy but it's easier to get up there and keep hitting good shots when you're ahead and there's not that much pressure on you.
“The putts I was making was kind of more to stay in it than to put pressure on him. It was disappointing that I didn't get to put a little bit of pressure on just to see how he would respond to that.
“Yeah, it was basically I was just trying to hang in there while I was playing him on a day he had his game. It was always going to be difficult.”
DeChambeau begged to differ.
“Yes, and no,” he said. “Because he was putting incredible. So I had that aspect to deal with, and he made a lot of putts today. But again, coming from the tee shots, he wasn't hitting his best and that did relax me a little bit knowing that I could keep hitting fairways and greens and wear him out that way. And that's ultimately what I did. And it came down to him hitting it into a couple bad places and him missing a couple putts.”
Describing the day as “incredible,” DeChambeau said. “Starting off with his putt that he made on 3, and going forward and making -- well, I made the putt on 6. On 10 he made a 30-footer. So he's an incredible player. Didn't have his A Game. But luckily enough, I was able to capitalise on a couple of putts.
“One key putt that I thought was immense was on 15, where I made that little 6-footer after he drained that 30-footer again. That was big, a big confidence booster for me going into the next hole knowing that I can get the job done on the next hole.”
Asked about the key moments, DeChambeau said: “When he hit that tee shot on 13 (into the left rough) that switched the momentum pretty heavily. He had to pitch it out and obviously didn't make par and I capitalised and made birdie. So that was a big momentum change there.
“I didn't make very many mistakes out there today. I played very well, and the only mistake I had —and it was because we were on the clock and I was rushing myself a little bit was on nine where I made bogey. But other than that, I think fortunately for me, it was his mistake. We are both great players. He's a class act, great guy and I was fortunate enough to play a little bit better today than him.”
The birdie he made on the sixth had to be seen to be believed and it was unquestionably one of the keys as Dunne looked odds on to walk way one up but lost the hole and never got back on terms for the rest of the day.
Paul Dunne plays his second shot on the 16th hole during the quarterfinal round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Friday, Aug. 21, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert
Asked which shots showed his artistic side, DeChambeau said: “Oh, well, definitely No. 6 where I had to hit it out of the hazard, and I got lucky to get that thing out and into the left hand rough. I was actually fortunate to hit it in the rough because it was 225 I think to the pin into the wind, and normally if I was in the fairway, I wouldn't have been able to get my 20-degree there.
“So I would have had to hit hybrid and would have gone higher and I wouldn't have been able to control the ball as much.Hitting it out of there was artistic and I was able to punch it out and I also caught a flyer coming out of that rough and I came way back in my stance and tried to put a bullet up there.
Not sure who to cheer for at Olympia Fields? The first 2,000 fans get a player card with his bio. Very cool idea. pic.twitter.com/z43H1P8ILR
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 21, 2015“And then, honestly I had a certain line on my putt, but for some reason, I felt intrinsically internally that I was supposed to aim a little bit more and I did it and it went in the hole. I hit my 20-degree, which is a 3-iron or 2-iron almost for me.”
Asked the significance of his win, DeChambeau said: “That can get it done. I know I can play with the best out there. And seeing that Paul was able to be in the lead going into the final round at the British was pretty incredible, and beating him today only gives me more belief that I can play with the best out there.”
Dunne refused to get carried away with his run to the last eight, explaining that Irish golf, and Irish amateur golf, is in a great place.
And this is @dunners11 right now. pic.twitter.com/UXAyN0z0Uw
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 21, 2015“Definitely, proud of how I played but it not really a surprise for Irish golf, really,” he said. “We have five people in the top 40 in the world. For a small country, amateur golf, that's pretty strong. I don't think it's a surprise that one of us did well this week. Just happened to be me this week.
“Every week a different Irish guy seems to be up there competing. So Irish golf is in good hands, especially in the pro ranks, as well, with Shane winning a couple weeks ago. Looking forward to the next few weeks.”
Dunne will travel home with Gary Hurley and Cormac Sharvin on Monday and they have high hopes that they make the trip knowing they are in the Walker Cup team which is named that day,
“We booked our flights back with positive expectations (laughter),” Dunne said.
DeChambeau will face University of Southern California sophomore Sean Crocker, and Japanese national team member Kenta Kinoshi will meet University of Virginia junior Derek Bard in Saturday’s semifinals at Olympia Fields.
Around 1 hrs to go and @dunners11 is hitting a few fast putts #USAmateur pic.twitter.com/GDqv9eLXe6
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 21, 2015Crocker, 18, beat Canadian Austin James 2 up as Kinoshi, 21, edged Baylor sophomore Matthew Perrine 1 up and Bard, eliminated Spain’s Jon Rahm, No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, 1 up.
Kinoshi, a student at Tohoku Fukushi University who played for Japan in the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship, held off Perrine, who won holes 15 and 17 to square the match, with a winning par on 18.
“This is the biggest tournament in my life,” said Kinoshi, who once defeated Hideki Matsuyama in a Japanese amateur tournament. “And I think I'm playing really well this week.”
He is attempting to become the first Japanese winner of the US Amateur and the second Japanese USGA champion, joining Michiko Hattori, who won the 1985 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Thhe 36-hole final is set for Sunday.
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Results from Friday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,234 yard, par 36-34-70 North Course (NC) at Olympia Fields Country Club.Quarterfinal Round(Upper Bracket)- Kenta Konishi, Japan (140) def. Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas (142), 1 up
- Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. (142) def. Jon Rahm, Spain (143), 1 up
- Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. (140) def. Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland (140), 3 and 2
- Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. (140) def. Austin James, Canada (140), 2 up
- 8 a.m. - Kenta Konishi, Japan (140) vs. Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. (142)
- 8:20 a.m. - Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. (140) vs. Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. (140)
Tiger leads; Tigress Olivia and low girl Jessica; Lawrie battling; Tours unite
Tiger Woods leads in Greensboro
PGA Tour - Tiger Woods is a man on a mission at the Wyndham Championship where he miust win to stop his season from ending.
So far, so good after he added a five under 65 to his opening 64 to share the halfway lead with rookie Tom Hoge (67) on 11-under 129.
Searching for his first win in more than two years that would qualify for the first FedExCup Playoff event next week — The Barclays — he made a big move up the leaderboard on the back nine, with birdies at the 12th and 13th and an eagle three at the 15th
"I just couldn't get anything out of my rounds (before this tournament) and a couple lucky bounces here, take advantage of those opportunities -- it's just the flow," Woods said.
Now he'll spend Saturday playing with an unfamiliar rookie. When asked if he would recognize Hoge to see him, Woods responded: "No, I wouldn't. What is it, or him?"
"I look on the Champions Tour leaderboard and I know every one of those guys because I played against them and I played with them," Woods said. "Now I come out here, I don't really know a lot of people."
Davis Love III and Chad Campbell were a stroke back. Campbell shot 65, and the 51-year-old Love had 66.
Brandt Snedeker matched the tournament record with a 61 that put him in a group of six players two strokes behind Woods and Hoge.
Luke Donald, at No. 124 on the points list, made the cut of 3 under. So did No. 129 Camilo Villegas - the defending champion - and No. 125 Charl Schwartzel.
Aditi Ashok and Olivia Mehaffey with their trophies. Picture: LGU
LGU — Olivia Mehaffey was runner up as 17 year old Indian Aditi Ashok from Bangalore cruised to a five-stroke victory in the Ladies British Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Moortown in Leeds, writes the LGUShe is one of the youngest ever winners of this title and this would rank as the biggest win so far for the talented Indian girl who has already won the St Rule Trophy over the St Andrews Old and New Courses this year and finished second in the European Women's Amateur Championship.A place at an American college next year is her ambition and she looks certain to win tournaments on the US college circuit. Ashok shot rounds of 71, 73, 70 and 71 over a tough, par 74 Yorkshire moorland course. Olivia, already a GB and I international at the age of 17 dropped only one shot in her final round - at the 14th, but had birdies a the second, ninth, 12th and 16th in halves of 36 and 35.Mehaffey lifted the Holden Trophy awarded to the runner up and the Duncan Salver for the lowest score from an Under 23 player.Jessica Ross with the Taunton Salver for the lowest round. Picture: LGU
Sweden's Linn Andersson from Barseback, finished third on 294, four strokes behind Mehaffey with Donaghadee's Jessica Ross shot the low round of the tournament — a six-under-par 68 —which helped her to finish joint third on 295 alongside defending champion Meghan MacLaren."That's the lowest score of my life," said Jessica who last year finished 21st. "I've been having a steady season but the big difference today was that more putts dropped!"I just took a shot at a time and tried not to focus too much on the score."Jessica started her round by birdieing the first and second followed by another at the seventh. She had a bogey at the 12th but bounced back with an eagle at 16 and a final birdie at the 17th.
David Horsey. Picture: Getty
European Tour — Peter Lawrie is determined to win back his card and he's on track to do it after a 69 left him just five shots of the lead at Made in Denmark where David Horsey (68) took a three shot lead into the weekend at Himmerland Golf and Spa Resort.
Dane Andreas Hartø stole the show, despite missing the cut, by stiffing his tee shot on the famous par three 16th hole, rolling in the putt from a few feet and then going down on one knee to propose to his girlfriend, who was in the crowd.
Horsey (67) led by three on 12 under from compatriot John Parry (67) and Australian Richard Green (65) with Lawrie tied sixth.
The vision will see the business element and the Membership portfolios of both Tours combine, reinforcing the current strengths of the two Tours by maximising global opportunities, as well as increasing playing opportunities and prize funds for the respective Memberships.
Both organisations will now enter into an exclusive discussion period, working through the key points with their respective Boards, Tournament Committees and Memberships. Further information about the specific details will be announced in due course.
Keith Pelley, Chief Executive Officer of The European Tour, said: “We have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the Asian Tour for many years and today’s announcement is the first step in the next stage of that partnership.
“I am excited about the prospect of what is to come and the opportunity that this announcement presents. Over the next few months we will work through, with our membership, all the specific details of what I believe will ultimately provide significant benefit to them.”
Mike Kerr, Chief Executive Officer of the Asian Tour, said: “We are very pleased to announce the consolidation of our partnership with The European Tour which will greatly enhance the landscape of professional golf around the world, and particularly in Asia. This will benefit both memberships in creating greater playing and earning opportunities while also establishing a defined career pathway for all players.
“By combining strength with strength, we will ensure that professional golf in Asia will continue to enjoy sustained growth in the long-term; plus deliver a stronger platform for our members to excel. This initiative will ultimately create an inimitable platform that will enhance our appeal to sponsors, partners and golf fans around the world.”
The agreement is the natural extension in the existing partnership between the two Tours which stretches back to February 1999 when the first co-sanctioned tournament – the Malaysian Open – was staged at Saujana Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur.
Since then there have been 92 co-sanctioned events offering considerable playing opportunities for Members of both Tours with total prize money in excess of €160 million.
High profile winners from both Tours have tasted tournament victories during this period including seven Asian Tour Order of Merit winners – Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Arjun Atwal, Thongchai Jaidee, David Lipsky, Jeev Milkha Singh, Thaworn Wiratchant and Liang Wen-chong – and seven European Tour Major Champions; Darren Clarke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, José Maria Olazábal, and the reigning European Number One Rory McIlroy.
Round-up: Casey cashes in; McGee lurking; Power cut
Brian Casey
EuroPro Tour — Headfort's Brian Casey moved up to 18th in the Race to Desert Springs standings after he picked up £6,000 for his second place finish behind Marcus Armitage in the Tree Of Life Championship at Close House.
Armitage, 28, claimed his second win of the year on 11 under par thanks to a closing 68 as Casey 68, 67, 68) finished second on nine under. Johnny Caldwell was sixth.
- 1 Marcus Armitage Howley Hall Golf Club -3 F -11 67 67 68 202 £10,000
- 2 Brian Casey Headfort Golf Club -2 F -9 68 67 69 204 £6,000
- 6 Jonathan Caldwell BetMcLean -5 F -5 71 71 66 208 £1,500
- T15 Alan Dunbar Team Ireland E F -3 69 70 71 210 £581.25
- T46 Stephen Grant Mount Juliet +5 F +3 67 73 76 216 £312.50
Web.com Tour — Seamus Power missed the cut in the News Sentinel Open presented by Pilot.
The West Waterford player added a two under 69 to his opening 72 but at one over par, he missed the cut by five shots at Fox Den Country Club in Knoxville, Tennessee where Matt Fast leads by one of 12 under from Korea's DH Lee. Scoring
Ranked 52nd in the money list with 81,979, Power is projected to fall to 56th.
Mooney and Quinlan edge out Codd at Killeen
Damian Mooney and Steven Quinlan shared first place at the S.I.G. Ireland Killeen Pro-Am
in association with KN Network Services on Friday.
The duo carded four under par rounds of 68 at Killeen GC, to finish one shot ahead of Rebecca Codd, and three shots ahead of Brendan McGovern (Headfort).
The Kildare venue, hosting a PGA in Ireland event for the very first time, proved a difficult test for the professionals with just four players beating par.
Mooney went to the turn in two under 34 with a bogey at the first cancelled out by birdies at the fourth, sixth and seventh.
He birdied the 10th to reach three under for the day but dropped shots at the 14th and 15th set him back. However, he finished the round strongly with a an eagle at the par five 16th and a closing birdie two at the 18th saw him come home in two under 34.
Quinlan played some stellar golf on his opening nine, going to the turn in five under. Birdies at the third, fifth and sixth were followed by an eagle two at the par four seventh.
Another eagle at the par five 10th got him to seven under but three bogeys followed in the next four holes and although he managed to birdie the 16th he dropped another shot at the 18th to come home in one over par 37.
An assistant professional at Hapenny Golf, Quinlan also walked off with the team prize, guiding his amateur partners to victory with 89 points.
SIG Ireland Killeen Pro-Am, in association with KN Network Service, Killeen GC (Par 72)Leading scores- T1 D Mooney (Ballyliffin); S Quinlan 68
- 3 R Codd 69
- 4 B McGovern (Headfort GC) 71
- T5 E Brady (Clontarf GC), N Kearney (Royal Dublin GC), J Kelly (St Margarets) 72
- T8 D Higgins (Waterville GC); M O'Mahoney (Titleist National Fitting Centre) 73
1 S Quinlan 89
T2 T Higgins; D Mooney; D Gleeson; J Bolger 88
New champion on the horizon in Tramore
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) bunkered at the 11th green during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
A new name will join the list of players to capture one of Ireland's six amateur majors after Tiarnan McLarnon, Eugene Smith, Robin Dawson and Alex Gleeson made Saturday's semi-finals in the AIG Irish Amateur Close at Tramore Golf Club.
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg)
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) walking the 16th fairway during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Eugene Smith (Ardee)
Eugene Smith (Ardee) driving at the 6th tee during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg)
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) playing his second shot to the 7th green during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle)
Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) playing from the water at the 13th hole during the second day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Robbie Pierse (Grange)
Robbie Pierse (Grange) with his caddy Blaise Hannigan lining up his putt at the 11th green during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Daniel Holland (Castle)
Daniel Holland (Castle) reacts to a missed chip at the 14th green during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Eugene Smith (Ardee)
Eugene Smith (Ardee) driving at the 6th tee during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Alex Gleeson (Castle)
Alex Gleeson (Castle) cannot believe his birdie putt on the 15th green during his quarter final match at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (21/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
AIG Irish Close Championship, Tramore Golf Club, 18-22 August 2015Round Three- Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) bt Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) 20th
- Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) bt Marc Nolan (Delgany) 3/2
- Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) bt Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) 2/1
- Eugene Smith (Ardee) bt Robert Cannon (Balbriggan) 2 Holes
- Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) bt Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) 6/5
- Robbie Pierse (Grange) bt Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth) 9/7
- Daniel Holland (Castle) bt Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) 3/2
- Alex Gleeson (Castle) bt Simon McConnell (Ballyclare) 2 Holes
- Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) bt Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) 3/2
- Eugene Smith (Ardee) bt Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) 2 Holes
- Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) bt Robbie Pierse (Grange) 3/1
- Alex Gleeson (Castle) bt Daniel Holland (Castle) 3/2
- 0800 McLarnon v Smith
- 0815 Dawson v Gleeson
Final at 1300
Hogan wins British Speedgolf Championship by 15
Robert Hogan takes off at the British Speedgolf Championship
Irishman Rob Hogan won the British Speedgolf Championship at Dale Hill Golf Club on Sunday.
Hogan, the 2013 Speedgolf World Champion and current Speedgolf International World No.1 had a golf score of 77 played in just 34 minutes for a Speedgolf score of 111. S
peedgolf is scored by adding your shots to your minutes. Hogan, a PGA qualified golf professional and national level cross country runner flys to Melbourne on Sunday to contest the Australian Speedgolf Championship at Yarra Bend Golf Club.
Hogan, who is a brand ambassador for Ecigarette.ie has now won four out of his last six Speedgolf events worldwide and will return to Ireland on September 2 to begin training for the Speedgolf World Championships to be held in October in Chicago.
Speedgolf is a fast growing sport and from its roots in California has started to spread globally with events being held in USA, Canada, Iceland, Australia, UK, Sweden, Austria and Japan.
US Amateur: Solid Dunne refuses to budge at Olympia Fields; reaches quarters and looks dangerous
Paul Dunne watches his tee shot on the sixth hole during the third round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
Paul Dunne is making a habit of creating history and if he wins against the confident young American Bryson DeChambeau in today’s quarter-finals of the US Amateur Championship he will become the first Irishman to reach the last four since Joe Carr at Pebble Beach 54 years ago.
He broke Carr’s Open Championship record of 1960, carding a 66 to shave a shot off the all-time third round low for an amateur and went on to become the first amateur to lead going into the final round since Bobby Jones in 1927.
Dunne would end up disappointed to finish tied 30th at St Andrews, where Jones won the Claret Jug. And so he will be hoping for better at Olympia Fields, where Johnny Farrell shocked the golf world by defeating Jones in a 36-hole playoff to win the US Open in 1928.
In beating both 17-year old Caleb Proveaux and 22-year old David Oraee (prounounced O’Ray) 3 and 2 in the round of 32 and round of 16 respectively, Dunne outstripped the US Amateur feats of a 17-year old Ronan Rafferty, who lost to David Tentis on the 20th in the third round at Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1981.
Surprised?
“No, not really. I knew I had the game to play well. It was just a matter of doing it at the right time,” Dunne said as he completed a carousel of interviews for TV and press in the enormous clubhouse. “The game feels good, hopefully I can play well tomorrow and keep the ball rolling…
Bryson DeChambeau plays his tee shot on the 11th hole during the second round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
“I didn't think I'd get the experience of playing in the final group of The Open, but it's something I'm grateful to have done. I knew I could shoot the scores I needed in order to play as well as I have. I just didn't know it would put me in the situations it has. But for the amateur stage, I knew that I'm good enough that if I play well, I can compete in any amateur event.”
Dunne, 22, who accepted a special exemption into the championship from the USGA, knows 21-year old DeChambeau and respects his game.
“He does things a little differently to everyone else, but he obviously does it really well. He's got a great game. I'm sure it'll be a good match tomorrow. It'll be a tough match, but I know if I do the things I can do and play my game that I'll have a good chance.”
DeChambeau has a California confidence that’s reminiscent of a young Mickelson’s and as a physics major who plays with specially designed clubs — each one is 37.5 inches long with a six-iron shaft but varied lofts so he can swing the same every time— the similarities are remarkable.
As the reigning NCAA champion, DeChambeau and his trademark Payne Stewart/Ben Hogan flat cap beat the Haskins Award winner Maverick McNealy, the world No 2, by 3 and 2.
And like Mickelson, he is such as science geek, not to mention PR-smoothie, that he’s as compelling a figure as you could wish to meet in the amateur game in 2015.
Bryson DeChambeau lines up his putt on the eighth hole during the second round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
Asked about his unique approach to the sport, DeChambeau said: “I mean, to start it off, my irons are, again, all the same length. I'm sure you know that. They're all the same lie angle, they just have degrees of loft on it. They have just a 6-iron shaft in each iron, and same bounce. What else? Pretty much the same thing except there's 4 degrees of loft difference on each club.”
But there’s more…
“Well, statistically -- yeah, so I use a system that Scott Fawcett came up with. I don't know if you guys know who Scott Fawcett is, but he's been caddying for Will Zalatoris, and he's helped me understand the percentages of going for flags, when to go for flags and when not to. It's more of a shotgun approach rather than a sniper approach where you can't hit it five feet right of the flag every single time. It's more of a shotgun distribution, and so we try and move that distribution to where you're maximizing your potential of hitting the green every single time.
“Obviously it doesn't work out every time because it's different factors, but on average it helps me save I'd say a shot a round at least. It's pretty influential and helpful out on the golf course for me.
“And then on the putting side of it, I use contour maps, and I also have a green reading system called Vector Putting. It was the original system of green reading, and fortunately there's been some talk about that, but I can't say anything further on that note in regards of AimPoint and whatnot, but Vector Putting is what I use, and it's been very helpful for me in understanding green reading, and I aim at a certain point above the zero break line or upper straight putt, and gravity just does the rest.”
