Area's best competing in the U.S. Amateur
UPDATE (August 18, 2016; 7:00 p.m.) - Play in the 116th U.S. Amateur Championship came to a close for Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., on Thursday evening as he was defeated by Australian Curtis Luck in the Round of 16 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Back-to-back birdies from Young on Nos. 4 and 5 squared the match, but Luck responded with his third birdie in the opening six holes to reclaim the lead. The following two holes were halved, but the No. 7 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking tallied three more birdies in another six hole span (9-14), to extend himself from Young and take a 6-and-4 victory.
This was Young's fourth consecutive appearance at the U.S. Amateur, and the third straight time he has advanced to match play and claimed at least one victory. Young advanced to the Round of 32 in 2015, and made a run to the quarterfinals in 2014.
Young is now scheduled to compete in the 101st Met Open, August 22-24 at Glen Oaks Club in Old Westbury, N.Y.
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UPDATE (August 18, 2016; 2:30 p.m.) - It took 23 holes, but Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., claimed another match play victory in the 116th U.S. Amateur Championship to advance to the Round of 16 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Related: Scoring | Quotable: Round of 32
Young's Round of 32 matchup was an all Atlantic Coast Conference battle as the Demon Deacon took on NC State's Stephen Franken of Raleigh, N.C. The early going was back and forth, as each player won three holes and there were just four halves over the first 10 holes of action. Franken took his third 1-up lead of the day with a birdie on the par-4 11th, but Young responded with a birdie of his own on the par-5 12th to return the match to all square. A par-3 on the 13th was good enough to earn Young his second 1-up lead of the day. The duo halved the following four holes with pars, but Young's bogey on the final hole sent the match into extras.
With the match carrying over to the first hole, the stellar play continued as well. The par-4 first and par-5 second were both halved with birdies, while the next two were halved with pars. However, another par from Young on the par-4 fifth earned him the 23-hole victory.
Young's Round of 16 match is already underway, as he now takes on Australian Curtis Luck, who is No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
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UPDATE (August 17, 2016; 8:00 p.m.) - For the third consecutive year, Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., has notched a victory in the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur Championship, which is taking place at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., this week.
Related: Scoring
After qualifying for match play with a 1-over 141 total, Young carried the No. 44 seed into the brackets where he drew No. 21 seed Scottie Scheffler of Dallas, who is currently ranked No. 21 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and competed in this year's U.S. Open. Young quickly took a 1-up lead behind a birdie-three on the opening hole. After four consecutive halves with par, the University of Texas golfer squared the match with an eagle-two on the 317-yard sixth hole. However, four pars and a birdie over the following five holes helped Young capture a 3-up advantage through 11 holes. Scheffler notched wins on Nos. 12 and 15, but Young answered with his own victories each time, winning Nos. 13 and 16 (both with par), with the win on 16 sealing the 3-and-2 victory. Young will now face NC State golfer Stephen Franken in the Round of 32, with the match beginning at 8:50 a.m., Thursday.
Paul Pastore of Greenwich, Conn., got off to a difficult start as his opponent Luis Gagne of Orlando, Fla., won each of the first five holes. Pastore was able to pull within three holes on two occasions, but Gagne closed out the match by winning three holes in a four-hole span, closing out the match after the 15th, 5-and-3. Only two holes were halved between the pair.
Weather closed in on the greater Detroit area and play was suspended at 3:43 p.m. At the time, Harrison Shih of Saddle River, N.J., faced a four-hole deficit against Bryan Baumgarten of Granite Bay, Calif. The match stood all-square through seven holes, but Baumgarten won Nos. 8-11 to grab a commanding lead. The match was halted on the 13th hole. Following the weather suspension, Shih won both the 13th and 14th holes to trim his deficit back to two. But, after three halves, Baumgarten ended up taking the 2-and-1 win.
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UPDATE (August 17, 2016) - Three Met Area players secured their spots in match play at the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship, being played at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., Paul Pastore of Greenwich, Conn., and Harrison Shih of Saddle River, N.J. each carded 36-hole totals of 1-over 141 to finish within the top 64.