As for his confidence, it’s high since he won't he NCAA Individual title — holding off Dunne and others — and he’s not averse to a little psychological warfare.
Paul Dunne plays his tee shot on the seventh hole during the second round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
“As I said at the NCAAs, it was total belief that I could do it, and one other factor, as well, is getting off to a hot start. I didn't today, but I pushed through and grinded my tail off and was able to push through again.
“But the first couple matches, I started off hot and kept it going. I pushed the pedal to the metal, and that's my theory now for match play is to keep pushing them down, and whenever they feel like they have a chance, don't let them have a chance. Hit it close, make a putt, do whatever you need to do to be ahead of them always. Even walking ahead of them, something that I try and do to make them feel like I'm ahead.”
Dunne has more than enough game to deal with DeChambeau and may well run into him at Royal Lytham and St Annes in next month’s Walker Cup.
That the Greystones man will be selected is a sure thing and if he wins this weekend, he will have given captain Nigel Edwards and his future team mates a major boost.
Not that Dunne is getting ahead of himself but even 2007 US Walker Cup skipper George “Buddy” Marucci was impressed that the Irishman’s ball flight and short game prowess — a dangerous combination in matchplay in windy conditions.
Paul Dunne watches his tee shot on the third hole during the third round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)
“I think he controls his ball flight really well for this wind, it’s been really good,” said Marucci, who lost to Tiger Woods in the 1995 US Amateur final, the second of Woods’ three successive amateur wins.
“He was a little erratic and didn’t hit the ball as well today, but he sure played well. And I love the way he hits his irons. I love that ball flight. So if it continues to be windy, I think he’ s got a big advantage. And he putts the ball beautifully, which is always important in a championship like this.”
DeChambeau didn’t describe Dunne as the greatest ever but he had to hold him off to win the NCAA’s at the Concession in May and knows all about what happened at The Open.
“He's a great player, obviously, and he sticks to his routine, as well, as I've seen on The Golf Channel, through the Open,” the American said. “He’s a very good player. Very nice guy from when I've talked to him and whatnot. Almost had a chance at nationals, as well. So it'll be a good battle again. This is a tough bracket, but I'm willing to pursue through it.”
Against Proveaux, Dunne won the second in par, lost the fifth after driving into a hazard but then took the sixth, eighth and ninth in par to go three up and never looked back
Paul Dunne blasts out of a greenside bunker on the fifth hole during the third round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
“I am driving it well and I am driving it long as well,” said Dunne, whose 300 yard drive into the wind at the tough ninth had caddie and Irish team mate Gary Hurley grinning and shaking his head.
“I’m hitting it long and straight and missing in the right spots, which means I am giving myself shots into every hole,” he said. “It’s about picking the right shots and the right targets.”
He was down early against Oraee, but holed huge putts at the third and fourth to go one up before drove into a hazard at the fifth for the second match running to be taken back to all square.
He wasn’t using the vector putting system but Hurley.
“Gary Hurley, my caddie, gave me a great read on that one,” he said of the 35 footer he sank at the third to get back to all square. “I wanted to go a little further left, and he told me it was a little further right, so I went with his read and made it.
“And the same thing on the fourth. It was about 35 feet again, and there was a pitch mark about halfway, a repaired pitch mark that I thought it was just right of, and when he read it, he thought it was just left of, and I went with his read and made it again. I had him read pretty much all my putts then.”
Here's @dunners11 on 15. Bunkered but made great save to stay 3 up with 3 to go. Hit pin on 16 with 7 iron. #arrows pic.twitter.com/eVa432DahR
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 20, 2015Dunne then won the par-five sixth to go one up and doubled his lead when Oraee lipped out from four feet at the eighth. In fact, Oraee avoided going three down by holing a 15 footer for par at the ninth.
Dunne looked odds on to go three up when he hit a great shot over the stick to 12 feet at the 13th and Oraee fanned a wedge into the right greenside rough,.
But he got back to one down by one-hopping a chip into the hole for an against-the-head biride win in birdie before Dunne won the 14th with a birdie and short 15th in par to go three up before closing out the win with another solid par at the 16th.
“He was a good player, but while I hit a few loose shots, I hit a lot exactly where I was aiming,” Dunne said. “He was a good player and got a good break on 13 with his chip. But I made a good birdie on 14 and closed it out.”
“I definitely had my toughest match this afternoon, but I played my best golf of the week, hit a lot of good shots, and I made a lot of good up-and-downs when I did hit a few loose ones. I felt like I kept the pressure on him kind of the whole day once I got in front, and I think that was the difference, really.”
The experience of The Open has been a huge boost to Dunne’s confidence and that could be his ace in the hole today.
And this was @dunners11 on 2. #340 pic.twitter.com/pzU2Wcdz20
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 20, 2015“I think just being in the most pressure-packed situation in golf—obviously I didn't shoot a good score the last round, but I felt like I handled myself well. I wasn't overwhelmed by the situation, and to know that I can handle myself in that situation gives me confidence going into every other event that I'm playing, knowing that there's nothing that can be thrown at me that I think I can't handle.
“In that way, yeah, it's kind of a settling feeling. Yeah, some people have said that people have more expectation of me now, but that never really bothers me. There's always expectation from some people. There's just more people outside expecting me to do well there. But that stuff never seems to affect me. I'm just more interested in the expectations I have for myself.”
Dunne’s physical power and stability is under-rated and he explained that it was at UAB he transformed himself, losing 20 lbs of fat in his first year by doing a lot of running before adding back those 20lbs in pure muscle through gym work in his final phase.
Sean Crocker reacts after his putt on the 17th hole during the third round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
The other quarterfinal match-ups are: Kenta Kinoshi, 21, of Japan, who once defeated Hideki Matsuyama in a Japanese amateur tournament, against Baylor University sophomore Matthew Perrine, 19, of Dallas, who played together in the stroke-play qualifying; 2015 Sunnehanna Amateur champion Derek Bard, 20, of New Hartford, N.Y., against World Amateur Golf Ranking No. 1 and Ben Hogan Award winner Jon Rahm, 20, of Spain; and Canada’s Austin James, 19, against Sean Crocker, 18, of Westlake Village, Calif., who holds American and Zimbabwean citizenship.In addition to McNealy’s defeat by DeChambeau in the Round of 16, Bard registered a 2-and-1 win over Vanderbilt All-American and United States Walker Cup Team member Hunter Stewart; and Crocker, who was a third-team All-American in his freshman year at the University of Southern California, edged Robby Shelton, a first-team All-American at Alabama, in 20 holes.Shelton, who had made a 22-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to square the match, missed a 3-foot par putt on the 20th hole which allowed Crocker to advance.“I didn't expect that one little bit,” said Crocker. “I expected to be playing another hole, and then I just kind of – I was watching it, and I saw him just look up and not reach for the hole, and I saw my caddie just kind of wave me up. I didn't even believe it. I didn't think it was going to happen.”As for his family's exit from Zimbabwe, where his father was a professional Test cricketer, he said"I don't know how long he played. He was an amazing athlete. He became a farmer, and then when everything got really bad, it was just -- short story, it got unsafe for me and my sister to live there. So we ended up moving to my grandpa's house who still lives there for a couple months, and then just by the spin of the globe we ended up moving to California, and since then my dad's goal was to get me and my sister through college and a degree, and the rest of Zimbabwe is kind of history, going back there. I know personally myself I'd never move back there because there's not much for me, but my sister loves it there and she's safe, so that's all that matters.
"Q. Your grandfather still has the farm there?
SEAN CROCKER: No, the farm got taken away. It got seized by the government in a way -- not really government, but it got seized, and my grandpa is like literally five minutes' walk from the President's house."
The 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play (18 holes on each of Olympia Fields’ North and South Courses), followed by six rounds of match play (all on the North Course). The quarterfinal matches are set for Friday; the semifinal matches for Saturday and the 36-hole final for Sunday.
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Results from Thursday’s second round of match play at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,234 yard, par 36-34-70 North Course (NC) at Olympia Fields Country Club.Round of 32(Upper Bracket)- Kyle Mueller, Watkinsville, Ga. (143) def. Alex Burge, Bloomington, Ill. (141), 2 up
- Kenta Konishi, Japan (140) def. Thomas Detry, Belgium (140), 19 holes
- Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. (142) def. Ryan Ruffels, Australia (138), 3 and 2
- Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas (142) def. Brad Nurski, St. Joseph, Mo. (143), 2 and 1
- Hunter Stewart, Lexington, Ky. (143) def. Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas (141), 3 and 1
- Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. (142) def. Sepp Straka, Valdosta, Ga. (138), 6 and 5
- Jon Rahm, Spain (143) def. Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. (141), 7 and 6
- Daniel Wetterich, Cincinnati, Ohio (142) def. Sam Horsfield, England (142), 2 and 1
- David Oraee, Greeley, Colo. (134) def. David Cooke, Bolingbrook, Ill. (141), 2 up
- Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland (140) def. Caleb Proveaux, Lexington, S.C. (140), 3 and 2
- Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. (142) def. Maverick Antcliff, Augusta, Ga. (137), 5 and 4
- Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. (140) def. Matt NeSmith, North Augusta, S.C. (138), 5 and 4
- Jake Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. (135) def. Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. (141), 1 up
- Austin James, Canada (140) def. Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md. (142), 3 and 2
- Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. (137) def. Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio (141), 3 and 2
- Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. (140) def. Adam Ball, Glen Allen, Va. (138), 3 and 1
- Kenta Konishi, Japan (140) def. Kyle Mueller, Watkinsville, Ga. (143), 2 up
- Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas (142) def. Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. (142), 4 and 3
- Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. (142) def. Hunter Stewart, Lexington, Ky. (143), 2 and 1
- Jon Rahm, Spain (143) def. Daniel Wetterich, Cincinnati, Ohio (142), 3 and 1
- Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland (140) def. David Oraee, Greeley, Colo. (134), 3 and 2
- Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. (140) def. Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. (142), 3 and 2
- Austin James, Canada (140) def. Jake Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. (135), 2 and 1
- Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. (140) def. Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. (137), 20 holes
- 12:45 p.m. - Kenta Konishi, Japan (140) vs. Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas (142)
- 1 p.m. - Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. (142) vs. Jon Rahm, Spain (143)
- 1:15 p.m. - Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland (140) vs. Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. (140)
- 1:30 p.m. - Austin James, Canada (140) vs. Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. (140)
- Born June 14, 1995, in Charlottesville, Va.
- No. 51 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Defeated Hunter Stewart, a 2015 United States Walker Cup Team member, in Round of 16
- Playing in his second U.S. Amateur; advanced to Round of 32 last year
- Reached Round of 32 in both the 2011 and 2012 U.S. Junior Amateurs
- Five top-10 finishes as a sophomore at the University of Virginia in 2014-15
- Won 2015 Sunnehanna Amateur by one stroke with a 72-hole score of 12-under 268
- Finished first at both 2013 New York State Federation Championship and 2012 New York State Public High School Championship
- His brother, Alec, played in the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
- Born Aug. 31, 1996, in Zimbabwe
- No. 64 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Defeated 2015 British Amateur champion Romain Langasque and Alabama first-team All-America Robby Shelton en route to the quarterfinals in his first U.S. Amateur
- Competed in two U.S. Junior Amateurs, reaching Round of 32 in 2013 and quarterfinals in 2014
- Earned third-team All-America recognition as a freshman at USC in 2014-15
- Chosen Pacific 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and was first-team all-conference
- Helped the Trojans advance to the NCAA match-play final against LSU
- Attended boarding school in Zimbabwe before he moved to the United States at age 6
- His father, Gary, was a professional cricketer at international level
- Born Sept. 16, 1993, in Clovis, Calif.
- No. 7 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Defeated Maverick McNealy, No. 2 in the WAGR, in Round of 16
- Playing in his 10th USGA championship and was a 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links quarterfinalist
- Advanced to match play in all five U.S. Amateurs played, but has reached quarterfinals for first time
- 2015 NCAA Division I individual champion and a first-team All-American as member of Southern Methodist University (SMU) team
- Qualified for this year’s U.S. Open and reached Round of 16 at U.S. Amateur Four-Ball
- Helped USA to victory at the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship in Japan
- Wears a Ben Hogan-style cap while playing golf
- Chosen to the 2015 United States Walker Cup Team
- Born Nov. 26, 1992, in Republic of Ireland
- No. 33 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Competing in his first U.S. Amateur after receiving a special exemption from qualifying
- Defeated No. 2 seed David Oraee, 3 and 2, in the Round of 16
- Shared the 54-hole lead in the 2015 Open Championship, conducted by The R&A, and finished in a tie for 30th
- Shot a third-round 66 to become the first amateur since Bob Jones in 1927 to share the lead heading to the final round
- Fifth in the 2015 NCAA Division I Championship as a member of the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB) team
- Earned All-America and All-Conference USA recognition for the second consecutive year
- Irish Boys champion in 2008 and 2009 and Irish Youths champion in 2010
- Born Oct. 9, 1995, in Ontario, Canada
- No. 718 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Competing in his first USGA championship
- Defeated No. 3 seed Jake Knapp, 2014 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Denny McCarthy and 15-year-old Noah Goodwin en route to the quarterfinals
- Rising junior at Charleston Southern University, where he was a member of 2015 Big South Conference championship squad
- Placed 46th at NCAA Lubbock Regional; the Buccaneers were 13th as a team
- 2014 Canadian Junior champion, carding a 64, his lowest competitive round, during the tournament
- His sister, Augusta, won the Symetra Tour’s Patty Berg Memorial in her fourth start on tour last April and played as a collegian at North Carolina State
- Born May 21, 1994, in Tokyo, Japan
- No. 632 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Playing in his first USGA championship
- Defeated 2015 U.S. Open qualifier Cole Hammer, current Illinois golfer Thomas Detry in 19 holes and Kyle Mueller, who upended the No. 1 seed in first round, on his way to the quarterfinals
- Won 2010 Junior Open, conducted by The R&A, held at Lundin Golf Club, in Fife, Scotland, with a 54-hole score of 2-under 211 (71-68-72)
- Tied for 31st in Japan Tour’s Top Cup Tokai Classic in 2014
- Started playing golf at age 3
- Shot a 63, his lowest competitive round, in 2012
- Born Sept. 1, 1999, in Austin, Texas
- No. 333 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Competing in his second USGA championship and first U.S. Amateur
- Defeated 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up Brad Nurski and 2008 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up Todd Mitchell on his way to the quarterfinals
- Advanced to match play in the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship
- Played at Auburn University as a freshman but transferred to Baylor University for 2015-16
- Recorded three top-25 finishes and had a 73.30 scoring average at Auburn in 2014-15
- Won 2014 Texas Class 5A UIL state championship and won 2014 Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award
- Named to USA Today All-USA High School second team and was a 2013 Rolex Junior All-American
- Born Oct. 11, 1994, in Barrika, Spain
- No. 1 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
- Playing in his second U.S. Amateur; advanced to Round of 16 last year
- Survived an 18-for-10 playoff to reach match play and defeated first-round opponent George Cunningham in 21 holes
- Medalist in the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship, breaking Jack Nicklaus’ record with a 72-hole score of 23-under 263
- Won the 2015 Ben Hogan Award as the top collegiate player as a junior on the Arizona State University team
- Earned first-team All-America and first-team Pacific 12 Conference recognition
- Tied for fifth at Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, the first amateur to record a top-five PGA Tour finish since 2008
- Captured consecutive Spanish Amateur titles in 2014 and 2015
- Spanish Under-16 champion in 2009 and Spanish Under-21 champion in 2010
Cannon keeps firing as Grehan's gun is silenced in Tramore
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) driving at the 11th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Stuart Grehan's hopes of a hat-trick of champions wins this term were ended on the 20th but Robbie Cannon is on track to add a third Major title to his resumé in the AIG Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore.
The 36-year old Balbriggan native beat Delgany's Simon Bryan by one hole and Dundalk's Aaron Grant 5 and 4 to set up a last 16 showdown with Ardee's Eugene Smith, conqueror of South and East of Ireland champion Grehan.
Smith had a one hole win over Forrest Little's Eoin Arthurs in the morning before beating Grehan on the second extra hole in the afternoon.
The third round draw is an interesting mixture of youth and experience with a host of familiar names also in the mix in search of that maiden championship success.
While there was no fairytale win for three-time Close champion Eddie Power, who fell in the afternoon to Waterford Castle's Ben Murray on the 19th, the presence in the last 16 of young talents such as 16-year old Thomas Mulligan or international Robin Dawson —the Tramore man playing out of Faithlegg— is a plus for the game.
Cannon's ambition is to win all six amateur majors during his career but the likes of Dawson, Holland and Geoff Lenehan, not to mention Rafferty or Jordan Hood, are all desperate for that silverware.
Ben Murray (Waterford Castle)
Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) with his caddy John Hurley driving at the 11th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Ben Murray (Waterford Castle)
Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) lining up his putt at the 10th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Eddie Power (Kilkenny)
Eddie Power (Kilkenny) driving at the 11th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Eddie Power (Kilkenny)
Eddie Power (Kilkenny) willing his birdie putt at the 10th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Eugene Smith (Ardee)
Eugene Smith (Ardee) bunkered at the 10th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint)
Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) driving at the 10th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle)
Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) driving at the 11th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Robbie Pierse (Grange)
Robbie Pierse (Grange) jumping to check pin at the 11th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Robbie Pierse (Grange)
Robbie Pierse (Grange) shows his delight after holing a putt at the 10th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Robbie Pierse (Grange)
Robbie Pierse (Grange) driving at the 11th hole during the first day of matchplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (20/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
AIG Irish Amateur Close Championship, Tramore Golf Club, August 18-22 2015First Round- Shaun Carter (The Royal Dublin) bt Colin Fairweather (Knock) 1 Hole
- Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) bt Ian Spillane (Mallow) 5/4
- Gavin Smyth (Clonmel) bt Colm Crowley (Woodbrook) 4/3
- Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) bt Brian Doran (Palmerstown Stud) 3/2
- Jeff Hopkins (The Royal Dublin) bt Sean Barry (Fota Island) 4/3
- Marc Nolan (Delgany) bt John Reynolds (Dungarvan) 3/1
- Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) bt Cathal Nolan (Galway) 3/1
- David Kiely (Tramore) bt Sean Flanagan (Co. Sligo) 3/1
- Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) bt Jonathan Yates (Naas) 4/2
- Gary Collins (Rosslare) bt Jack Walsh (Castle) 1 Hole
- Ronan Mullarney (Galway) bt Ted Collins (Dun Laoghaire) 6/4
- Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) bt Mark Mullen (Wexford) 1 Hole
- Robert Cannon (Balbriggan) bt Simon Bryan (Delgany) 1 Hole
- Aaron Grant (Dundalk) bt James Fox (Portmarnock) 1 Hole
- Eugene Smith (Ardee) bt Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little) 1 Hole
- Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) bt Gavin Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick) 2/1
- Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) bt David Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) 5/4
- Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park) bt Stefan Greenberg (Tandragee) 4/3
- Eddie Power (Kilkenny) bt Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 4/3
- Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) bt Theo Coffey (Slieve Russell) 1 Hole
- Robbie Pierse (Grange) bt Alan Lowry (Esker Hills) 6/5
- Alan Thomas (Dungarvan) bt Cian Geraghty (Laytown / Bettystown) 3/2
- Stephen Healy (Carton House) bt Rob Brazill (Naas) 3/2
- Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth) bt Ronan Twomey (Muskerry) 4/3
- Conor O'Rourke (Naas) bt Richard Knightly (The Royal Dublin) 22nd
- Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) bt Gavin Young (Birr) 3/2
- Kevin Power (Kilkenny) bt Neil McKinstry (Cairndhu) 2/1
- Daniel Holland (Castle) bt Pat Murray (Limerick Golf Club) 20th
- Simon McConnell (Ballyclare) bt Kevin Stack (Dungarvan) 1 Hole
- Rory Williamson (Holywood) bt Bill Murray (Waterford Castle) 9/7
- Jack Mc Donnell (Forrest Little.) bt Shane Hogan (Nenagh) 5/4
- Alex Gleeson (Castle) bt Michael Ryan (New Ross) 4/3.
- Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) bt Shaun Carter (The Royal Dublin) 5/4
- Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) bt Gavin Smyth (Clonmel) 4/3
- Marc Nolan (Delgany) bt Jeff Hopkins (The Royal Dublin) 2/1
- Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) bt David Kiely (Tramore) 2/1
- Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) bt Gary Collins (Rosslare) 2/1
- Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) bt Ronan Mullarney (Galway) 3/2
- Robert Cannon (Balbriggan) bt Aaron Grant (Dundalk) 5/4
- Eugene Smith (Ardee) bt Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) 20th
- Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) bt Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park) 4/3
- Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) bt Eddie Power (Kilkenny) 19th
- Robbie Pierse (Grange) bt Alan Thomas (Dungarvan) 7/5
- Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth) bt Stephen Healy (Carton House) 3/2
- Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) bt Conor O'Rourke (Naas) 4/2
- Daniel Holland (Castle) bt Kevin Power (Kilkenny) 2/1
- Simon McConnell (Ballyclare) bt Rory Williamson (Holywood) 4/2
- Alex Gleeson (Castle) bt Jack Mc Donnell (Forrest Little) 5/4
- 0730 Hood v McLarnon
- 0740 Nolan v Fletcher
- 0750 Rafferty v Lenehan
- 0800 Cannon v Smith
- 0810 Dawson v Murray
- 0820 Pierse v Mulligan
- 0830 Shanahan v Holland
- 0840 McConnell v Gleeson
Leona Maguire wins Mark H McCormack Medal
Leona Maguire
Ireland’s Leona Maguire has won the Mark H McCormack Medal as the leading women’s player in the 2015 World Amateur Golf Ranking.
Maguire has enjoyed an outstanding season, which she came close to rounding off with a victory in a professional event on the Ladies European Tour when she finished one shot behind the winner, Beth Allen, at last month’s ISPS Handa Ladies European Masters at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club.
The 20-year-old, who attends Duke University in North Carolina, has won three events this season, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, the ACC Championship and the NCAA South Bend Regional. In May, she received the 2015 ANNIKA Award as the best golfer in American women’s college golf.
Maguire was the leading qualifier after the stroke play stage of the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship at Portstewart, where she reached the last 16. In June, she was part of the Great Britain and Ireland team which lost to their continental European counterparts in the Vagliano Trophy at Malone Golf Club and was undefeated, securing 3 ½ points out of 4.
The R&A and United States Golf Association (USGA) award recognises Maguire’s outstanding performances this year and is named after Mark H McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.
“It’s a huge honour to win the Mark H McCormack Medal,” said Maguire. “To be able to call myself the best female amateur in the world is a nice feeling. In the last few years a lot of big names have won it and they have gone on to do great things in the game. It caps a fantastic year for me and it is rewarding after all the hard work I have put in and my family as well.”
Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said, “I would like to congratulate Leona on her performances in what has been a tremendous season. To secure three victories in such a competitive environment as collegiate golf is a great achievement but to go on and come so close to winning a professional event is remarkable. Leona is a hugely talented golfer and an extremely worthy winner of the McCormack Medal.”
John Bodenhamer, USGA Senior Managing Director, Rules, Competitions & Amateur Status, said, “On behalf of the USGA, it gives me great pleasure to extend our congratulations to Leona for winning the McCormack Medal. Her outstanding play throughout the season in NCAA competition, as well in both the amateur and professional ranks, makes her a very deserving recipient. We look forward to following Leona in the future.”
The World Amateur Golf RankingTM which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The men’s ranking encompasses more than 2,300 counting events, ranking more than 6,000 players from 96 countries worldwide. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of more than 1,370 counting events with over 2,940 ranked players from 71 countries worldwide.
Dunne's major stardust too good for Ziggy
Paul Dunne blasts out of a bunker on the 15th hole during the first round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
Paul Dunne hit two glorious shots to the last to finally shake off the frustratingly adhesive American Robbie Ziegler and move into the last 32 of the US Amateur Championship in Chicago last night.
The Greystones star, 22, looked by far the more accomplished player on a windy afternoon at Olympia Fields’ long and demanding North Course. But with his putter not fully co-operative, he had to work hard to move into today’s second round with a two-up victory over the gutsy Ziegler thanks to a six iron to eight feet at the last.
“I played well at the start and had good chances at four, five and six from 10 feet and missed them all, which was disappointing,” said Dunne, who had his regular foursomes partner Gary Hurley as caddie.
“But I got two up through 12 and played some nice golf in the middle to go two under and then gave them away with two soft bogeys.
“So it was nice to hit two great shots to the last to seal the win. I was thinking if I made four it would be game set and match and luckily I hit two great shots and closed it out.”
This was @dunners11 bombing a driver down the second at Olympia Fields, North Course today. #USAmateur pic.twitter.com/a9ulY2hjvZ
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015Having chiselled out a two-up lead with six holes to play, the hero of The Open at St Andrews just a month ago, was hauled back to all square after 15 holes and had to hole a five footer at the 16th for a winning par and a three footer at the 17th to stay ahead of the resilient Oregon native before shutting the door on the tough 18th.
Ziegler, a thin, 25-year old assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin, made up for his lack of length with a deadly, cack-handed chipping game and some clutch putting down the stretch.
Outdriven consistently by at least 30 yards, "Ziggy" had more realistic birdie chances on the first three holes but failed to convert. And yet he saved par when he was in trouble to be level through eight holes as Dunne missed a trio of good chances himself.
Did I mention that's @GaryHurley93 is caddying for @dunners11 ? pic.twitter.com/REi4bZNc1V
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015The former University of Alabama-Birmingham star hit the first eight greens in regulation and might have trailed had Ziegler not missed outside chances from around 15 feet at the first, second and third with his long putter clutched to his chest.
Dunne played well but even with an ace green reader like Gary Hurley on his bag, he misread or mis-hit several good chances in the middle of the front nine..
The American eventually fell behind on the tough ninth, where his tee shot caught a tree 80 yards from the tee and he three-putted for a double bogey six to Dunne’s five after the Wicklow man had been forced to lay up on a hole that was playing into a very stiff wind.
Here's @dunners11 from the fairway trap on 8. He had 12 ft but missed - burning a lot of edges. pic.twitter.com/VvIBeOuPdY
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015The Irish star doubled his lead by holing a 45-foot, left to right birdie putt across the green at the iconic, short-par four 12th. But he bogeyed the 13th and 15th to see his lead erased.
He won the 16th in par, however, and after Ziegler had kept the match alive by draining a 15 footer to avoid a three-putt bogey at the 17th, he won the last with a par four as he opponent drove into sand.
With Dunne in perfect position in the fairway, Ziegler erred when he elected to hit a hybrid from the sand and caught the lip, barely clambering out.
He was still away and hit found sand in three and after Dunne rifled a superb six iron to eight feet, he failed to hole out for par and conceded.
The Wicklow man will face Caleb Proveaux from South Carolina in the second round and he was pleased to go through.
"Today I started off playing nicely. I hit, I think, the first eight greens in regulation, had some good chances to get up in my match," he said. "Didn't quite take them. When he made a mistake on 9 I got 1-up, and a nice birdie on 12 got me to 2-up.
Robbie Ziegler lines up his putt on the 15th hole during the first round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
"Then coming in I made a couple of soft bogeys really on 13 from the middle of the fairway, and then 15, which is really basic par-3, just misjudged the wind a bit. Yeah, but it was nice to play the last three holes well and close the match out."
Dunne didn't find his opponent frustrating to play as he clearly felt he was always going to have the upper hand in terms of length and was just biding his time.
Some smooth talkers among the elite US college stars but @dunners11 more than holds his own. Excellent with the media pic.twitter.com/6KXHHHgzP7
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015"Not really. You knew it was going to be tough, but the golf course is tough anyway. And kind of with the wind the way it was today, it's tough to make birdie, so we kind of found ourselves in a bit of a par battle.
"I kind of gave myself some good chances on 4, 5 and 6 from short rage, and I hit three good putts, I just misread the three of them. Nothing I could do about that. I was happy with the shots I hit.
"But I knew that if I just stuck to playing the way I was that eventually I was going to win a few holes. He was doing a good job of saving pars in the first few holes, and all credit to him. His chipping and putting was good. Yeah, but I was happy that I could close it out down the last three."
Olympia Fields' North Course was playing every inch of its length due to the sodden fairways though Dunne was grateful they moved up a few tees.
In short, he played the course more than the man and will do so again.
Playing Paul Dunne. Dude shoulda won the Open. This will be interesting.
— Robbie Ziegler (@robbiezig) August 19, 2015"I think the course is too hard to deviate from that, really. It doesn't matter how many up or down you are, you've got to hit fairways. If you miss fairways you're going to be on the back foot from the start. Apart from a couple, I was hitting the ball long and straight, which is a real advantage around here.
"I had the advantage of length on him. Just around the middle of the round I had a few shots I could get aggressive with, but the greens are so soft after the rain that I just kept over-spinning my wedge shots. Even though I kept trying to take spin off, they just kept spinning.
Admitting he was now fully recovered from his bout of food poisoning, Dunne is hoping Hurley will tote the bag again today.
"I wasn't feeling the best yesterday, but today I was fine," he said. I got a good night's sleep last night, got some food into me, and I was fine."
On planning ahead, he said: "You don't know how far you're going to get. Obviously you hope and plan to get as far as you can, but you could run into a steam train, someone birdies every hole tomorrow, or you could have the easiest match of your life. It's impossible to tell. It's just important to take your rest when you can get it and not do anything stupid and tire yourself out."
Hurley's calmly presence on the bag was key, especially when the match went back to all square.
"It's good to have Gary on the bag. We're great friends. Someone that knows as much as he does about the game, he keeps my mind from wandering off the topics that it should be on. He keeps me focussed.
"Especially when I lost a couple holes there towards the end, go back to all square, it's easy for your mind to wander and get a bit flustered and worry about the momentum that you've lost. But yeah, he just kept kind of putting me in the right direction, telling me to just focus on the shot you're hitting, just commit to it and that's all you can do.
.@HunterStewart5 downs fellow
Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards on selection process: "Good players are good players, you have to look at them"
Sam Horsfield watches his second shot on the 14th hole during the first round of match play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2015. (Copyright USGA/John Mummert)
Nigel Edwards won’t feel pressure when he sits down this weekend to draw up the Walker Cup team to face the USA.
When the 10 names are announced on Monday — and Ireland has high hopes of having five on the team — it will be the calls to those who didn’t get picked that will weigh heaviest on his mind.
High expectations and unbridled ambition are part and parcel of the story when it comes to top amateurs these days . The recent Open Championship at St Andrews, where Greystones’ Paul Dunne was co-leader with a round to go, and one of four amateurs in the top 30, is a prime example.
Some may say the Walker Cup has lost its cachet but they clearly don’t know the 20 or so hopefuls waiting for the nod.
“They all have a lot of confidence in themselves because performances generate confidence,” Edwards says at Olympia Fields clubhouse where he has spent the day watching the likes fo Dunne, Cormac Sharvin and Gary Hurley, not to mention another five English and Scottish players. "They expect to do well now.”
Dunne wasn’t the leading amateur at The Open as American Jordan Niebrugge tied sixth to win the Silver Medal ahead of England’s Ashley Chesters, who tied 12th with Ollie Schniederjans, who has since turned professional.
“Ashley finished 12th and asked me if he was in The Open next year,” Edwards says. “He was very disappointed when I told him he had to be Top 10. You could see the disappointment. His expectations, despite being a very quiet lad, are to do very well. And why wouldn’t he think that?
“And I know Paul was disappointed he didn’t better on the last day even after everything he did. That’s the way these kids think now.”
Edwards believes the Walker Cup is important for the game, especially for those who will never turn professional.
And the affable Welshman is quietly confident as he counts down to the matches at Royal Lytham and St Annes from September 12-13 , despite the fact that the USA will send over another team of hotshots similar to 2007 when Rory McIlroy and Co lost to Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Billy Horschel and Colt Knost or 2011 when Jordan Spieth, Harris English, Russell Henley, Patrick Rodgers and Peter Uihlein were shocked 14-12 by the hosts.
US Walker captain Spider Miller and GB&I's @nigeledwards68 are counting the days to the Walker Cup. pic.twitter.com/n7pbT3g6Ri
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 18, 2015“I think we will do just fine,” he said. “Why? Because we will have a very good team that will play passionately for each other. They want to be in it to win it and I think the golf course will suit us.”
When it comes to picking the side, Ireland has an advantage in that the heart of the team has been together for three years, winning back to back Home Internationals and contending regular for all the big titles.
“Cormac’s played very well,” Edwards said. “His game has been in order… he has pushed forward and young Moynihan has been producing results for years.
Likewise Paul has come on strong since he played in the St Andrews Trophy last year, likewise Gary Hurley and Jack Hume has been playing nicely. And Dermot is certainly much more consistent this year than he has been.”
In contrast, England has lost 20 squad players to the professional ranks since the 2013 Walker Cup alone.
“It is a concern for the game,” said Edwards, who is also Director of Coaching for England Golf. “But the Walker Cup can give some many other people so much. For many as it was for, it is the pinnacle of their careers.”
With Gavin Moynihan, (the sole survivor from 2013) considered automatic, Ireland’s representation could be an all time record of five if Jack Hume or even Dermot McElroy get the nod when the 10-man team is named on Monday.
The result of this week’s US Amateur may not have a massive bearing on the decisions to be taken by Edwards or his three selectors —Welshman Andy Ingram, Scotland’s Gary Hay and Tramore’s Michael Burns — this weekend. But it’s not ruled out either.
And what of Sam Horsfield, who has not set foot in Europe for an official event this year? He dined with the GB&I squad members present at the US Amateur on Sunday and was watched by Edwards on Monday. He's also the third highest ranked GB&I player.
“Good players are good players,” Edwards said. “You have to look at them.”
Having seen some many major winners and top stars play Walker Cup in recent years and talk positively about their experiences, Edwards expects the event to continue to thrive even if the numbers turning professional every year are frightening.
“Jordan Spieth has just finished first-first-fourth-second in majors four years after playing a Walker Cup,” he said. “It can’t be all bad.”
Whatever about the Irish presence in the Walker Cup side, there will be an Irish-American in the 2016 US Curtis Cup team in recently crowned US Women’s Amateur champion Hannah O’Sullivan.
That’s because she’s the granddaughter of the late Eleanor O’Sullivan (née Nunan) from Lattin, Cp Tipperary and John O’Sullivan of Kilmallock, Co Limerick, who emigrated to the USA in 1957.
Hannah’s grand aunt, Pauline Daly, the former President of the Irish Lawn Tennis Association, still lives in Lattin and takes a keen interest in the rising talent of her grand-niece.
Her Dad, Greg O’Sullivan, was brought up in San Francisco and the family now live in Chandler, Arizona.
Greg met his wife Sarah, originally from Seoul in South Korea, when they were both working and living in Hong Kong.
Sharvin on Walker Cup team: “If we get less that five there will be a lot of people and team mates very disappointed"
Cormac Sharvin watches his tee shot on the fifth hole during the second round of stoke play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
Gary Hurley and Cormac Sharvin were left with nothing to do but contemplate a nervy wait for the Walker Cup team to be announced next Monday after they failed to make the matchplay stages of the US Amateur at Olympia Fields.
While Greystones’ Paul Dunne was one of 64 qualifiers for the first matchplay round —he took 18th place on level par having added a 69 to his opening 71 on Tuesday—Maynooth University and West Waterford star Hurley and Ardglass’ talent Sharvin had to return at 730am to yesterday to complete their weather-delayed second rounds.
Both had two holes remaining on the South Course to try make the three over par qualifying mark that was good enough for a spot in what was eventually an 18-man play-off for the last 10 places in the matchplay draw.
But neither made it with Sharvin going closest after a tremendous birdie from 10 feet at the 17th left him needing another birdie at the par-five 18th to get to three over.
He could only make par, however, after clipping a tree with his approach and seeing pitch and run third stop dead in soggy conditions as he posted a second successive two over 72 that left him, tantalisingly, one stoke outside the number on 144.
“I leaked my tee shot a little on the 18th and I was trying to squeeze something low under the trees and I just clipped a tree and came up short of the green,” said Sharvin, who birdied the 17th thanks to a 180-yard seven iron to 10 feet.
“I tried to bump and run a pitching wedge but it pitched a few inches short of the green and the ground was so soft, it just killed it. Had I gone another yard I might have finished close to the hole.”
Hurley was within a shot of the projected cut with two holes to complete but he bogeyed the 17th after a wild tee shot into the trees and failed to eagle the last, dropping another shot after a thinned greenside bunker shot, adding a 74 to his opening 72 for a 146 aggregate.
“I didn’t hit the ball well enough,” said Hurley, who missed out by three strokes on six over par 146. “I could have come out and finished par-birdie and made the cut on the mark and that would have been great.
“But there were too many bad shots and not enough great shots. I needed to play better to have any chance of making it really.”
Dunne, Sharvin and Hurley are expected to be named in the Walker Cup team on Monday alongside 2013 Walker Cup player Gavin Moynihan from The Island.
Gary Hurley watches his tee shot on the 12th hole during the second round of stoke play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
There are also high hopes that Naas’ Jack Hume will also be called up though nothing has been said by the captain to any of the squad and there has been talk in some golf circles that Ireland will get no more than four spots.
“I think five isn’t out of the equation,” Sharvin said. “If we get any less I think there will be a lot of people and team mates very, very disappointed.
“I don’t know what way the selectors are thinking. I am just hoping to get my place and take it from there.”
Hurley also hopes to hear five Irish names on Monday, adding: “It would mean a lot to make the Walker Cup team. It’s what you work for as an amateur in Great Britain and Ireland.
“If you make Walker Cup, it’s a big deal to your family and your golf club. But it’s also a nice thing to do before I turn pro.
“It would be great if I got that opportunity. It’s probably one of the biggest events in amateur golf as it’s covered live on TV and attracts with massive crowds.
“Hopefully we have a nice number (of Irishmen) on the team.”
Ireland had a record four players on the GB&I team in 1949 and 1951 — Joe Carr, Cecil Ewing, Sam (Max) McCready and Jimmy Bruen.
Of the six GB&I players in Chicago, only Dunne and Sam Horsfield made the cut.
The US-based Englishman has not returned to Europe this year, is the third highest ranked GB&I player behind world No 6 Ashley Chesters and 20th ranked Sharvin with Hurley 26th, Moynihan 29th, Dunne 33rd, Ewen Ferguson 34th, Grant Forrest 40th, Hume 42nd, Graeme Robertson 52nd and Jack McDonald 58th.
Other such as Nick Marsh (84th) and Jimmy Mullen (90th) are further down the world order.
Meanwhile, 19 year old Brett Coletta of Australia posted a 36-hole total of seven under-par 133 to lead the qualifiers in Chicago.
His four-under 66 on the North Course placed him one stroke ahead of David Oraee of Greeley, Colo., who shot 67 on the South Course for a 134 total.
Rain delayed the start of the second round of stroke play by 90 minutes on Tuesday morning and 54 players did not complete 36 holes. Play was halted because of darkness at 7:13 p.m., and the second round of stroke play was completed on Wednesday morning.
An 18-for-10 playoff for the final match-play berths started on the South Course at 9:15 a.m.
A member of the Australian national squad, Coletta tallied five birdies against one bogey on the course that hosted the 1928 and 2003 U.S. Opens.
“I'm hitting my driver unbelievable,” said Coletta, who won the 2014 Victorian Junior Masters. “So having that extra distance and hitting it straight, having those short irons in really helps. I thought I played really well and really solid.”
OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Results from Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, played on the 7,234-yard, par-70 North (NC) and the 7,045-yard, par-70 South (SC) Courses at Olympia Fields Country Club.# = in playoff
Brett Coletta, Australia 67 SC-66 NC--133
David Oraee, Greeley, Colo. 67 NC-67 SC--134
Jake Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. 70 SC-65 NC--135
Lee McCoy, Athens, Ga. 66 SC-70 NC--136
George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. 71 NC-66 SC--137
Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. 68 NC-69 SC--137
Maverick Antcliff, Augusta, Ga. 72 NC-65 SC--137
Ryan Ruffels, Australia 66 NC-72 SC--138
Josh Munn, New Zealand 70 NC-68 SC--138
Matt NeSmith, North Augusta, S.C. 65 SC-73 NC--138
Adam Ball, Glen Allen, Va. 68 SC-70 NC--138
Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 71 SC-67 NC--138
Sepp Straka, Valdosta, Ga. 67 SC-71 NC--138
Jacob Hicks, Mebane, N.C. 72 NC-68 SC--140
Caleb Proveaux, Lexington, S.C. 73 NC-67 SC--140
Thomas Detry, Belgium 72 NC-68 SC--140
Kenta Konishi, Japan 66 NC-74 SC--140
Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland 71 NC-69 SC--140
Austin James, Canada 73 NC-67 SC--140
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. 71 NC-69 SC--140
Corey Pereira, Cameron Park, Calif. 69 SC-71 NC--140
Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. 69 SC-71 NC--140
Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. 70 SC-70 NC--140
Taylor Hancock, Clearwater, Fla. 71 SC-69 NC--140
Chase Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla. 69 SC-71 NC--140
Austin Connelly, Canada 71 SC-69 NC--140
Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio 71 NC-70 SC--141
Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. 71 NC-70 SC--141
Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas 70 NC-71 SC--141
Nathan Yankovich, Blacklick, Ohio 66 SC-75 NC--141
Hank Lebioda, Winter Springs, Fla. 68 SC-73 NC--141
Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan. 70 SC-71 NC--141
Alex Burge, Bloomington, Ill. 70 SC-71 NC--141
David Cooke, Bolingbrook, Ill. 71 SC-70 NC--141
Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. 72 SC-69 NC--141
Zachary Olsen, Cordova, Tenn. 73 NC-69 SC--142
Gunn Yang, Republic of Korea 73 NC-69 SC--142
Broc Johnson, Auburn, Wash. 74 NC-68 SC--142
Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. 72 NC-70 SC--142
Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. 74 NC-68 SC--142
Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas 70 NC-72 SC--142
Robby Salomon, Monterey, Calif. 69 NC-73 SC--142
Romain Langasque, France 72 NC-70 SC--142
Daniel Wetterich, Cincinnati, Ohio 73 NC-69 SC--142
Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. 72 NC-70 SC--142
Miller Capps, Denver, N.C. 70 NC-72 SC--142
Robbie Ziegler, Madison, Wis. 72 SC-70 NC--142
Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas 69 SC-73 NC--142
Matt Oshrine, Baltimore, Md. 72 SC-70 NC--142
Roman Robledo, Harlingen, Texas 71 SC-71 NC--142
Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md. 72 SC-70 NC--142
Garrett Rank, Canada 68 SC-74 NC--142
Sam Horsfield, England 72 SC-70 NC--142
Reed Hrynewich, Muskegon, Mich. 68 SC-74 NC—142
#Billy Kennerly, Alpharetta, Ga. 71 NC-72 SC—143 (4,4)
#Brad Nurski, St. Joseph, Mo. 73 SC-70 NC—143 (4,4)
#Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif. 75 NC-68 SC—143 (4,4)
#Adrian Meronk, Poland 72 SC-71 NC—143 (4,4)
#Aaron Whalen, Ephrata, Wash. 75 NC-68 SC—143 (4,4)
#Jon Rahm, Spain 74 NC-69 SC—143 (4,4)
#Hunter Stewart, Lexington, Ky. 71 SC-72 NC—143 (4,4)
#Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas 72 SC-71 NC—143 (4,4)
#Johnny De Los Reyes, Antioch, Calif. 74 NC-69 SC—143 (4,5,4,4)
#Kyle Mueller, Watkinsville, Ga. 73 SC-70 NC—143 (4,5,4,4)
Failed to qualify#Sean Kelly, Staten Island, N.Y. 72 SC-71 NC—143 (4,5,4,5)
#Jonathan Garrick, Atherton, Calif. 72 SC-71 NC—143 (4,5,5,)
#Michael Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. 72 NC-71 SC—143 (4,5,5)
#Rico Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 76 NC-67 SC—143 (4,5,6)
#David Snyder, McAllen, Texas 69 SC-74 NC—143 (4,6)
#Nicholas Ross, Canada 72 SC-71 NC—143 (5)
#Stuart Macdonald, Canada 68 SC-75 NC—143 (5)
#Jackson Juerling, Indianapolis, Ind. 74 SC-69 NC—143 (6)
Robin Sciot-Siegrist, France 74 NC-70 SC--144
Jacob Solomon, Dublin, Calif. 71 NC-73 SC--144
Max Greyserman, Short Hills, N.J. 74 NC-70 SC--144
Fred Wedel, The Woodlands, Texas 74 NC-70 SC--144
Lucas Herbert, Australia 74 NC-70 SC--144
Cormac Sharvin, Northern Ireland 72 NC-72 SC--144
Braden Thornberry, Olive Branch, Miss. 71 NC-73 SC--144
Blair Hamilton, Canada 72 NC-72 SC--144
Jack Maguire, St Petersburg, Fla. 76 NC-68 SC--144
Jake Koppenberg, Bellingham, Wash. 71 SC-73 NC--144
Zach Seabolt, Raleigh, N.C. 70 SC-74 NC--144
Hudson Carpenter, Stillwater, Minn. 69 SC-75 NC--144
Jordan Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas 74 SC-70 NC--144
Roman Aragon, Mission Viejo, Calif. 72 SC-72 NC--144
Gabriel Lench, Lake Mary, Fla. 72 SC-72 NC--144
Jared Bettcher, Auburn, Ala. 72 SC-72 NC--144
Dan Stringfellow, Roselle, Ill. 73 NC-72 SC--145
Grant Forrest, Scotland 74 NC-71 SC--145
Sam Burns, Shreveport, La. 72 NC-73 SC--145
Matthew Dunn, Houston, Texas 71 NC-74 SC--145
Chris Harris, Atlanta, Ga. 69 NC-76 SC--145
Austin Bautista, Australia 73 NC-72 SC--145
Luis Fernando Barco, Peru 71 NC-74 SC--145
Collin Morikawa, La Canada Flintridge, Calif. 70 NC-75 SC--145
John Oda, Honolulu, Hawaii 71 NC-74 SC--145
Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. 72 NC-73 SC--145
Mike McCoy, Des Moines, Iowa 76 NC-69 SC--145
Stuart Smallwood, Paris, Texas 70 NC-75 SC--145
Ian Holt, Stow, Ohio 72 NC-73 SC--145
Claudio Correa, Chile 71 NC-74 SC--145
Dan Ellis, Lansing, Mich. 68 NC-77 SC--145
Pep Angles, Spain 78 SC-67 NC--145
Spencer Painton, Aurora, Colo. 71 SC-74 NC--145
William Rainey, Charlotte, N.C. 75 SC-70 NC--145
Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill. 68 SC-77 NC--145
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. 71 SC-74 NC--145
Corby Segal, Santa Clarita, Calif. 72 SC-73 NC--145
Cheng Jin, People's Republic of China 70 SC-75 NC--145
Stoney Crouch, Mount Juliet, Tenn. 70 SC-75 NC--145
Taylor McCullum, Hoover, Ala. 72 SC-73 NC--145
Andrew Kozan, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 72 SC-73 NC--145
Jonah Texeira, Porter Ranch, Calif. 71 SC-74 NC--145
Carson Young, Pendleton, S.C. 77 NC-69 SC--146
Kyle Cornett, Mill Creek, Wash. 74 NC-72 SC--146
Tom Vining, Sioux Falls, S.D. 73 NC-73 SC--146
Henry Smart, England 77 NC-69 SC--146
Victor Wiggins, Gastonia, N.C. 72 NC-74 SC--146
Michael Balcar, Toledo, Ohio 72 NC-74 SC--146
Seokwon Jeon, Draper, Utah 75 NC-71 SC--146
Chris Guglielmo, Cumming, Ga. 77 NC-69 SC--146
Ben Wolcott, Dickson, Tenn. 71 NC-75 SC--146
Gary Hurley, Republic of Ireland 72 NC-74 SC--146
Kyle De Silva, Orange, Calif. 73 NC-73 SC--146
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 74 NC-72 SC--146
Shad Tuten, Augusta, Ga. 72 NC-74 SC--146
Tom Bayliss, England 75 NC-71 SC--146
Cody Blick, Danville, Calif. 69 NC-77 SC--146
Francesco Ruffino, Bloomfield Village, Mich. 73 NC-73 SC--146
Daniel Hudson, Western Springs, Ill. 76 NC-70 SC--146
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. 76 NC-70 SC--146
Sam Bernstein, New York, N.Y. 77 NC-69 SC--146
Jorge Garcia, Venezuela 73 SC-73 NC--146
Peter Jones, Owatonna, Minn. 74 SC-72 NC--146
Eric Ricard, Shreveport, La. 76 SC-70 NC--146
Ryan Cole, Mount Airy, Md. 70 SC-76 NC--146
Aaron Wise, Lake Elsinore, Calif. 75 SC-71 NC--146
Franklin Huang, Poway, Calif. 71 SC-75 NC--146
Michael Nagy, Manistique, Mich. 69 SC-77 NC--146
Keith Unikel, Potomac, Md. 74 SC-72 NC--146
Ryan Pelletier, Mansfield, Mass. 74 SC-72 NC--146
Jordan Niebrugge, Mequon, Wis. 73 SC-73 NC--146
Arthur Kim, Tigard, Ore. 73 SC-73 NC--146
Andy Ogletree, Little Rock, Miss. 72 SC-74 NC--146
Bryan Norton, Mission Hills, Kan. 73 SC-73 NC--146
Bryan Baumgarten, Granite Bay, Calif. 71 SC-75 NC--146
James Holley, Chatsworth, Calif. 76 SC-70 NC--146
Michael Muehr, Potomac Falls, Va. 71 NC-76 SC--147
Rigel Fernandes, Tampa, Fla. 78 NC-69 SC--147
Patrick Moriarty, Rockville, Md. 73 NC-74 SC--147
Michael VanDeventer, Columbus, Ind. 76 NC-71 SC--147
Marcus Kinhult, Sweden 75 NC-72 SC--147
Vince Whaley, Fayetteville, Ga. 75 NC-72 SC--147
Max Rottluff, Germany 75 NC-72 SC--147
Todd White, Spartanburg, S.C. 72 NC-75 SC--147
Lee Whitehead, Knoxville, Tenn. 75 NC-72 SC--147
Shotaro Ban, San Jose, Calif. 75 NC-72 SC--147
Alex Lee, Sacramento, Calif. 73 SC-74 NC--147
John Michael O'Toole, Pinson, Ala. 74 SC-73 NC--147
Philip Knowles, Bradenton, Fla. 73 SC-74 NC--147
Conner Kumpula, Albany, Ore. 69 SC-78 NC--147
Chris Petefish, Danville, Calif. 73 SC-74 NC--147
Carter Jenkins, Raleigh, N.C. 75 SC-72 NC--147
Will Thomson, Pittsford, N.Y. 72 SC-75 NC--147
Charles Danielson, Osceola, Wis. 75 SC-72 NC--147
Kenneth Fadke, Hobbs, N.M. 76 SC-71 NC--147
Chris Babcock, Shoreline, Wash. 76 NC-72 SC--148
Alex Franklin, San Rafael, Calif. 76 NC-72 SC--148
Joseph Winslow, Overland Park, Kan. 74 NC-74 SC--148
Kyle Suppa, Honolulu, Hawaii 71 NC-77 SC--148
Andrew Price, Lake Bluff, Ill. 75 NC-73 SC--148
Eugene Hong, Sanford, Fla. 74 NC-74 SC--148
Brett Viboch, Moraga, Calif. 72 NC-76 SC--148
Braden Bailey, Groves, Texas 78 NC-70 SC--148
Mark Cusic, California, Md. 77 NC-71 SC--148
Edwin Yi, Beaumont, Calif. 72 SC-76 NC--148
Josh Irving, Fort Worth, Texas 75 SC-73 NC--148
Stephen Franken, Raleigh, N.C. 73 SC-75 NC--148
Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore. 75 SC-73 NC--148
Brett McIntosh, Canada 73 SC-75 NC--148
Ashton Van Horne, Georgetown, Ky. 78 SC-70 NC--148
Erick Alonso, Haworth, N.J. 74 SC-74 NC--148
Will Long, Gastonia, N.C. 76 SC-72 NC--148
Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. 73 SC-75 NC--148
Michael Hyland, Medford, N.J. 73 SC-75 NC--148
Jake Kneen, White Lake, Mich. 70 SC-78 NC--148
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. 75 SC-73 NC--148
Ben Griffin, Chapel Hill, N.C. 75 NC-74 SC--149
Jonny Hogan, Santa Barbara, Calif. 74 NC-75 SC--149
Ryggs Johnston, Libby, Mont. 78 NC-71 SC--149
Connor Campbell, Orange, Calif. 77 NC-72 SC--149
Matthew Giovannelli, Ocala, Fla. 73 NC-76 SC--149
Jake Istnick, Dallas, Texas 74 NC-75 SC--149
Kyler Tate, Winter Garden, Fla. 76 NC-73 SC--149
Tanner Napier, Paris, Texas 75 NC-74 SC--149
Evan Russell, Grantham, N.H. 76 NC-73 SC--149
Rylee Iacolucci, Cle Elum, Wash. 76 NC-73 SC--149
Johnny Decker, Verona, Wis. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Bryce Geraghty, Cantonment, Fla. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Ewen Ferguson, Scotland 78 SC-71 NC--149
Jonathan Diianni, Kernersville, N.C. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Michael Bernard, Huber Heights, Ohio 79 SC-70 NC--149
Nicholas Cummings, Weston, Mass. 70 SC-79 NC--149
Troy Moses, Australia 75 SC-74 NC--149
Eric Banks, Canada 76 SC-73 NC--149
Kieran Purcell, Nutley, N.J. 75 SC-74 NC--149
Cameron Davis, Australia 77 SC-72 NC--149
Kyle Jones, Snowflake, Ariz. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. 76 SC-73 NC--149
Cameron Willis, Eaton, Ohio 73 SC-76 NC--149
Jimmy Hervol, Hopkinton, Mass. 76 NC-74 SC--150
Turner Southey-Gordon, Canada 74 NC-76 SC--150
John Jackopsic, West Hartford, Conn. 73 NC-77 SC--150
Josh Whalen, Canada 70 NC-80 SC--150
Logan Lagodich, Canton, Ohio 76 NC-74 SC--150
McKinley Slade, Saunderstown, R.I. 79 NC-71 SC--150
Daniel Whelan, Coral Springs, Fla. 77 NC-73 SC--150
Billy Walthouse, Longmeadow, Mass. 73 NC-77 SC--150
Paul Pastore, Greenwich, Conn. 77 NC-73 SC--150
Travis Rose, Nicholasville, Ky. 75 NC-75 SC--150
Joe Parkinson, Alpine, Utah 73 SC-77 NC--150
Ryann Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif. 72 SC-78 NC--150
Curtis Luck, Australia 69 SC-81 NC--150
Tyler Collier, Chico, Calif. 73 SC-77 NC--150
Sean Walsh, Keller, Texas 70 SC-80 NC--150
Jake Harpe, Griffin, Ga. 73 SC-77 NC--150
Harrison Shih, Saddle River, N.J. 75 SC-75 NC--150
Noah Woolsey, Pleasanton, Calif. 73 SC-77 NC--150
Zach Healy, Peachtree Corners, Ga. 74 SC-76 NC--150
Jimmy Jones, Tampa, Fla. 76 SC-74 NC--150
Ethan Farnam, Crystal Lake, Ill. 81 NC-70 SC--151
Keegan Vea, Evansville, Ind. 74 NC-77 SC--151
Jake Fendt, Suwanee, Ga. 75 NC-76 SC--151
Jake Yount, Danville, Calif. 73 SC-78 NC--151
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. 76 SC-75 NC--151
John Clare, Camillus, N.Y. 75 SC-76 NC--151
Zach Gaugert, Waunakee, Wis. 78 SC-73 NC--151
Freddy Thomas, Lakeville, Minn. 76 SC-75 NC--151
Evan Katz, Washington, D.C. 76 SC-75 NC--151
Roberto Lebrija, Mexico 77 SC-74 NC--151
Joey Savoie, Canada 71 SC-80 NC--151
Antonio Murdaca, Australia 75 SC-76 NC--151
Tye Waller, Griffin, Ga. 75 SC-76 NC--151
Garrett Browning, Imperial, Pa. 75 SC-76 NC--151
Conner Koberg, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 76 NC-76 SC--152
Alejandro Tosti, Argentina 77 NC-75 SC--152
Hayden Wood, Edmond, Okla. 78 NC-74 SC--152
Bryan Shin, Republic of Korea 77 NC-75 SC--152
Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, La. 75 NC-77 SC--152
Broc Everett, West Des Moines, Iowa 77 NC-75 SC--152
Cole Miller, New Tripoli, Pa. 79 NC-73 SC--152
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas 79 NC-73 SC--152
Bill Carlson, Fargo, N.D. 78 NC-74 SC--152
Andrew Orischak, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 76 SC-76 NC--152
Troy Evans, Barre, Vt. 80 SC-72 NC--152
Nick Marsh, England 80 SC-72 NC--152
Charles Wang, People's Republic of China 73 NC-80 SC--153
Doug Kleeschulte, Kingston, N.Y. 85 NC-68 SC--153
Cristobal Del Solar, Tallahassee, Fla. 79 NC-74 SC--153
David Kocher, Charlotte, N.C. 77 NC-76 SC--153
Michael Tolladay, Fresno, Calif. 78 NC-75 SC--153
Sydney Chung, Jackson, Tenn. 76 SC-77 NC--153
Drew Lethem, Olathe, Kan. 78 SC-75 NC--153
Nick Eberhardt, Lake Wylie, S.C. 76 SC-77 NC--153
Brian Scherer, Midland, Texas 78 SC-75 NC--153
Christopher Hickman, Centreville, Md. 70 SC-83 NC--153
Sam Gillis, San Jacinto, Calif. 75 SC-78 NC--153
Richard Gilkey, Bakersfield, Calif. 74 SC-79 NC--153
Hagen Fell, Austin, Texas 76 SC-77 NC--153
Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. 79 SC-74 NC--153
Garett Reband, Fort Worth, Texas 74 SC-79 NC--153
Stanhope Johnson Jr., Greensboro, N.C. 78 NC-76 SC--154
David Weisfeld, New York, N.Y. 78 NC-76 SC--154
Andrew Levitt, Ladera Ranch, Calif. 76 NC-78 SC--154
Tyler Strafaci, Davie, Fla. 77 NC-77 SC--154
Ross Kronberg, Norwalk, Conn. 74 SC-80 NC--154
Josh Lorenzetti, Blythewood, S.C. 80 NC-75 SC--155
Mack Foster, Knoxville, Ill. 79 SC-76 NC--155
Christopher Kupniewski, Erie, Pa. 78 SC-77 NC--155
Dave Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. 79 SC-76 NC--155
Joshua Baskins, Reno, Nev. 77 SC-78 NC--155
Steve Irwin, Arvada, Colo. 76 NC-80 SC--156
Byron Meth, San Diego, Calif. 74 NC-82 SC--156
Alex Weiss, Pickerington, Ohio 82 NC-74 SC--156
Zac Dittmer, Kansas City, Mo. 77 NC-79 SC--156
Tyler Saunders, Canada 77 SC-79 NC--156
Shane Barnes, Bloomington, Minn. 81 NC-76 SC--157
Michael Brown Jr., Maple Shade, N.J. 76 NC-81 SC--157
Hide Yoshihara, Japan 77 NC-80 SC--157
Nick Paxson, Cincinnati, Ohio 81 NC-76 SC--157
Daniel De La Garza, Mexico 78 SC-79 NC--157
Tyler Lewis, Grand Blanc, Mich. 79 SC-78 NC--157
Jack Sparling, Dublin, Ohio 75 NC-83 SC--158
Sean McGuire, Twinsburg, Ohio 80 NC-78 SC--158
Micah Rodgers, Odessa, Texas 76 NC-82 SC--158
Jordan Gold, Orange, Calif. 71 SC-87 NC--158
Ryan Prokay, Grove City, Pa. 84 NC-75 SC--159
Alec Bone, Phoenix, Ariz. 80 NC-79 SC--159
Vinay Ramesh, Newtown, Pa. 80 SC-79 NC--159
Matthew Yun, Flushing, N.Y. 78 SC-81 NC--159
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. 80 SC-80 NC--160
Marc Chandonnet, Lowell, Mass. 79 SC-81 NC--160
Will Echelmeier, Columbia, Mo. 83 NC-78 SC--161
Jordan Lewis, Marion, Ill. 80 SC-81 NC--161
Jack Wallace, Beverly, N.J. 81 SC-81 NC--162
Kyle Danford, Fort Collins, Colo. 81 SC-82 NC--163
Jordan Wetsch, St. Charles, Ill. 89 NC-77 SC--166
Kyler Dunkle, Larkspur, Colo. 86 NC-85 SC--171
Kolton Crawford, Mansfield, Texas 75 NC-DQ SC--DQ
Troy Johnson, Maple Grove, Minn. 73 NC-WD SC--WD
Scott Harvey, Greensboro, N.C. 68 SC-DQ NC--DQ
Cannon takes Silver in quest for Irish Close glory
Robbie Cannon (Balbriggan) driving at the 13th tee during the second day of strokeplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (19/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Two-time championship winner Robbie Cannon captured the first Silver Medal of his career when he impressively led the qualifiers for the AIG Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore.
Rounds of 70 and 68 left him two shots clear on six under 138 of 16-year old Co Louth star Thomas Mulligan, who was called up for Jacques Leglise Trophy duty on Monday.
And while Cannon is keen to win all six amateur "majors" having captured the South and the Irish Amateur Open, taking the 'Close' won't be easy given the depth of the talent these days.
The matchplay field is festooned with danger men and even if he beats Simon Bryan—who was a client of his strength and conditioning business recently—he could face testing second round against James Fox or Aaron Grant.
South and East of Ireland winner Stuart Grehan of Tullamore (69 72) is still very much a threat having finished joint third in the qualifying with Faithlegg's Robin Dawson (69 72) and Naas' Jonathan Yates (67 74) (Tullamore/MU) 69 72, Jonathan Yates (Naas) 67 74.
"I feel great," Cannon told Golfnet.ie. "This is the first time I have won a qualifying Silver Medal in the 16 or 17 years I have played amateur golf. I was second a couple of times—Rory shot 61 to beat me in the North to beat me one year (2005)—I am really happy to get the medal."
Cannon joked after wins by client Shane Lowry and Lowry's brother Alan that it was his turn to win soon.
Last Friday's fourball line up. @ShaneLowryGolf @AlanLowry59 @GaryHurley93 and I. They may just give me the Irish close trophy now #donedeal
— Robbie Cannon (@RobbieCannon) August 10, 2015Given his experience, 36-year old Cannon has an excellent chance of going deep though the likes of Mulligan, who came close to a course record with a best of the day 66, shows that the young guns are ready to do some damage.