Related: Scoring
Young opened qualifying on Monday with a 1-over 71 on the South Course, which will be used for match play through the remainder of the championship. Playing the North Course on day two, Young jump started his round wih an eagle-three on the 12th. Despite a trio of bogies to close the back nine—his first nine of the day—Young added two birdies and a bogey on his way in for an even-par 70 and a 1-over 141 total. This is Young's third consecutive year advancing to match play. He's facing University of Texas golfer Scottie Scheffler of Dallas in the opening round.
Pastore also registered rounds of 71 on the South Course and 70 on the North en route to his 1-over 141 to qualify for match play in his first U.S. Amateur appearance. Pastore is facing Louisiana State University golfer Luis Gagne of Orlando, Fla. The 20-year old limited his mistakes over the 36 holes, making just five bogies.
Shih stood at 3-over as he turned toward his final nine of on-site qualifying upon the North Course. Needing to improve his positioning, Shih reeled off six consecutive pars before converting birdie putts on Nos. 16 and 17 en route to a second round 69 and a 1-over 171 total. Shih will take on Bryan Baumgarten of Granite Bay, Calif., who will attend University of Illinois this fall, beginning at 12:50 p.m.
Recent Met Am champion Stewart Hagestad and Met Am runner-up Ethan Ng, both of New York City, were part of a 23-for-8 playoff to determine the final qualifying positions. While Ng, 16, carded a bogey on the first playoff hole, the par-3 10th on the North Course, Hagestad competed in seven holes, getting down to the final three competitors for one position. However, a bogey-five on the 14th concluded Hagestad's seventh U.S. Amateur appearance.
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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 12, 2016) – Many of the Met Area’s best amateurs are headed to Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where Oakland Hills Country Club hosts the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship, August 15-21.
Related: U.S. Amateur Home Page | Starting Times | Championship Facts
Looking to carry momentum from the regional to the national level are Met Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad and runner-up Ethan Ng, both of New York, N.Y. Hagestad, 25, is in his second year competing in the Met Area. The University of Southern California graduate also claimed the Brae Burn Invitational this season. While Hagestad is making his seventh U.S. Amateur appearance, 16-year old Ng is making his first start in the championship—though he has previously competed in the U.S. Junior Amateur. Ng notched his first MGA title recently as he claimed the 14th Carter Cup in a playoff at Winged Foot, just before his run in the Met Amateur.
Hagestad took medalist honors at Edgewood Country Club in Sissonville, W. Va., while Ng sealed his spot at Garden City Country Club, where Jay Card of Shelter Island, N.Y., took medalist honors to qualify for his first U.S. Amateur.
Meanwhile, Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., is making his fourth consecutive appearance and looks to make match play for the third straight year. Young, the 2015 MGA Player of the Year who is headed into his sophomore year at Wake Forest, reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and the Round of 32 last year. In June, Young successfully defended his Ike Championship to claim his fourth MGA title. He claimed medalist honors at Wykagyl Country Club in New Rochelle, N.Y., where rising Vanderbilt junior Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., and Darin Goldstein of New York, N.Y., also earned their way to Bloomfield Hills.
Recent Columbia graduate and 2014 Met Open low amateur Harrison Shih of Saddle River, N.J., earned medalist honors at Worthington Manor Golf Club in Urbana, Md., where 15-year old Adam Xiao of Manhasset, N.Y., also qualified—Xiao will be the third youngest competitor in the field at the U.S. Amateur.
Former college teammates Daniel O’Rourke of Milford, N.J., and Paul Pastore of Greenwich, Conn., qualified at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford, Conn. O’Rourke will be making his first U.S. Amateur appearance, while Pastore will be making his second.
Luke Graboyes of Watchung, N.J., and Jeremy Nevius of Mountainside, N.J., will each look to build momentum for their upcoming college seasons at Cornell and Campbell, respectively. The pair qualified at Shackamaxon Country Club in Scotch Plains, N.J., where Danny Harcourt of Fanwood, N.J., claimed medalist honors.
The field will play 18 holes of stroke play on both August 15 and 16, playing one round on both the South Course and North Course at Oakland Hills. The field will then be cut to the low 64 players for match play, which will be conducted on the South Course for the remainder of the championship. The 36-hole championship match is slated for August 21.
Fox Sports 1 will televise the championship August 17-19, while matches for the semifinals and championship on August 20 and 21 will be available on Fox.