There are some cracking first round matches in store with three time winner Eddie Power trying to win a fourth title at the course where he grew up and won in 1987.
Power takes on the up and coming Waterford man Eanna Griffin as his son Kevin faces Neil McKinstry. Then there's Pat Murray v Dan Holland and Yates vs Caolan Rafferty.
The cut for the Top 64 fell at seven over 151 with Mallow's Paul McCarthy (77 and North West and Maynooth Univeristy's Kyle McCarron (78) the unlucky two.
There was also disappointment for Tramore's Paul Flynn and Galway's Joe Lyons.
Eddie Power (Kilkenny) watched by Mick Burns (Walker Cup selector) driving at the 17th at Tramore Golf Club (19/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Father and Son......Kevin and Eddie Power (Kilkenny) qualified for the matchplay of the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship. Picture by Pat Cashman
Kevin Power (Kilkenny) driving at the 11th tee during the second day of strokeplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (19/05/2015) Picture by Pat Cashman
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) pitching to the 16th green. Picture by Pat Cashman
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) lining up his putt on the 7th green during the second day of strokeplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (19/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Simon McConnell (Ballyclare) driving at the 16th tee during the second day of strokeplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (19/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) driving at the 8th. Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) driving at the 8th tee during the second day of strokeplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore. Picture by Pat Cashman
Thomas Mulligan (Co Louth) on the 18th green during the second day of strokeplay at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club. Picture by Pat Cashman
AIG Irish Close Championship, Tramore Golf Club (18-21 August 2015First round — Thursday 20 August- 07:00 Colin Fairweather v Shaun Carter
- 07:08 Jordan Hood v Ian Spillane
- 07:16 Gavin Smyth v Colm Crowley
- 07:24 Tiarnan McLarnon v Brian Doran
- 07:32 Jeff Hopkins v Sean Barry
- 07:40 Marc Nolan v John Reynolds
- 07:48 Cathal Nolan v Jamie Fletcher
- 07:56 Sean Flanagan v David Kiely
- 08:04 Jonathan Yates v Caolan Rafferty
- 08:12 Jack Walsh v Gary Collins
- 08:20 Ted Collins v Ronan Mullarney
- 08:28 Geoff Lenehan v Mark Mullen
- 08:36 Robert Cannon v Simon Bryan
- 08:44 James Fox v Aaron Grant
- 08:52 Eoin Arthurs v Eugene Smith
- 09:00 Stuart Grehan v Gavin Fitzmaurice
- 09:08 Robin Dawson v David Reddan Jnr
- 09:16 Stefan Greenberg v Stuart Bleakley
- 09:24 Eddie Power v Eanna Griffin
- 09:32 Theo Coffey v Ben Murray
- 09:40 Alan Lowry v Robbie Pierse
- 09:48 Cian Geraghty v Alan Thomas
- 09:56 Stephen Healy v Rob Brazill
- 10:04 Thomas Mulligan v Ronan Twomey
- 10:12 Conor O'Rourke v Richard Knightly
- 10:20 Gavin Young v Mark Shanahan
- 10:28 Kevin Power v Neil McKinstry
- 10:36 Pat Murray v Daniel Holland
- 10:44 Simon McConnell v Kevin Stack
- 10:52 Rory Williamson v Bill Murray
- 11:00 Shane Hogan v Jack McDonnell
- 11:08 Alex Gleeson v Michael Ryan
138 Robert Cannon (Balbriggan) 70 68 (Leading qualifier)
140 Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth) 74 66
141 Robin Dawson (Faithlegg/MU) 69 72, Stuart Grehan (Tullamore/MU) 69 72, Jonathan Yates (Naas) 67 74
143 Ronan Mullarney (Galway/MU) 73 70, Gavin Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick) 69 74
144 Daniel Holland (Castle) 73 71, Shaun Carter (The Royal Dublin) 72 72, Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park) 70 74, Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little.) 69 75
145 Simon McConnell (Ballyclare) 77 68, Pat Murray (Limerick Golf Club) 74 71, Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 74 71, Sean Barry (Fota Island) 71 74, Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint) 71 74, Rob Brazill (Naas) 71 74
146 Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) 76 70, Rory Williamson (Holywood) 75 71, Kevin Power (Kilkenny) 74 72, Sean Flanagan (Co. Sligo/MU) 74 72, Jeff Hopkins (The Royal Dublin) 74 72, James Fox (Portmarnock) 73 73, Robbie Pierse (Grange) 72 74, Gavin Young (Birr) 71 75
147 Cathal Nolan (Galway) 76 71, Jack Walsh (Castle/MU) 75 72, Colin Fairweather (Knock) 74 73, Cian Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown) 73 74, Simon Bryan (Delgany) 73 74, Eddie Power (Kilkenny) 73 74, Ian Spillane (Mallow) 72 75, Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) 72 75, Shane Hogan (Nenagh) 70 77, Gavin Smyth (Clonmel) 69 78, Alex Gleeson (Castle) 69 78
148 Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) 76 72, Brian Doran (Palmerstown Stud) 73 75, Michael Ryan (New Ross) 73 75
149 Aaron Grant (Dundalk) 76 73, Theo Coffey (Slieve Russell) 74 75, Stefan Greenberg (Tandragee) 73 76, Jack Mc Donnell (Forrest Little/MU) 73 76, Alan Lowry (Esker Hills/MU) 73 76, David Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) 72 77
150 Bill Murray (Waterford Castle) 79 71, Ted Collins (Dun Laoghaire) 77 73, Kevin Stack (Dungarvan) 77 73, Gary Collins (Rosslare) 76 74, John Reynolds (Dungarvan) 75 75, Marc Nolan (Delgany) 75 75, David Kiely (Tramore) 75 75, Ronan Twomey (Muskerry) 75 75, Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) 74 76, Mark Mullen (Wexford) 74 76, Eugene Smith (Ardee) 73 77, Stephen Healy (Carton House) 73 77, Colm Crowley (Woodbrook) 72 78
151 Richard Knightly (The Royal Dublin) 80 71, Neil McKinstry (Cairndhu) 78 73, Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) 77 74, Ben Murray (Waterford Castle) 77 74, Conor O'Rourke (Naas) 74 77, Alan Thomas (Dungarvan) 74 77,
Non-qualifiers151: Paul McCarthy (Mallow) 74 77, Kyle McCarron (North West/MU) 73 78
152 Keith Murphy (Charlesland) 80 72, Ryan Berkeley (Dun Laoghaire) 77 75, Ben Best (Rathmore) 76 76, Paul Flynn (Tramore) 74 78, Robert Farrell (New Ross) 74 78, Mark Morrissey (Mount Wolseley) 72 80, Shane McGlynn (Carton House) 72 80
153 Joe Lyons (Galway) 78 75, David Byrne (Athenry) 78 75, Greg Mungovan (Headfort) 77 76, Colin Woodroofe (Blainroe) 74 79, Aaron Moore (Adare Manor Golf Club) 74 79, Rory Keighery (Tramore) 71 82
154 Sean Walsh (Carton House/MU) 82 72, Jack Leacy (Dungarvan) 81 73, Matthew Wylie (Belvoir Park) 80 74, Jack Blake (The Island) 79 75, Paul Tobin (Cork) 75 79, Evan Farrell (Ardee) 75 79, Niall O'Reilly (Clonmel) 74 80, Alan Fahy (Bray) 74 80
155 Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) 79 76, Peter Meaney (Cahir Park) 78 77, Ian Lynch (Rosslare) 76 79, Mark Timmins (Coollattin Golf Club) 76 79, Luke Robinson (Bundoran) 73 82
156 Sean Ryan (The Royal Dublin) 84 72, John Mitchell (Tramore) 82 74, Barry Daly (Edmondstown) 82 74, Jonathan Breen (Kirkistown Castle Golf Club) 79 77, Louis O'Hara (Athenry) 79 77, Adam Doran (Ardee) 78 78, Eamonn O'Driscoll (Killarney) 78 78, Anthony Feicks (Waterford) 76 80
157 Philip Spratt (West Waterford) 83 74, Stephen Egan (Castle Barna) 80 77, Martin O'Dwyer (Tramore) 79 78, Declan King (Tramore) 79 78, Colm Hughes (Galway) 79 78, Brian O'Reilly (Athenry) 75 82
158 John McCarthy (Stackstown) 81 77, Stephen Linehan (Tramore) 80 78, Peter Mullaney (Dungarvan) 80 78, Sean Denny (Castleblayney) 79 79, John Cleary (Elm Park) 78 80
159 Paul McGuigan (Foyle) 82 77, Stephen Brady (Co. Sligo) 81 78, Marc McKinstry (Cairndhu) 79 80, Patrick Brennan (Belvoir Park) 75 84
160 Craig Melvin (Corrstown) 83 77, Danny Linehan (Tramore) 82 78, Niall Kennedy (Tramore) 81 79, Timmy Broderick (Kinsale) 81 79, Marc Boucher (Carton House) 80 80, Conor Ryan (Dun Laoghaire) 78 82
161 Damien Coyne (Tuam) 85 76, Gabriel Leacy (Dungarvan) 80 81
162 Peter McKeever (Castle) 80 82, Michael Young (Ireland) 79 83
163 Andrew Magee (Powerscourt) 82 81, Jasper Marken (Ireland) 82 81, Ross Steedman (Balcarrick) 79 84
165 Derek Power (Goldcoast) 77 88
166 Eoin Cantwell (Kilkenny) 84 82
167 Liam Doran (Ardee) 80 87
171 Andrew Montgomery (Old Conna) 91 80
173 Declan Kelly (Hermitage) 85 88, Darragh Hogan (Killeen Castle) 78 95
175 Ruairi O'Connor (Co. Sligo) 90 85, Adam Price (Delgany) 86 89
179 John Garvey (Seapoint) 84 95
WD/NR:Daniel Murphy (Portarlington) 80 NR, Christopher O'Connor (Corrstown) 80 NR, Jake Whelan (Newlands/MU) 81 NR, William Hanna (Kilkeel) DQ , Sean Alley (Co. Tipperary) 78 WD, Shaun O'Connor (Carton House) 82 WD, James Sugrue (Mallow) WD
Impressive Jonathan Yates leads Irish Amateur Close by two
Jonathan Yates (Naas) driving at the 6th tee during the opening strokeplay day at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (18/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Naas' Jonathan Yates has been appearing regularly at the business end of high level events in recent years but after opening with a five under 67 in the AIG Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore it appears he has more than enough quality to lead the qualifiers and challenge for his maiden title.
Out in four under 32 with birdies at the second, sixth, seventh and ninth, he came home in one under 36 with one birdie, two bogeys and an eagle two at the 12th for a two-shot lead over triple=chasing East and South of Ireland champion Stuart Grehan (Tullamore), Gavin Smyth (Clonmel), Alex Gleeson (Castle), Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little.), Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) and Gavin Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick).
The leading 64 after today's second round qualify for the first round of matchplay on Thursday.
Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) driving at the 6th tee during the opening strokeplay day at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (18/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Colin Fairweather (Knock) driving at the 6th tee during the opening strokeplay day at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (18/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Jonathan Yates (Naas) reacts to his missed birdie putt at the 18th green during the opening strokeplay day at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (18/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Robin Dawson (Faithlegg) holing his birdie putt on the 16th green during the opening strokeplay day at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (18/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park) driving at the 6th tee during the opening strokeplay day at the 2015 Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore Golf Club (18/05/2015). Picture by Pat Cashman
AIG Irish Amateur Close Championship, Tramore Golf Club18-22 August 2015Round 1 Scores67 Jonathan Yates (Naas)
69 Stuart Grehan (Tullamore), Gavin Smyth (Clonmel), Alex Gleeson (Castle), Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little.), Robin Dawson (Faithlegg), Gavin Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick)
70 Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park), Robert Cannon (Balbriggan), Shane Hogan (Nenagh)
71 Sean Barry (Fota Island), Gavin Young (Birr), Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint), Rory Keighery (Tramore), Rob Brazill (Naas)
72 David Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), Mark Morrissey (Mount Wolseley), Ian Spillane (Mallow), Robbie Pierse (Grange), Shaun Carter (The Royal Dublin), Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr), Shane McGlynn (Carton House), Colm Crowley (Woodbrook)
73 Daniel Holland (Castle), Stefan Greenberg (Tandragee), Cian Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown), Brian Doran (Palmerstown Stud), Ronan Mullarney (Galway), Alan Lowry (Esker Hills), Stephen Healy (Carton House), Michael Ryan (New Ross), Jack Mc Donnell (Forrest Little.), Kyle McCarron (North West), James Fox (Portmarnock), Eugene Smith (Ardee), Eddie Power (Kilkenny), Luke Robinson (Bundoran), Simon Bryan (Delgany)
74 Alan Thomas (Dungarvan), Kevin Power (Kilkenny), Colin Fairweather (Knock), Aaron Moore (Adare Manor Golf Club), Alan Fahy (Bray), Mark Mullen (Wexford), Theo Coffey (Slieve Russell), Colin Woodroofe (Blainroe), Niall O'Reilly (Clonmel), Jeff Hopkins (The Royal Dublin), Sean Flanagan (Co. Sligo), Robert Farrell (New Ross), Paul Flynn (Tramore), Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle), Pat Murray (Limerick Golf Club), Paul McCarthy (Mallow), Conor O'Rourke (Naas), Eanna Griffin (Waterford), Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth)
75 John Reynolds (Dungarvan), Evan Farrell (Ardee), Marc Nolan (Delgany), David Kiely (Tramore), Ronan Twomey (Muskerry), Rory Williamson (Holywood), Brian O'Reilly (Athenry), Paul Tobin (Cork), Patrick Brennan (Belvoir Park), Jack Walsh (Castle)
76 Mark Timmins (Coollattin Golf Club), Ben Best (Rathmore), Cathal Nolan (Galway), Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock), Gary Collins (Rosslare), Anthony Feicks (Waterford), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk), Ian Lynch (Rosslare), Aaron Grant (Dundalk)
77 Greg Mungovan (Headfort), Simon McConnell (Ballyclare), Derek Power (Goldcoast), Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene), Kevin Stack (Dungarvan), Ben Murray (Waterford Castle), Ted Collins (Dun Laoghaire), Ryan Berkeley (Dun Laoghaire)
78 Adam Doran (Ardee), Conor Ryan (Dun Laoghaire), Darragh Hogan (Killeen Castle), Joe Lyons (Galway), David Byrne (Athenry), Neil McKinstry (Cairndhu), Peter Meaney (Cahir Park), John Cleary (Elm Park), Eamonn O'Driscoll (Killarney), Sean Alley (Co. Tipperary)
79 Michael Young (Ireland), Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle), Declan King (Tramore), Ross Steedman (Balcarrick), Bill Murray (Waterford Castle), Sean Denny (Castleblayney), Colm Hughes (Galway), Martin O'Dwyer (Tramore), Jonathan Breen (Kirkistown Castle Golf Club), Marc McKinstry (Cairndhu), Louis O'Hara (Athenry), Jack Blake (The Island)
80 Richard Knightly (The Royal Dublin), Peter McKeever (Castle), Keith Murphy (Charlesland), Christopher O'Connor (Corrstown), Liam Doran (Ardee), Gabriel Leacy (Dungarvan), Matthew Wylie (Belvoir Park), Stephen Egan (Castle Barna), Peter Mullaney (Dungarvan), Stephen Linehan (Tramore), Daniel Murphy (Portarlington), Marc Boucher (Carton House)
81 Niall Kennedy (Tramore), Jack Leacy (Dungarvan), Timmy Broderick (Kinsale), Stephen Brady (Co. Sligo), John McCarthy (Stackstown), Jake Whelan (Newlands)
82 Andrew Magee (Powerscourt), Shaun O'Connor (Carton House), Paul McGuigan (Foyle), John Mitchell (Tramore), Jasper Marken (Ireland), Danny Linehan (Tramore), Sean Walsh (Carton House), Barry Daly (Edmondstown)
83 Craig Melvin (Corrstown), Philip Spratt (West Waterford)
84 John Garvey (Seapoint), Eoin Cantwell (Kilkenny), Sean Ryan (The Royal Dublin)
85 Damien Coyne (Tuam), Declan Kelly (Hermitage)
86 Adam Price (Delgany)
90 Ruairi O'Connor (Co. Sligo)
91 Andrew Montgomery (Old Conna)
Dunne beats food poisoning to progress as Hurley and Sharvin face US Amateur KO
Paul Dunne gave the assembled press some laughs after his second round.
Greystones’ Paul Dunne battled food poisoning and exhaustion to qualify for today’s first matchplay round of the weather-delayed US Amateur Championship but Gary Hurley and Cormac Sharvin face an uphill task to keep their hopes alive.
The 22-year old, who was recognised and congratulated by many spectators and volunteers for his performance in last month’s Open Championship at St Andrews, birdied the par-five 18th on the South Course from around eight feet for a one under 69 and a level par aggregate of 140 that left him provisionally tied 16th.
Detailed scoreboard
That will be more than good enough to make the top 64 when the second strokeplay qualifying round is completed today after Tuesday’s delayed start prevented 54 players in the 312-strong field from completing 36 holes.
Dunne confessed that he slept poorly and had hardly eaten a thing for 24 hours after a Sunday night dinner with Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain Nigel Edwards and other players on Sunday night.
“It’s my fault for ordering the fish tacos and the fish cakes,” quipped a wan Dunne at the finish, pleased he was certain to make the leading 64 who go through the first round of matchplay combat today.
A 90-minute delay caused by torrential overnight rain on Monday did little to help Dunne, who was running low on energy when the hooter to suspend play due to darkness sounded just minutes after he’d finished.
“I wasn’t feeling the best at all but I just thought if I shot par or better today I would get through,” said Dunne, who birdied the first from two feet and get back to level for the championship after Monday’s one over 71 on the tougher North Course.
Paul Dunne plays his approach to the 18th on the South Course at Olympia Fields
"I was just trying to get the ball on the club face the first couple of holes, which are long and demandiing, because I wasn’t feeling too great.
“The greens were very soft after the rain and I played really mixed because there was some really good golf and some terrible stuff as well.”
After a birdie at the par-five seventh and a good par save at the 10th, Dunne was cruising until tiredness set in and he made soft bogeys at the 15th and 17th.
“For the first 14 holes, I managed to keep bogeys off my card, which was pleasing considering I hit a lot of bad shots,” he said. “But I scrambled well and my short game was good.
“I made a couple of bogeys coming in but it was nice to make a birdie on the last to secure my place. I’m happy to get in without panicking too much."
However, Irish team mates Hurley of Maynooth University and West Waterford and Ardglass and Stirling University’s Sharvin, still had two holes to play when play was called off until 0730 local time today (Wed, 1330 in Ireland).
With the cut for the top 64 projected to fall at three over, playoffs would almost certainly be needed to decide the Top 64 proper.
Hurley was two over for the day and four over for the championship as he stood on the 17th tee on the South Course with Sharvin on five over with the same holes remaining.
“Seventeen is a tough hole but 18 is a definite birdie hole,” said Hurley, who drew a plugged lie near the green at the second and made a double bogey six.
No wonder @dunners11 was furious to bogey 15 after this great drive. #USAmateur pic.twitter.com/BAONhvqruH
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015“I started off poorly enough but started to play better later 18 is definitely a chance. It would be nice to stick around.”
Sharvin bogeyd the fourth fiftth and eighth to go to five over but having pulled a shot back with a good birdie at the 11th, he missed chances on the four greens and then bogeyed the 16th, fluffing a chip after what he thought was a perfect approach sailed over the green.
At five over, Sharvin need to birdie his last two holes to give himself a chance of a likely playoff for the last few qualifying spots.
At the top of the leaderboard, 19-year old Australia’s Brett Coletta posted a 36-hole total of seven-under-par 133 to hold the clubhouse lead.
Rain delayed the start of the second round of stroke play by 90 minutes on Tuesday morning and 54 players did not complete 36 holes. Play was halted because of darkness at 7:13 p.m., and the second round of stroke play will resume at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Dunne pulled his own bag at Olympia Fields to the surprise of some local media.
Asked if he had been to visit his alma mater — the University of Birmingham, Alabama, he said: “No I haven’t. I am still on the amateur budget. I will definitely go if I turn pro and make some money and can afford flights.
"I have quite a busy schedule coming up until just before Christmas so hopefully I will have time."
Hoping for a Walker Cup call up, Dunne plans to turn professional and head for the First Stage of the European Tour Q-School unless he makes the Top 15 in ther world next week and earns an exemption into stage two. He then hopes to secure a handful of European Tour invitations.
"It would be great to finish as high up the leaderbaord as you can, but it doesn't matter, everyone starts from scratch tomorrow and I am looikjig forward to matchplay now."
This is @CormacSharvin92 striping an iron down the 6th on the South Course. Needs a birdie birdie finish at least. pic.twitter.com/4jg9wlgNwa
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015Jordan Niebrugge, who won the Silver Medal at St Andrews, explained that the felt more pressure to do well in events after his performance at The Old Course, where he finished tied sixth, Dunne said: he felt the opposite.
"Being exposed to such a pressure-packed environment made the European Amateur and the US Amateur this week a little less nerve racking," he said. "Standing on the first tee in the first round I found myself a little less nervous the last two weeks that I have before.
"I found it more settling than anything else. I don't think of other people’s expectations of myself, I just try to stick to my own expectations and performance goals so that doesn’t impact on me":
As for his lack of a caddie, he said : "No. We are here as part of the Irish team and have a budget to keep so a caddie would fall outside the budget. It’s all right. These trollies are good."
Asked what he'd learnt from Louis Oosthuizen in the final group at The Open, he said: "I noticed how relaxed he was, coming down the last needing birdie to get in a playoff.
"It was almost like he was out for a Sunday stroll back in South Africa. Just to see how comfortable someone could be in that environment was something I learned I need to get better at."
As for his plans he said he'd turn pro after the Walker Cup team is selected.
"It would be great to play. It is something I have always wanted to do. Hopefully we can get a record number of Irish lads on it this year, which would be great. I look forward to the challenge but for now I am looking forward to the challenge this week."
And this was @GaryHurley93 on 6. Doubled 2 from a plugged lie greenside. Parred the rest. Needs to play 17/18 in -1. pic.twitter.com/EnriDmbn2E
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 19, 2015OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Results from Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, played on the 7,234-yard, par-70 North (NC) and the 7,045-yard, par-70 South (SC) Courses at Olympia Fields Country Club.
Detailed scoreboard
(Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:13 p.m. CDT with 54 players still on course)
Brett Coletta, Australia 67 SC-66 NC--133
David Oraee, Greeley, Colo. 67 NC-67 SC--134
Lee McCoy, Athens, Ga. 66 SC-70 NC--136
George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. 71 NC-66 SC--137
Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. 68 NC-69 SC--137
Maverick Antcliff, Augusta, Ga. 72 NC-65 SC--137
Ryan Ruffels, Australia 66 NC-72 SC--138
Josh Munn, New Zealand 70 NC-68 SC--138
Matt NeSmith, North Augusta, S.C. 65 SC-73 NC--138
Adam Ball, Glen Allen, Va. 68 SC-70 NC--138
Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 71 SC-67 NC--138
Sepp Straka, Valdosta, Ga. 67 SC-71 NC--138
Jacob Hicks, Mebane, N.C. 72 NC-68 SC--140
Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland 71 NC-69 SC--140
Austin James, Canada 73 NC-67 SC--140
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. 71 NC-69 SC--140
Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. 69 SC-71 NC--140
Taylor Hancock, Clearwater, Fla. 71 SC-69 NC--140
Chase Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla. 69 SC-71 NC--140
Austin Connelly, Canada 71 SC-69 NC--140
Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. 70 SC-70 NC--140
Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio 71 NC-70 SC--141
Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. 71 NC-70 SC--141
Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas 70 NC-71 SC--141
Nathan Yankovich, Blacklick, Ohio 66 SC-75 NC--141
Hank Lebioda, Winter Springs, Fla. 68 SC-73 NC--141
Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan. 70 SC-71 NC--141
Alex Burge, Bloomington, Ill. 70 SC-71 NC--141
David Cooke, Bolingbrook, Ill. 71 SC-70 NC--141
Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. 72 SC-69 NC--141
Zachary Olsen, Cordova, Tenn. 73 NC-69 SC--142
Gunn Yang, Republic of Korea 73 NC-69 SC--142
Robby Salomon, Monterey, Calif. 69 NC-73 SC--142
Romain Langasque, France 72 NC-70 SC--142
Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. 72 NC-70 SC--142
Miller Capps, Denver, N.C. 70 NC-72 SC--142
Robbie Ziegler, Madison, Wis. 72 SC-70 NC--142
Matt Oshrine, Baltimore, Md. 72 SC-70 NC--142
Roman Robledo, Harlingen, Texas 71 SC-71 NC--142
Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md. 72 SC-70 NC--142
Garrett Rank, Canada 68 SC-74 NC--142
Sam Horsfield, England 72 SC-70 NC--142
Reed Hrynewich, Muskegon, Mich. 68 SC-74 NC--142
Aaron Whalen, Ephrata, Wash. 75 NC-68 SC--143
Michael Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. 72 NC-71 SC--143
Jon Rahm, Spain 74 NC-69 SC--143
Johnny De Los Reyes, Antioch, Calif. 74 NC-69 SC--143
Billy Kennerly, Alpharetta, Ga. 71 NC-72 SC--143
Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif. 75 NC-68 SC--143
Rico Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 76 NC-67 SC--143
Adrian Meronk, Poland 72 SC-71 NC--143
Scott Harvey, Greensboro, N.C. 68 SC-75 NC--143
Nicholas Ross, Canada 72 SC-71 NC--143
Sean Kelly, Staten Island, N.Y. 72 SC-71 NC--143
David Snyder, McAllen, Texas 69 SC-74 NC--143
Jonathan Garrick, Atherton, Calif. 72 SC-71 NC--143
Brad Nurski, St. Joseph, Mo. 73 SC-70 NC--143
Jackson Juerling, Indianapolis, Ind. 74 SC-69 NC--143
Stuart Macdonald, Canada 68 SC-75 NC--143
Robin Sciot-Siegrist, France 74 NC-70 SC--144
Fred Wedel, The Woodlands, Texas 74 NC-70 SC--144
Lucas Herbert, Australia 74 NC-70 SC--144
Braden Thornberry, Olive Branch, Miss. 71 NC-73 SC--144
Blair Hamilton, Canada 72 NC-72 SC--144
Jack Maguire, St Petersburg, Fla. 76 NC-68 SC--144
Jake Koppenberg, Bellingham, Wash. 71 SC-73 NC--144
Zach Seabolt, Raleigh, N.C. 70 SC-74 NC--144
Hudson Carpenter, Stillwater, Minn. 69 SC-75 NC--144
Jordan Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas 74 SC-70 NC--144
Roman Aragon, Mission Viejo, Calif. 72 SC-72 NC--144
Gabriel Lench, Lake Mary, Fla. 72 SC-72 NC--144
Jared Bettcher, Auburn, Ala. 72 SC-72 NC--144
Dan Stringfellow, Roselle, Ill. 73 NC-72 SC--145
Grant Forrest, Scotland 74 NC-71 SC--145
Matthew Dunn, Houston, Texas 71 NC-74 SC--145
Chris Harris, Atlanta, Ga. 69 NC-76 SC--145
Luis Fernando Barco, Peru 71 NC-74 SC--145
Collin Morikawa, La Canada Flintridge, Calif. 70 NC-75 SC--145
John Oda, Honolulu, Hawaii 71 NC-74 SC--145
Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. 72 NC-73 SC--145
Mike McCoy, Des Moines, Iowa 76 NC-69 SC--145
Stuart Smallwood, Paris, Texas 70 NC-75 SC--145
Ian Holt, Stow, Ohio 72 NC-73 SC--145
Claudio Correa, Chile 71 NC-74 SC--145
Dan Ellis, Lansing, Mich. 68 NC-77 SC--145
Pep Angles, Spain 78 SC-67 NC--145
Spencer Painton, Aurora, Colo. 71 SC-74 NC--145
William Rainey, Charlotte, N.C. 75 SC-70 NC--145
Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill. 68 SC-77 NC--145
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. 71 SC-74 NC--145
Stoney Crouch, Mount Juliet, Tenn. 70 SC-75 NC--145
Taylor McCullum, Hoover, Ala. 72 SC-73 NC--145
Andrew Kozan, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 72 SC-73 NC--145
Jonah Texeira, Porter Ranch, Calif. 71 SC-74 NC--145
Carson Young, Pendleton, S.C. 77 NC-69 SC--146
Kyle Cornett, Mill Creek, Wash. 74 NC-72 SC--146
Tom Vining, Sioux Falls, S.D. 73 NC-73 SC--146
Henry Smart, England 77 NC-69 SC--146
Victor Wiggins, Gastonia, N.C. 72 NC-74 SC--146
Chris Guglielmo, Cumming, Ga. 77 NC-69 SC--146
Ben Wolcott, Dickson, Tenn. 71 NC-75 SC--146
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 74 NC-72 SC--146
Shad Tuten, Augusta, Ga. 72 NC-74 SC--146
Tom Bayliss, England 75 NC-71 SC--146
Cody Blick, Danville, Calif. 69 NC-77 SC--146
Francesco Ruffino, Bloomfield Village, Mich. 73 NC-73 SC--146
Daniel Hudson, Western Springs, Ill. 76 NC-70 SC--146
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. 76 NC-70 SC--146
Sam Bernstein, New York, N.Y. 77 NC-69 SC--146
Jorge Garcia, Venezuela 73 SC-73 NC--146
Peter Jones, Owatonna, Minn. 74 SC-72 NC--146
Franklin Huang, Poway, Calif. 71 SC-75 NC--146
Michael Nagy, Manistique, Mich. 69 SC-77 NC--146
Keith Unikel, Potomac, Md. 74 SC-72 NC--146
Ryan Pelletier, Mansfield, Mass. 74 SC-72 NC--146
Jordan Niebrugge, Mequon, Wis. 73 SC-73 NC--146
Arthur Kim, Tigard, Ore. 73 SC-73 NC--146
Andy Ogletree, Little Rock, Miss. 72 SC-74 NC--146
Bryan Norton, Mission Hills, Kan. 73 SC-73 NC--146
Bryan Baumgarten, Granite Bay, Calif. 71 SC-75 NC--146
James Holley, Chatsworth, Calif. 76 SC-70 NC--146
Michael Muehr, Potomac Falls, Va. 71 NC-76 SC--147
Rigel Fernandes, Tampa, Fla. 78 NC-69 SC--147
Patrick Moriarty, Rockville, Md. 73 NC-74 SC--147
Michael VanDeventer, Columbus, Ind. 76 NC-71 SC--147
Marcus Kinhult, Sweden 75 NC-72 SC--147
Vince Whaley, Fayetteville, Ga. 75 NC-72 SC--147
Max Rottluff, Germany 75 NC-72 SC--147
Todd White, Spartanburg, S.C. 72 NC-75 SC--147
Lee Whitehead, Knoxville, Tenn. 75 NC-72 SC--147
Shotaro Ban, San Jose, Calif. 75 NC-72 SC--147
Alex Lee, Sacramento, Calif. 73 SC-74 NC--147
Charles Danielson, Osceola, Wis. 75 SC-72 NC--147
Kenneth Fadke, Hobbs, N.M. 76 SC-71 NC--147
Chris Babcock, Shoreline, Wash. 76 NC-72 SC--148
Alex Franklin, San Rafael, Calif. 76 NC-72 SC--148
Joseph Winslow, Overland Park, Kan. 74 NC-74 SC--148
Kyle Suppa, Honolulu, Hawaii 71 NC-77 SC--148
Andrew Price, Lake Bluff, Ill. 75 NC-73 SC--148
Eugene Hong, Sanford, Fla. 74 NC-74 SC--148
Brett Viboch, Moraga, Calif. 72 NC-76 SC--148
Braden Bailey, Groves, Texas 78 NC-70 SC--148
Mark Cusic, California, Md. 77 NC-71 SC--148
Edwin Yi, Beaumont, Calif. 72 SC-76 NC--148
Josh Irving, Fort Worth, Texas 75 SC-73 NC--148
Stephen Franken, Raleigh, N.C. 73 SC-75 NC--148
Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore. 75 SC-73 NC--148
Brett McIntosh, Canada 73 SC-75 NC--148
Ashton Van Horne, Georgetown, Ky. 78 SC-70 NC--148
Erick Alonso, Haworth, N.J. 74 SC-74 NC--148
Will Long, Gastonia, N.C. 76 SC-72 NC--148
Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. 73 SC-75 NC--148
Michael Hyland, Medford, N.J. 73 SC-75 NC--148
Jake Kneen, White Lake, Mich. 70 SC-78 NC--148
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. 75 SC-73 NC--148
Ben Griffin, Chapel Hill, N.C. 75 NC-74 SC--149
Jonny Hogan, Santa Barbara, Calif. 74 NC-75 SC--149
Connor Campbell, Orange, Calif. 77 NC-72 SC--149
Matthew Giovannelli, Ocala, Fla. 73 NC-76 SC--149
Jake Istnick, Dallas, Texas 74 NC-75 SC--149
Kyler Tate, Winter Garden, Fla. 76 NC-73 SC--149
Tanner Napier, Paris, Texas 75 NC-74 SC--149
Evan Russell, Grantham, N.H. 76 NC-73 SC--149
Rylee Iacolucci, Cle Elum, Wash. 76 NC-73 SC--149
Johnny Decker, Verona, Wis. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Bryce Geraghty, Cantonment, Fla. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Ewen Ferguson, Scotland 78 SC-71 NC--149
Jonathan Diianni, Kernersville, N.C. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Michael Bernard, Huber Heights, Ohio 79 SC-70 NC--149
Nicholas Cummings, Weston, Mass. 70 SC-79 NC--149
Kieran Purcell, Nutley, N.J. 75 SC-74 NC--149
Cameron Davis, Australia 77 SC-72 NC--149
Kyle Jones, Snowflake, Ariz. 74 SC-75 NC--149
Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. 76 SC-73 NC--149
Cameron Willis, Eaton, Ohio 73 SC-76 NC--149
Jimmy Hervol, Hopkinton, Mass. 76 NC-74 SC--150
Turner Southey-Gordon, Canada 74 NC-76 SC--150
John Jackopsic, West Hartford, Conn. 73 NC-77 SC--150
McKinley Slade, Saunderstown, R.I. 79 NC-71 SC--150
Daniel Whelan, Coral Springs, Fla. 77 NC-73 SC--150
Billy Walthouse, Longmeadow, Mass. 73 NC-77 SC--150
Paul Pastore, Greenwich, Conn. 77 NC-73 SC--150
Travis Rose, Nicholasville, Ky. 75 NC-75 SC--150
Joe Parkinson, Alpine, Utah 73 SC-77 NC--150
Tyler Collier, Chico, Calif. 73 SC-77 NC--150
Sean Walsh, Keller, Texas 70 SC-80 NC--150
Jake Harpe, Griffin, Ga. 73 SC-77 NC--150
Harrison Shih, Saddle River, N.J. 75 SC-75 NC--150
Noah Woolsey, Pleasanton, Calif. 73 SC-77 NC--150
Zach Healy, Peachtree Corners, Ga. 74 SC-76 NC--150
Jimmy Jones, Tampa, Fla. 76 SC-74 NC--150
Keegan Vea, Evansville, Ind. 74 NC-77 SC--151
Jake Fendt, Suwanee, Ga. 75 NC-76 SC--151
Jake Yount, Danville, Calif. 73 SC-78 NC--151
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. 76 SC-75 NC--151
John Clare, Camillus, N.Y. 75 SC-76 NC--151
Zach Gaugert, Waunakee, Wis. 78 SC-73 NC--151
Freddy Thomas, Lakeville, Minn. 76 SC-75 NC--151
Roberto Lebrija, Mexico 77 SC-74 NC--151
Joey Savoie, Canada 71 SC-80 NC--151
Antonio Murdaca, Australia 75 SC-76 NC--151
Tye Waller, Griffin, Ga. 75 SC-76 NC--151
Garrett Browning, Imperial, Pa. 75 SC-76 NC--151
Hayden Wood, Edmond, Okla. 78 NC-74 SC--152
Bryan Shin, Republic of Korea 77 NC-75 SC--152
Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, La. 75 NC-77 SC--152
Broc Everett, West Des Moines, Iowa 77 NC-75 SC--152
Cole Miller, New Tripoli, Pa. 79 NC-73 SC--152
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas 79 NC-73 SC--152
Bill Carlson, Fargo, N.D. 78 NC-74 SC--152
Andrew Orischak, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 76 SC-76 NC--152
Nick Marsh, England 80 SC-72 NC--152
Charles Wang, People's Republic of China 73 NC-80 SC--153
Doug Kleeschulte, Kingston, N.Y. 85 NC-68 SC--153
Cristobal Del Solar, Tallahassee, Fla. 79 NC-74 SC--153
David Kocher, Charlotte, N.C. 77 NC-76 SC--153
Sydney Chung, Jackson, Tenn. 76 SC-77 NC--153
Drew Lethem, Olathe, Kan. 78 SC-75 NC--153
Nick Eberhardt, Lake Wylie, S.C. 76 SC-77 NC--153
Sam Gillis, San Jacinto, Calif. 75 SC-78 NC--153
Richard Gilkey, Bakersfield, Calif. 74 SC-79 NC--153
Hagen Fell, Austin, Texas 76 SC-77 NC--153
Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. 79 SC-74 NC--153
Garett Reband, Fort Worth, Texas 74 SC-79 NC--153
Stanhope Johnson Jr., Greensboro, N.C. 78 NC-76 SC--154
David Weisfeld, New York, N.Y. 78 NC-76 SC--154
Andrew Levitt, Ladera Ranch, Calif. 76 NC-78 SC--154
Tyler Strafaci, Davie, Fla. 77 NC-77 SC--154
Ross Kronberg, Norwalk, Conn. 74 SC-80 NC--154
Josh Lorenzetti, Blythewood, S.C. 80 NC-75 SC--155
Mack Foster, Knoxville, Ill. 79 SC-76 NC--155
Christopher Kupniewski, Erie, Pa. 78 SC-77 NC--155
Dave Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. 79 SC-76 NC--155
Joshua Baskins, Reno, Nev. 77 SC-78 NC--155
Steve Irwin, Arvada, Colo. 76 NC-80 SC--156
Byron Meth, San Diego, Calif. 74 NC-82 SC--156
Alex Weiss, Pickerington, Ohio 82 NC-74 SC--156
Zac Dittmer, Kansas City, Mo. 77 NC-79 SC--156
Tyler Saunders, Canada 77 SC-79 NC--156
Michael Brown Jr., Maple Shade, N.J. 76 NC-81 SC--157
Hide Yoshihara, Japan 77 NC-80 SC--157
Nick Paxson, Cincinnati, Ohio 81 NC-76 SC--157
Jack Sparling, Dublin, Ohio 75 NC-83 SC--158
Sean McGuire, Twinsburg, Ohio 80 NC-78 SC--158
Micah Rodgers, Odessa, Texas 76 NC-82 SC--158
Jordan Gold, Orange, Calif. 71 SC-87 NC--158
Ryan Prokay, Grove City, Pa. 84 NC-75 SC--159
Alec Bone, Phoenix, Ariz. 80 NC-79 SC--159
Vinay Ramesh, Newtown, Pa. 80 SC-79 NC--159
Matthew Yun, Flushing, N.Y. 78 SC-81 NC--159
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. 80 SC-80 NC--160
Marc Chandonnet, Lowell, Mass. 79 SC-81 NC--160
Will Echelmeier, Columbia, Mo. 83 NC-78 SC--161
Jordan Lewis, Marion, Ill. 80 SC-81 NC--161
Jack Wallace, Beverly, N.J. 81 SC-81 NC--162
Kyle Danford, Fort Collins, Colo. 81 SC-82 NC--163
Jordan Wetsch, St. Charles, Ill. 89 NC-77 SC--166
Kyler Dunkle, Larkspur, Colo. 86 NC-85 SC--171
(Did Not Finish)
Caleb Proveaux, Lexington, S.C. 73 NC
Kolton Crawford, Mansfield, Texas 75 NC
Broc Johnson, Auburn, Wash. 74 NC
Jacob Solomon, Dublin, Calif. 71 NC
Thomas Detry, Belgium 72 NC
Shane Barnes, Bloomington, Minn. 81 NC
Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. 72 NC
Michael Balcar, Toledo, Ohio 72 NC
Conner Koberg, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 76 NC
Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. 74 NC
Seokwon Jeon, Draper, Utah 75 NC
Sam Burns, Shreveport, La. 72 NC
Kenta Konishi, Japan 66 NC
Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas 70 NC
Max Greyserman, Short Hills, N.J. 74 NC
Michael Tolladay, Fresno, Calif. 78 NC
Alejandro Tosti, Argentina 77 NC
Ethan Farnam, Crystal Lake, Ill. 81 NC
Gary Hurley, Republic of Ireland 72 NC
Ryggs Johnston, Libby, Mont. 78 NC
Kyle De Silva, Orange, Calif. 73 NC
Cormac Sharvin, Northern Ireland 72 NC
Austin Bautista, Australia 73 NC
Daniel Wetterich, Cincinnati, Ohio 73 NC
Troy Johnson, Maple Grove, Minn. 73 NC
Josh Whalen, Canada 70 NC
Logan Lagodich, Canton, Ohio 76 NC
Corey Pereira, Cameron Park, Calif. 69 SC
Daniel De La Garza, Mexico 78 SC
John Michael O'Toole, Pinson, Ala. 74 SC
Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas 69 SC
Tyler Lewis, Grand Blanc, Mich. 79 SC
Eric Ricard, Shreveport, La. 76 SC
Jake Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. 70 SC
Philip Knowles, Bradenton, Fla. 73 SC
Kyle Mueller, Watkinsville, Ga. 73 SC
Conner Kumpula, Albany, Ore. 69 SC
Ryann Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif. 72 SC
Curtis Luck, Australia 69 SC
Evan Katz, Washington, D.C. 76 SC
Brian Scherer, Midland, Texas 78 SC
Corby Segal, Santa Clarita, Calif. 72 SC
Ryan Cole, Mount Airy, Md. 70 SC
Aaron Wise, Lake Elsinore, Calif. 75 SC
Troy Moses, Australia 75 SC
Hunter Stewart, Lexington, Ky. 71 SC
Chris Petefish, Danville, Calif. 73 SC
Eric Banks, Canada 76 SC
Cheng Jin, People's Republic of China 70 SC
Christopher Hickman, Centreville, Md. 70 SC
Carter Jenkins, Raleigh, N.C. 75 SC
Troy Evans, Barre, Vt. 80 SC
Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas 72 SC
Will Thomson, Pittsford, N.Y. 72 SC
Fighting Irish stick to their guns at Olympia Fields
Paul Dunne plays his tee shot on the 17th hole of the North Course during his first round on Monday. Dunne received a special exemption into the U.S. Amateur after becoming the first amateur to hold at least a share the 54-hole lead at the Open Championship since Bob Jones in 1927. (USGA/John Mummert)
Al Capone once shot himself in the left leg when he played one of his regular money matches at Olympia Fields near Chicago. But Ireland’s trio of US Amateur Championship contenders merely gave themselves flesh wounds in the foot before hobbling away from the first qualifying round with their hopes intact of making the too 64 who will go into matchplay combat on Wednesday.
The Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup captain, Nigel Edwards, was out and about to see some details of a one over 71 for Greystones’ Paul Dunne and two over 72s for West Waterford’s Maynooth University graduate Gary Hurley and Ardglass’ Cormac Sharvin even if they did not result in calls from the local press to hold the back page.
With both Walker Cup sides to be announced next Monday — Sharvin, Dunne and Hurley hope to be named in the 10-man side alongside Gavin Moynihan and Jack Hume who are resting after retaining the Home Internationals — the Chicago trio’s first task is to complete the job over the slightly easier South Course.
‘Slightly’ is the operation word. Twelve of the top 17 on the leaderboard shot their rounds what is the South Matt NeSmith’s five under 65 there leaving him one clear of 66s on the North by Australian star Ryan Ruffles and Japan’s Kenta Konishi and on the South by Americans Lee McCoy and Nathan Yankovich.
The massive clubhouse at Olympia Fields
Dunne’s 71 left him T49 and the best of the Europeans as he head to the South with the rest of the Irish contingent.
With the top 64 on one-over or better, Hurley and Sharvin have some work to do. The good news is that thee Irish and England’s Sam Horsfield (72, SC) are the leading Europeans ahead of Scotland’s Grant Forrest (74 NC) and Spain’s John Rahm (74 NC); Sweden’s Lytham Trophy winner Marcus Kinhult 75 NC), England’s Tom Bayliss (75 NC) and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson (78 SC).
“It’s not a bad start considering I made a mess of my first hole,” said Hurley, whose runner up finish in the European Amateur Championship in Slovakia recently all but secured his Walker Cup place alongside Moynihan and Open hero Dunne, who are considered racing certainties for Royal Lytham and St Annes.
Referring to Slovakia, Hurley said: “I was happy. Disappointed but happy. I had a little chance coming in and didn’t take it. But yes, I needed to play well and I did. I have been playing really well but I pulled out of the Brabazon because I needed a break.
“It might not a seemed ideal timing but I needed to get my head right. I was very tired with travelling to Argentina, South Africa, Spain and getting my exams in between all that, which I was delighted with.
Ryan Ruffels' 66 worth T1 in the #USAmateur but says he wants to avoid @dunners11 (T33 on +1) in matchplay. pic.twitter.com/COA7MDEXNT
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 17, 2015“Walker Cup? The selectors know my game at this stage but it was nice to produce a performance in a tournament when I really needed to. Coming down to the last two events, it was nice to get one in.”
Hurley’s two over 72 could have been a couple lower quite easily even if he did follow a birdie from eight feet at the fifth (his 14th) with a closing bogey.
“It is not a bad start considering I made a mess of my first hole, taking double,” Hurley said. “I drove behind a tree and had no shot, had to chop out and then flew the green.
He birdied the 13th and 14th but then double bogeyed the par-three 15th, pushing his tee shot a hair to leave himself short sided in the same spot from where Dunne had extricated himself with a brilliant flop shot and eight footer putt an hour earlier.
“I got too cute and took two chips,” he said of his second double. Other than that, he was happy with his day.
Sharvin confessed that he had zero confidence with his speed or feel on the slick greens early on and when he slipped to four over after seven holes, the Brabazon Trophy winner had just one thought.
Two doubles and 2 birdies for @GaryHurley93 who played 18, his 9th, very well. #USAmateur pic.twitter.com/wZmh4vATgo
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) August 17, 2015“I was thinking, don’t shoot 80, so I am really happy with how I fought back,” said Sharvin, who birdied the second and eighth and missed good chances at the seventh and ninth on his back nine. “If someone had offered me a 72 after seven I’d have bitten their arm off.”
Olympia Fields was bathed in sunshine for much of the day and was lush and receptive, especially after some later afternoon showers that were followed in the evening by thunderstorms.
Sharvin missed a short par putt at the 11th and bogeyed the 14th (missed green), 15th (three putt) and 16th (went long and played a poor bladed wedge),
“I was really uncomfortable with the putter at the start of the round,” said Sharvin, who made a great recovery on the back nine and then headed to the practice putting green.
After a birdie from four feet at the second, he missed 15 footer at the third, hit the flag with his up and down at the fourth and then holed an eight footer for another save at the fifth.
He had to settle for a two-putt par five at the sixth but he could have birdied all three holes coming in but had to settle for one par-birdie-par when leaving putt on the edge at the seventh and ninth.
“I played the last three unbelievably well,” Sharvin said.
Open Championship hero Dunne was also forced to dig deep as he came back from two over after nine to post a one over 71
“I wasn’t hitting fairways at the start but then I started hitting it well in the middle and gave myself some chances,” said Dunne, who got up and down from 80 yards for par at his final hole.
Life has changed somewhat for the Greystones man since he led going into the final round at St Andrews and hit TV screens worldwide, not to mention the chat show circuit in Ireland.
“I get recognised a bit more but nothing crazy, just a couple of pictures here and there,’ he said with a grin. “As long as people are recognising me in the street in the future I think I’ll be doing alright.”
As for his round, it was scrappy in parts but the final result was satisfying enough.
“I got off to a bit of a dodgy start but played nicely after that,” Dunne said “I had a could of birdie looks coming in and didn’t capitalise but I made a good par at the last by getting up and down from 80 yards.
“I wasn’t hitting fairways at the start but then I started hitting it well in the middle and gave myself some chances. The fairways were so narrow — the driving distance you hit it into, the bunkers just come in there and back out and the holes are too long to hit three wood on.”
He cited the 18th and ninth — two long par fours.
“The gap is 15 yards and if you hit it in the bunkers you are hitting nine iron out and struggling for par because they are both 490 yards.”
Dunne parred the 10th but bogeyed the 11th off a pulled tee shot and dropped another shot at the narrow 14th where he was in the trees left and the front right greenside trap.
He could have dropped another shot at the par-three 15th whee he pushed his approach and left himself a very difficult recovery but played a glorious flop shot to eight feet and made the putt.
An eight iron to 20 feet at the 16th set up a birdie a birdie and while he missed a chance inside 10 feet after a piercing hybrid to the 249-yard 17th, he had to settle for five at the 18th where his drive was snatched by the voracious left fairway trap.
“I was only 10 yards off line from where I was aiming.” he said.
His back nine was a good one, however, and it keeps his chances very much alive.
“I hit a big drive down one and hit the green in two,which is two good digs it’s 620,” he said . “Birdied there and got up and down 2 for par after driving into the bunker.”
A three wood into the water led to a bogey at the fifth but he birdie the par-five sixth by getting ip and down from 50 yards, missed 20 footers on the seventh and eighth and then made that fine par save on the ninth.
Paul Dunne walks across the bridge on the third hole of the North Course at Olympia Fields during his first round Monday. The 54-hole co-leader at the Open Championship shot a 1-over 71. (USGA/John Mummert)
“Like every event, I’ll just take it one step at a time and try to get through he strokeplay. After that it’s match by match and it’s a lottery — you have to win every match,
Apart from team success, his only previous positive in matchplay came in the Irish Close in 2013. when he lost to Sharvin in the final at Connemara.
“No wins but hopefully we can change that,” he said.
Australian Ryan Ruffels, who shot a 66 on the North Course, was impressed by Dunne's Open performance.
"We were saying, what would you prefer, tied 30th but leading after 54, or a Top 12 finish starting in the pack? Paul's performance was amazing and I'm sure it's something that will give him confidence," he said, adding with a laugh,"He's certainly not one of the guys I want to run into in matchplay."
As for the Walker Cup team, like the rest of the Irish players, he knows that it will be picked based on the entire season and possibly last year too with the skipper looking for points-winners, good putters and players who are proud to play for the country.
If that’s the case, Ireland has a case for six with the improving Dermot McElroy unlucky he’s not getting more mentions.
Either way, a big GB&I week in Chicago would be a boost.
The USGA takes up the story of the rest of the day:NeSmith, 21, of North Augusta, S.C., shot a 5-under-par 65 to lead the field of 312 competitors in the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship after the first day of stroke play at Olympia Fields Country Club.NeSmith, a senior at the University of South Carolina who won The Players Amateur earlier this year, posted six birdies, including four in his first nine holes, and one bogey on the South Course for a one-stroke lead over four players.“I got off to a good start, birdied 11,” said NeSmith, a third-team All-America selection in 2015 who won the Southeastern Conference Championship. “It was a birdie pin and I hit a good tee shot, so I kind of expected that after being in the middle of the fairway. And then hit it really close on 13 and got on a little bit of a run.”NeSmith, who qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay and is playing in his third consecutive U.S. Amateur, leads a group of four players at 66: Lee McCoy, 21, of Athens, Ga., a 2015 United States Walker Cup Team member, and Nathan Yankovich, 21, of Blacklick, Ohio, who both played the South Course; and Ryan Ruffels, 17, of Australia, and Kenta Kinoshi, 21, of Japan, who played the North Course, host to two previous U.S. Opens in 1928 and 2003.“I think it helped playing the Open,” said NeSmith. “It kind of made this not as big – I mean, big, but I’m not as nervous, I’m not as fidgety. I was able to relax a little bit more and play a great round of golf.”The 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play (18 holes on each of Olympia Fields’ North and South Courses), followed by six rounds of match play (all on the North Course), with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Sunday.Ruffels, the son of two tennis professionals who played with 2015 PGA champion and fellow Aussie Jason Day in a practice round for the 2015 Canadian Open, admitted that his putting positioned him for his four-birdie, no-bogey round.Matthew NeSmith watches his tee shot on the 16th hole during the first round of stoke play of the 2015 U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. (Copyright USGA/Jeff Haynes)
“I made a lot of 10- to 12-foot par putts, which is big just to keep a bit of momentum going,” said Ruffels, whose birdie putts ranged from 10 to 35 feet. “Around the North Course, which is so hard, if you drop [a shot], it's very easy to drop one on the next, too, and it kind of just rolls on from there. So the more you can save, the better.”McCoy, who qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open and was co-medalist at the 2014 U.S. Amateur, tallied six birdies and two bogeys.“I was hitting it about as crooked as I ever have, and honestly it was one of the best scoring nines I've ever had,” said McCoy, a first-team All-American at the University of Georgia, of his outward nine of 35. “I left a shot in a bunker on 1 and got up-and-down for bogey, and then, I was hitting it everywhere and just scraping pars like I've hardly ever done before. That was really what kept my momentum going. If I would have shot 3 or 4 over on the front, I don't think I would have gone and made as many birdies on the back. It was definitely a good mental test today.”Trailing NeSmith by two at 3-under-par 67 are David Oraee, of Greeley, Colo.; Brett Coletta, of Australia; and Sepp Straka of Valdosta, Ga.Among nine players at 2-under 68 are 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Scott Harvey, of Greensboro, N.C.; Nick Hardy, a University of Illinois player from Northbrook, Ill.; and Robby Shelton, a first-team All-American at the University of Alabama from Wilmer, Ala., who finished third in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship in July, the first top-three Tour finish for an amateur since Phil Mickelson in 1991.The U.S. Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Results from Monday’s first round of stroke play at the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,234-yard, par-70 North (NC) and the 7,045-yard, par-70 South (SC) Courses at Olympia Fields Country Club.Matt NeSmith, North Augusta, S.C. 34-31--65 SC
Kenta Konishi, Japan 35-31--66 NC
Lee McCoy, Athens, Ga. 35-31--66 SC
Nathan Yankovich, Blacklick, Ohio 35-31--66 SC
Ryan Ruffels, Australia 33-33--66 NC
Brett Coletta, Australia 35-32--67 SC
David Oraee, Greeley, Colo. 33-34--67 NC
Sepp Straka, Valdosta, Ga. 34-33--67 SC
Adam Ball, Glen Allen, Va. 34-34--68 SC
Dan Ellis, Lansing, Mich. 36-32--68 NC
Garrett Rank, Canada 34-34--68 SC
Hank Lebioda, Winter Springs, Fla. 36-32--68 SC
Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill. 34-34--68 SC
Reed Hrynewich, Muskegon, Mich. 36-32--68 SC
Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. 36-32--68 NC
Scott Harvey, Greensboro, N.C. 34-34--68 SC
Stuart Macdonald, Canada 33-35--68 SC
Chase Koepka, West Palm Beach, Fla. 34-35--69 SC
Chris Harris, Atlanta, Ga. 35-34--69 NC
Cody Blick, Danville, Calif. 35-34--69 NC
Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas 34-35--69 SC
Conner Kumpula, Albany, Ore. 36-33--69 SC
Corey Pereira, Cameron Park, Calif. 31-38--69 SC
Curtis Luck, Australia 34-35--69 SC
David Snyder, McAllen, Texas 33-36--69 SC
Hudson Carpenter, Stillwater, Minn. 36-33--69 SC
Michael Nagy, Manistique, Mich. 38-31--69 SC
Robby Salomon, Monterey, Calif. 36-33--69 NC
Sean Crocker, Westlake Village, Calif. 33-36--69 SC
Alex Burge, Bloomington, Ill. 34-36--70 SC
Bryson DeChambeau, Clovis, Calif. 34-36--70 SC
Cheng Jin, People's Republic of China 35-35--70 SC
Christopher Hickman, Centreville, Md. 34-36--70 SC
Collin Morikawa, La Canada Flintridge, Calif. 36-34--70 NC
Jake Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. 37-33--70 SC
Jake Kneen, White Lake, Mich. 36-34--70 SC
Josh Munn, New Zealand 36-34--70 NC
Josh Whalen, Canada 35-35--70 NC
Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas 37-33--70 NC
Miller Capps, Denver, N.C. 37-33--70 NC
Nicholas Cummings, Weston, Mass. 36-34--70 SC
Ryan Cole, Mount Airy, Md. 35-35--70 SC
Sam Stevens, Wichita, Kan. 35-35--70 SC
Sean Walsh, Keller, Texas 36-34--70 SC
Stoney Crouch, Mount Juliet, Tenn. 34-36--70 SC
Stuart Smallwood, Paris, Texas 36-34--70 NC
Will Zalatoris, Plano, Texas 35-35--70 NC
Zach Seabolt, Raleigh, N.C. 33-37--70 SC
Austin Connelly, Canada 36-35--71 SC
Ben Wolcott, Dickson, Tenn. 36-35--71 NC
Billy Kennerly, Alpharetta, Ga. 36-35--71 NC
Braden Thornberry, Olive Branch, Miss. 36-35--71 NC
Bryan Baumgarten, Granite Bay, Calif. 34-37--71 SC
Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. 37-34--71 NC
Claudio Correa, Chile 37-34--71 NC
David Cooke, Bolingbrook, Ill. 37-34--71 SC
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. 39-32--71 NC
Franklin Huang, Poway, Calif. 37-34--71 SC
George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. 38-33--71 NC
Hunter Stewart, Lexington, Ky. 35-36--71 SC
Jacob Solomon, Dublin, Calif. 37-34--71 NC
Jake Koppenberg, Bellingham, Wash. 36-35--71 SC
Jake Staiano, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 35-36--71 SC
Joey Savoie, Canada 38-33--71 SC
John Oda, Honolulu, Hawaii 36-35--71 NC
Jonah Texeira, Porter Ranch, Calif. 37-34--71 SC
Jordan Gold, Orange, Calif. 36-35--71 SC
Kyle Suppa, Honolulu, Hawaii 35-36--71 NC
Luis Fernando Barco, Peru 35-36--71 NC
Matthew Dunn, Houston, Texas 34-37--71 NC
Michael Muehr, Potomac Falls, Va. 37-34--71 NC
Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. 35-36--71 SC
Paul Dunne, Republic of Ireland 35-36--71 NC
Roman Robledo, Harlingen, Texas 35-36--71 SC
Spencer Painton, Aurora, Colo. 35-36--71 SC
Taylor Hancock, Clearwater, Fla. 36-35--71 SC
Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio 34-37--71 NC
Adrian Meronk, Poland 37-35--72 SC
Andrew Kozan, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 36-36--72 SC
Andy Ogletree, Little Rock, Miss. 39-33--72 SC
Blair Hamilton, Canada 35-37--72 NC
Brett Viboch, Moraga, Calif. 36-36--72 NC
Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. 37-35--72 SC
Corby Segal, Santa Clarita, Calif. 34-38--72 SC
Cormac Sharvin, Northern Ireland 34-38--72 NC
Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md. 39-33--72 SC
Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y. 37-35--72 NC
Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. 35-37--72 NC
Edwin Yi, Beaumont, Calif. 37-35--72 SC
Gabriel Lench, Lake Mary, Fla. 38-34--72 SC
Gary Hurley, Republic of Ireland 36-36--72 NC
Ian Holt, Stow, Ohio 36-36--72 NC
Jacob Hicks, Mebane, N.C. 37-35--72 NC
Jared Bettcher, Auburn, Ala. 36-36--72 SC
Jonathan Garrick, Atherton, Calif. 35-37--72 SC
Matt Oshrine, Baltimore, Md. 35-37--72 SC
Maverick Antcliff, Augusta, Ga. 34-38--72 NC
Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. 36-36--72 NC
Michael Balcar, Toledo, Ohio 36-36--72 NC
Michael Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. 40-32--72 NC
Nicholas Ross, Canada 39-33--72 SC
Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas 38-34--72 SC
Robbie Ziegler, Madison, Wis. 37-35--72 SC
Romain Langasque, France 38-34--72 NC
Roman Aragon, Mission Viejo, Calif. 34-38--72 SC
Ryann Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif. 40-32--72 SC
Sam Burns, Shreveport, La. 35-37--72 NC
Sam Horsfield, England 34-38--72 SC
Sean Kelly, Staten Island, N.Y. 34-38--72 SC
Shad Tuten, Augusta, Ga. 36-36--72 NC
Taylor McCullum, Hoover, Ala. 37-35--72 SC
Thomas Detry, Belgium 37-35--72 NC
Todd White, Spartanburg, S.C. 36-36--72 NC
Victor Wiggins, Gastonia, N.C. 38-34--72 NC
Will Thomson, Pittsford, N.Y. 36-36--72 SC
Alex Lee, Sacramento, Calif. 37-36--73 SC
Arthur Kim, Tigard, Ore. 38-35--73 SC
Austin Bautista, Australia 37-36--73 NC
Austin James, Canada 39-34--73 NC
Billy Walthouse, Longmeadow, Mass. 37-36--73 NC
Brad Nurski, St. Joseph, Mo. 37-36--73 SC
Brett McIntosh, Canada 38-35--73 SC
Bryan Norton, Mission Hills, Kan. 37-36--73 SC
Caleb Proveaux, Lexington, S.C. 34-39--73 NC
Cameron Willis, Eaton, Ohio 38-35--73 SC
Charles Wang, People's Republic of China 37-36--73 NC
Chris Petefish, Danville, Calif. 38-35--73 SC
Dan Stringfellow, Roselle, Ill. 38-35--73 NC
Daniel Wetterich, Cincinnati, Ohio 37-36--73 NC
Francesco Ruffino, Bloomfield Village, Mich. 37-36--73 NC
Gunn Yang, Republic of Korea 37-36--73 NC
Jake Harpe, Griffin, Ga. 37-36--73 SC
Jake Yount, Danville, Calif. 38-35--73 SC
Joe Parkinson, Alpine, Utah 36-37--73 SC
John Jackopsic, West Hartford, Conn. 36-37--73 NC
Jordan Niebrugge, Mequon, Wis. 40-33--73 SC
Jorge Garcia, Venezuela 36-37--73 SC
Kyle De Silva, Orange, Calif. 40-33--73 NC
Kyle Mueller, Watkinsville, Ga. 37-36--73 SC
Matthew Giovannelli, Ocala, Fla. 38-35--73 NC
Michael Hyland, Medford, N.J. 40-33--73 SC
Noah Woolsey, Pleasanton, Calif. 34-39--73 SC
Patrick Moriarty, Rockville, Md. 39-34--73 NC
Philip Knowles, Bradenton, Fla. 37-36--73 SC
Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. 36-37--73 SC
Stephen Franken, Raleigh, N.C. 35-38--73 SC
Tom Vining, Sioux Falls, S.D. 37-36--73 NC
Troy Johnson, Maple Grove, Minn. 37-36--73 NC
Tyler Collier, Chico, Calif. 36-37--73 SC
Zachary Olsen, Cordova, Tenn. 39-34--73 NC
Broc Johnson, Auburn, Wash. 40-34--74 NC
Bryce Geraghty, Cantonment, Fla. 38-36--74 SC
Byron Meth, San Diego, Calif. 37-37--74 NC
Erick Alonso, Haworth, N.J. 38-36--74 SC
Eugene Hong, Sanford, Fla. 38-36--74 NC
Fred Wedel, The Woodlands, Texas 41-33--74 NC
Garett Reband, Fort Worth, Texas 37-37--74 SC
Grant Forrest, Scotland 37-37--74 NC
Jackson Juerling, Indianapolis, Ind. 37-37--74 SC
Jake Istnick, Dallas, Texas 36-38--74 NC
John Michael O'Toole, Pinson, Ala. 38-36--74 SC
Johnny De Los Reyes, Antioch, Calif. 39-35--74 NC
Johnny Decker, Verona, Wis. 38-36--74 SC
Jon Rahm, Spain 37-37--74 NC
Jonathan Diianni, Kernersville, N.C. 38-36--74 SC
Jonny Hogan, Santa Barbara, Calif. 38-36--74 NC
Jordan Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas 35-39--74 SC
Joseph Winslow, Overland Park, Kan. 38-36--74 NC
Keegan Vea, Evansville, Ind. 38-36--74 NC
Keith Unikel, Potomac, Md. 40-34--74 SC
Kyle Cornett, Mill Creek, Wash. 37-37--74 NC
Kyle Jones, Snowflake, Ariz. 35-39--74 SC
Lucas Herbert, Australia 37-37--74 NC
Max Greyserman, Short Hills, N.J. 38-36--74 NC
Peter Jones, Owatonna, Minn. 36-38--74 SC
Richard Gilkey, Bakersfield, Calif. 38-36--74 SC
Robin Sciot-Siegrist, France 35-39--74 NC
Ross Kronberg, Norwalk, Conn. 37-37--74 SC
Ryan Pelletier, Mansfield, Mass. 38-36--74 SC
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 38-36--74 NC
Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. 36-38--74 NC
Turner Southey-Gordon, Canada 37-37--74 NC
Zach Healy, Peachtree Corners, Ga. 37-37--74 SC
Aaron Whalen, Ephrata, Wash. 38-37--75 NC
Aaron Wise, Lake Elsinore, Calif. 35-40--75 SC
Andrew Price, Lake Bluff, Ill. 37-38--75 NC
Antonio Murdaca, Australia 37-38--75 SC
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. 37-38--75 SC
Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif. 40-35--75 NC
Ben Griffin, Chapel Hill, N.C. 39-36--75 NC
Carter Jenkins, Raleigh, N.C. 37-38--75 SC
Charles Danielson, Osceola, Wis. 40-35--75 SC
Dylan Wu, Medford, Ore. 36-39--75 SC
Garrett Browning, Imperial, Pa. 38-37--75 SC
Harrison Shih, Saddle River, N.J. 38-37--75 SC
Jack Sparling, Dublin, Ohio 37-38--75 NC
Jake Fendt, Suwanee, Ga. 35-40--75 NC
John Clare, Camillus, N.Y. 40-35--75 SC
Josh Irving, Fort Worth, Texas 36-39--75 SC
Kieran Purcell, Nutley, N.J. 38-37--75 SC
Kolton Crawford, Mansfield, Texas 38-37--75 NC
Lee Whitehead, Knoxville, Tenn. 40-35--75 NC
Marcus Kinhult, Sweden 39-36--75 NC
Max Rottluff, Germany 41-34--75 NC
Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, La. 37-38--75 NC
Sam Gillis, San Jacinto, Calif. 39-36--75 SC
Seokwon Jeon, Draper, Utah 36-39--75 NC
Shotaro Ban, San Jose, Calif. 40-35--75 NC
Tanner Napier, Paris, Texas 35-40--75 NC
Tom Bayliss, England 39-36--75 NC
Travis Rose, Nicholasville, Ky. 37-38--75 NC
Troy Moses, Australia 39-36--75 SC
Tye Waller, Griffin, Ga. 37-38--75 SC
Vince Whaley, Fayetteville, Ga. 35-40--75 NC
William Rainey, Charlotte, N.C. 37-38--75 SC
Alex Franklin, San Rafael, Calif. 39-37--76 NC
Andrew Levitt, Ladera Ranch, Calif. 36-40--76 NC
Andrew Orischak, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 39-37--76 SC
Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. 38-38--76 SC
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. 37-39--76 SC
Chris Babcock, Shoreline, Wash. 39-37--76 NC
Conner Koberg, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 39-37--76 NC
Daniel Hudson, Western Springs, Ill. 38-38--76 NC
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. 40-36--76 NC
Eric Banks, Canada 40-36--76 SC
Eric Ricard, Shreveport, La. 40-36--76 SC
Evan Katz, Washington, D.C. 35-41--76 SC
Evan Russell, Grantham, N.H. 36-40--76 NC
Freddy Thomas, Lakeville, Minn. 39-37--76 SC
Hagen Fell, Austin, Texas 37-39--76 SC
Jack Maguire, St Petersburg, Fla. 38-38--76 NC
James Holley, Chatsworth, Calif. 39-37--76 SC
Jimmy Hervol, Hopkinton, Mass. 40-36--76 NC
Jimmy Jones, Tampa, Fla. 37-39--76 SC
Kenneth Fadke, Hobbs, N.M. 38-38--76 SC
Kyler Tate, Winter Garden, Fla. 35-41--76 NC
Logan Lagodich, Canton, Ohio 39-37--76 NC
Micah Rodgers, Odessa, Texas 38-38--76 NC
Michael Brown Jr., Maple Shade, N.J. 38-38--76 NC
Michael VanDeventer, Columbus, Ind. 43-33--76 NC
Mike McCoy, Des Moines, Iowa 40-36--76 NC
Nick Eberhardt, Lake Wylie, S.C. 38-38--76 SC
Rico Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 40-36--76 NC
Rylee Iacolucci, Cle Elum, Wash. 37-39--76 NC
Steve Irwin, Arvada, Colo. 38-38--76 NC
Sydney Chung, Jackson, Tenn. 39-37--76 SC
Will Long, Gastonia, N.C. 38-38--76 SC
Alejandro Tosti, Argentina 42-35--77 NC
Broc Everett, West Des Moines, Iowa 38-39--77 NC
Bryan Shin, Republic of Korea 40-37--77 NC
Cameron Davis, Australia 40-37--77 SC
Carson Young, Pendleton, S.C. 40-37--77 NC
Chris Guglielmo, Cumming, Ga. 42-35--77 NC
Connor Campbell, Orange, Calif. 38-39--77 NC
Daniel Whelan, Coral Springs, Fla. 39-38--77 NC
David Kocher, Charlotte, N.C. 40-37--77 NC
Henry Smart, England 39-38--77 NC
Hide Yoshihara, Japan 39-38--77 NC
Joshua Baskins, Reno, Nev. 37-40--77 SC
Mark Cusic, California, Md. 38-39--77 NC
Paul Pastore, Greenwich, Conn. 38-39--77 NC
Roberto Lebrija, Mexico 40-37--77 SC
Sam Bernstein, New York, N.Y. 41-36--77 NC
Tyler Saunders, Canada 38-39--77 SC
Tyler Strafaci, Davie, Fla. 38-39--77 NC
Zac Dittmer, Kansas City, Mo. 41-36--77 NC
Ashton Van Horne, Georgetown, Ky. 41-37--78 SC
Bill Carlson, Fargo, N.D. 37-41--78 NC
Braden Bailey, Groves, Texas 43-35--78 NC
Brian Scherer, Midland, Texas 39-39--78 SC
Christopher Kupniewski, Erie, Pa. 39-39--78 SC
Daniel De La Garza, Mexico 37-41--78 SC
David Weisfeld, New York, N.Y. 40-38--78 NC
Drew Lethem, Olathe, Kan. 39-39--78 SC
Ewen Ferguson, Scotland 38-40--78 SC
Hayden Wood, Edmond, Okla. 40-38--78 NC
Matthew Yun, Flushing, N.Y. 40-38--78 SC
Michael Tolladay, Fresno, Calif. 38-40--78 NC
Pep Angles, Spain 41-37--78 SC
Rigel Fernandes, Tampa, Fla. 41-37--78 NC
Ryggs Johnston, Libby, Mont. 39-39--78 NC
Stanhope Johnson Jr., Greensboro, N.C. 42-36--78 NC
Zach Gaugert, Waunakee, Wis. 39-39--78 SC
Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. 40-39--79 SC
Cole Miller, New Tripoli, Pa. 40-39--79 NC
Cristobal Del Solar, Tallahassee, Fla. 36-43--79 NC
Dave Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. 39-40--79 SC
Mack Foster, Knoxville, Ill. 38-41--79 SC
Marc Chandonnet, Lowell, Mass. 38-41--79 SC
McKinley Slade, Saunderstown, R.I. 38-41--79 NC
Michael Bernard, Huber Heights, Ohio 40-39--79 SC
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas 39-40--79 NC
Tyler Lewis, Grand Blanc, Mich. 43-36--79 SC
Alec Bone, Phoenix, Ariz. 41-39--80 NC
Jordan Lewis, Marion, Ill. 39-41--80 SC
Josh Lorenzetti, Blythewood, S.C. 40-40--80 NC
Kyle Danford, Fort Collins, Colo. 39-41--80 SC
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. 40-40--80 SC
Sean McGuire, Twinsburg, Ohio 43-37--80 NC
Troy Evans, Barre, Vt. 41-39--80 SC
Vinay Ramesh, Newtown, Pa. 43-37--80 SC
Ethan Farnam, Crystal Lake, Ill. 39-42--81 NC
Jack Wallace, Beverly, N.J. 41-40--81 SC
Nick Marsh, England 39-42--81 SC
Nick Paxson, Cincinnati, Ohio 39-42--81 NC
Shane Barnes, Bloomington, Minn. 39-42--81 NC
Alex Weiss, Pickerington, Ohio 42-40--82 NC
Will Echelmeier, Columbia, Mo. 42-41--83 NC
Ryan Prokay, Grove City, Pa. 44-40--84 NC
Doug Kleeschulte, Kingston, N.Y. 47-38--85 NC
Kyler Dunkle, Larkspur, Colo. 43-43--86 NC
Jordan Wetsch, St. Charles, Ill. 41-48--89 NC
Tramore awaits Irish Close — Grehan bidding for rare hat-trick this year
Stuart Grehan. Picture: Pat Cashman
Balbriggan's Robbie Cannon is enjoying considerable professional success off the course as Shane Lowry’s strength and conditioning coach.
But he’s also feeling good about his chance of racking up a third Championship success following his wins in the 2009 South of Ireland and 2013 Irish Amateur Open.
This week he’ll have a chance to show that he’s still a force when he tees it up in the AIG sponsored Irish Amateur Close Championship at Tramore when 36-hole strokeplay qualifying begins on Tuesday.
The Close was last held in Tramore in 2003 when Galway’s Mark O’Sullivan beat David Carroll of Grange by one hole.
Previous to that it was Kilkenny’s Eddie Power, then playing out of the host club, who beat a youngster from County Louth by the name of JP Fitzgerald by two holes in 1987.
Fitzgerald, as you may be aware, went on to become a successful tour caddie for the likes of Paul McGinley and Darren Clarke before progressing to Rory McIlroy in 2007. The rest, as they say, is history.
History too beckons for 50-year old Power, who will be bidding for a fourth ‘Close’ that would put him third in the all-time winners list with Lionel Munn.
There's also a chance that Tullamore’s Stuart Grehan, the East and South of Ireland winner can claim a third “major” win this year would match Darren Clarke’s triple of East-South-Close of 1990 or Garyh McGimpsey's Trple win in 1988 of West/East-Close
Declan Branigan also won the triple of East, West and Irish Close in 1981.
Clarke, of course, also win the Spanish Amateur in 1990 but Grehan can claim the Home Internationals.
Mehaffey handed PING Junior Solheim Cup spot
Olivia Mehaffey. Picture: Pat Cashman
Royal County Down Ladies' Olivia Mehaffey has been named in the European team for next month’s PING Junior Solheim Cup at St Leon-Rot GC in Germany.
She joins Spaniards Ana Peleaz, Maria Parra and Marta Perez Sanmartin, Norway’s Sandra Nordaas, France’s Agathe Laisne and Denmark’s Puk Lyng Thomson, who all gained automatic spots on the European team by claiming the top-six places on the PING Junior Solheim Cup European Ranking.
Germany’s Leonie Harm, Austria’s Emma Spitz, Sweden’s Elin Esborn, Switzerland’s Albane Valenzuela and a second French player, Mathilda Cappeliez, who were selected along with Mehaffey as the Captain’s Picks after the final counting event, the British Girls’ Championship at West Kilbride.
Absolutely honoured to be selected for the Junior Solheim Cup.. Really looking forward to the week #Germany #TeamEurope
Rusty Rory loses world No 1 spot to Spieth as Day triumphs
Rustiness proved massively costly for Nike’s $100 million man Rory McIlroy as he lost his world No 1 crown to Jordan Spieth in the US PGA at Whistling Straits.
He might have made a miraculous comeback from the ankle injury that forced him to miss his defence of The Open and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. But even after rushing back to try and retain the Wanamaker Trophy and stop Spieth taking over at the top of the world rankings, his lack of sharpness around the greens proved he's human after all.
A closing 69 left him in 17th spot on nine under—a hugely impressive result. But Spieth finished second on 17 under, three shots behind new champion Jason Day, to become the 18th player to reach No 1 in the world and end McIlroy's most recent reign after 53 weeks.
Around 90 minutes before he was deposed by Spieth, McIlroy was asked about the possibility of losing the No 1 spot and said: “Honestly, the way Jordan has been playing and the way I haven’t played much this year, I think if he does go to No. 1 today, it’s very deservedly so.
“Winning two majors, winning a couple other times this year, had a chance at the Open, has a chance obviously today.
“And if he was to get to No. 1 today, I’d be the first one to congratulate him because I know the golf you have to play to get to that spot, and it has been impressive this year."
Even though he is already playing catch up with a short game wizard like Spieth, McIlroy was well below his best in Wisconsin.
Of the 20 times he had to scramble for his par, he converted just 11, which left him well down he field in that department.
That said, a Top 20 finish after 53 days away from competitive action was still a sensational performance.
But even McIlroy is human and there were simply too many ahead of him for his hopes of a final day comeback to come true.
"I feel like I did well," McIlroy said. "Obviously coming back after the lay-off, not hitting a competitive shot in two months, shooting nine under was a decent effort.
"I didn’t see 19 under winning this week. I thought something between ten and 15 but it just shows you how high the standard is these days. But first week, coming back, I thought I did pretty well.”
View image | gettyimages.comHe admitted his ankle swelled up overnight but insisted it didn’t hinder him on the course.
Planning to take the next two weeks off to do more rehab and practice before returning for the second FedEx Cup event in Boston, he said: “Overnight the ankle did swell a bit, but once I got it moving and compressed it a bit, it was fine.
"It probably won’t look like a normal ankle for two or three months, but there is no pain in it, which is the main thing.
"We came up with a plan that after this week I could take a couple of weeks off just in case anything did happen or there were any setbacks.
"I’m just going to take a couple of weeks off and not need a strap or anything to play. And then after that I’ve got another week off, so by the time I’m in the middle of September, there will be no issues and hopefully I can give it a good run in the FedEx Cup.
“I felt like I give it a good run this week and the ankle is in good shape.”
McIlroy's game is also in remarkably good condition but he could never hope to beat the likes of Day and Spieth after 53 days without hitting a competitive shot.
As he walked to the first tee, a cop said: “Best of luck Rory, gonna be windy later.”
McIlroy replied: “Let it blow.”
But it didn’t blow enough to trouble the leaders early on and the McIlroy birdie whirlwind failed to materialise.
While he was in trouble only once — he avoided a three putt bogey at the short third by draining a seven footer—the first five holes were quiet.
He missed chances from 20 feet at the first and 10 feet at the second and then drove into sand at the fifth and only made par.
His luck finally changed at the driveable sixth, where he hit a spectacular recovery to 10 feet from the right rough and rolled in the birdie putt.
A two at the 221-yard seventh got him to eight under and gave his fans hope that he could launch a miraculous comeback.
View image | gettyimages.comBut missed chances from 18 feet at the eighth and 13 feet at the ninth left him playing catch up.
As the turned for home, Day, Spieth and the rest of the leaders were in the red and moving away.
And while he showed glimpses of his brilliance, reducing the 361-yard 10th to a drive and a 40 yard chip to 18 inches. there were too many signs of rustiness.
At the par-five 11th he found the edge of the green in two but took three more shots to get down for his par.
Then at the 13th, he drove into sand, thinned his second over the green into deep rough and left a 18 footer for par well short.
At the 14th he had a 14 feet for birdie after a nice wedge but his putt never threatened the hole.
A two putt birdie at the par-five 16th showed his power his still there but he only got up and down once from bunkers all week, saving par at the 17th, before pitching and putting for another good par at the last.
Pleased overall, McIlroy said: “I thought, between 10 and 15-under would have a great chance to win, but obviously the standard is just so high these days that I didn’t see close to 20-under par winning this tournament.
"I'm looking at it as a whole, I feel like I've done well to come back and shoot the scores that I have. I feel like I progressed each and every day.
"I'm walking away pretty happy with how the week went. Obviously it isn’t a win and didn’t get myself into contention, but considering six weeks ago I wasn't able to walk, it's not a bad effort.
“I just need to sharpen up around the greens and be more efficient when I give myself wedges in my hand.
“Getting those two balls up and down on 17 and 18, that’s something that comes with just playing a bit more and just having experience with certain shots and certain lies.”
Spieth closed with a 68 but his 17 under par total was only good enough for solo second behind maiden major winner Day, who played aggressively and won by three strokes on 20 under par 268 — the lowest 72-hole score in relation to par in the history of major championship golf, beating the record of 19-under set by Tiger Woods during the 2000 Open Championship at St Andrews.
"It's by far the best consolation, by far the best loss I think I've ever had," Spieth said of getting to world No 1 on the day he came up short in his bid to win a third major this year.
View image | gettyimages.com"I played solid golf. I played 11-under on the weekend off of the tough draw the first two days and still had a chance to really win. Although the key holes were 8 through 12 for me today where I really needed to make a statement and couldn't get it to go, I still provided some opportunities to maybe put pressure on at the end and he just shut the door.
"He was sitting there swinging as hard as he could off the tee, and every single drive was right down the middle of the fairway. I think he missed two shots today and he made two bogeys off of that. But the ones he capitalized on were good enough.
"The fact that I would have had to shoot 7- or 8-under to win, if you told me that at the beginning of the week, I'd have told you I missed the cut. A lot of positives come out of today. To be No. 1 in the world as a team is fantastic. Certainly it was a lifelong goal of mine, and that was accomplished today."
Spieth was 54 under par for the four majors this year, winning the Masters and the US Open and finishing fourth in the Open and second in the US PGA to shave a shot off the previous aggregate low set by Woods in 2000.
As for Day, his victory was an emotional one.
"The path that I was on was never expected for me to be here where I was today," Day said. "I lose my dad at 12, and then meet Colin (Swanton) and have him walk the journey with me and have him walk up the 18th hole with me was just a special, special experience that I could never forget. It's just an amazing feeling I have."
Admitting he found it hard to focus, he said: "There were plenty of times when I got out of it, more so just thinking about the future, especially on the back side there were a few times where I had to pull myself back in and say it's not over, you've got to keep grinding, keep fighting.
"And once I did that I kind of pulled myself back and started hitting the quality shots that I needed to. Just to be able to finish with a birdie on 16 and two pars on 17 and 18 felt fantastic."
Told of his record low aggregate, he said: "I did not know that. That was a pretty amazing accomplishment. But that does feel good. I never knew that I set the record. It's a fantastic record to hold. There's been such amazing golfers, especially throughout the history of golf, our sport, and to have that record just goes to show the work I've put in is paying off.
"It didn't feel like work, it felt like I was mentally and physically grinding it out as hard as I could. I wasn't going to stop fighting until it was over.
"I enjoyed the 18th hole when I had about a half foot putt, so that was fantastic. It was a fantastic day for me, personally, and something I'll never forget."