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Humphrey's Run Ends in U.S. Amateur

Photo: USGA


ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 19, 2017) – Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., fell by a 2-and-1 margin on Saturday in the semifinal round of the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

Humphrey claimed the first lead in the match with a par on the par-four second, but Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill., a 2017 All-American and rising senior at University of Texas responded with a birdie-three on the very next hole. Though Ghim won four holes in a seven-hole stretch to go 4-up (two wins coming with eagles), Humphrey added pressure by winning the Nos. 14 and 16, both par threes. But, a halve on the 17th closed out the match with Ghim taking the 2-and-1 victory.

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 18, 2017) – A birrage of birdies for Theo Humphrey sent the Greenwich, Conn., native into Saturday's semifinal round of the 117th U.S. Amatuer Championship at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Humphrey now meets Doug Ghim of Arlington Heights, Ill., Saturday at 11 a.m. ET in what is an all-American semifinal.

Related: U.S. Amateur Scoring | Humphrey Interview

Trailing Chun An Yu of Chinese Taipei by two through eight holes, Humphrey tallied birdies on four of the next five holes. Yu also tallied a birdie in the middle of the stretch, but Humphrey's run led him to a 1-up lead through 13. The pair halved the final five holes--including the par-five 17th with birdies--leaving Humphrey with a 1-up win.

Semifinal play is scheduled to air on Fox from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 17, 2017) – Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., continued his run in the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship, Thursday at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., winning two matches to advance to the quarterfinal round.

Related: U.S. Amateur Scoring

Humphrey opened with a 3-and-1 win over Kyle Mueller of Athens, Ga. The match was anything but consistent for the two players, who halved just two of 17 holes. Humphrey carded three birdies on the round, including one on the clinching par-five 17th, but it was a span of pars that helped him take control of the match. Trailing by one through 10 holes, Humphrey won Nos. 11-13 with pars to take a 2-up lead through 13. Mueller birdied the par-three 14th to pull within one, but a halve then Humphrey wins with a par-birdie on Nos. 16-17 sealed the 3-and-1 win for the Rye Country Day product and rising senior at Vanderbilt.

In the afternoon Round of 16, Humphrey took control early by winning three of the first four holes against Noah Norton of Chico, Calif. Norton closed the gap to one on two occasions, but Humphrey answered with a win each time, doing so on Nos. 10 and 12, both with birdies. Pars sealed the deal once again for Humphrey, earning him wins on Nos. 14-15 for the 4-and-3 victory.

With the wins, Humphrey moves on to Friday morning's quarterfinal round, where he'll square off against Chinese Taipei's Chun An Yu. Humphrey entered match play with the No. 4 seed after 36-holes of stroke play qualifying and is the highest seed remaining in the championship.

Quarterfinal rounds are slated to air on FS1 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET.

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 16, 2017) – Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., claimed a 3-and-2 victory at the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship, Wednesday at Riviera Country Club, to advance to the Round of 32.

The Rye Country Day graduate and rising senior at Vanderbilt won three of the first four holes to quickly take control of the match against Brandon Jelly of Tulsa, Okla. Though Jelly won back-to-back holes to trim Humphrey's lead to one, Humphrey used a pair of birdies as he won Nos. 9-11 and pushed the advantage to 4-up. The pair traded the next three holes, but halves on Nos. 15-16 earned Humphrey the 3-and-2 win.

Meanwhile, a pair of late rallies came up just short for James Nicholas and Cameron Young, as both competitors' play came to an end. Nicholas' match with Kyle Mueller of Athens, Ga., was a back-and-forth battle, as just three holes were halved in the match. Nicholas faced a four-hole deficit through seven holes, but battled back to square the match through 15 holes. Mueller promptly answered though, winning the next two holes to close out the match, 2-and-1. Humphrey will face Mueller in the Round of 32.

Though Young tallied four birdies on the day, just two led to wins for the rising Wake Forest junior as he fell to Roberty MacIntyre of Scotland, 1up. MacIntyr won two of the first three holes to grab early momentum. After six halves, Young's first win came on the par-four 10th, but MacIntyre returned the lead to 2-up with a win on the 12th. Young birdied the par-three 16th to cut the lead to one, but the pair halved the final two holes.

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 16, 2017) – Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., James Nicholas of Scarsdale, N.Y., and Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., all advanced to match play of the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship, after finishing in the top 64 of on-site qualifying, held Monday and Tuesday at Bel Air Country Club in Los Angeles and Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Match play will be contested at Riviera for the remainder of the championship.

Related: U.S. Amateur Scoring

Humphrey was one of just eight competitors who carded sub-par rounds on both courses, as he fired rounds of 68 both days en route to a tie for third at 4-under 136. Humphrey, taking the No. 4 seed, tees off Wednesday in the Round of 64 at 4:30 p.m. (Eastern). HIs opponent is yet to be decided as a 13-for-8 playoff takes place in the morning.

Young looked to be in trouble following an opening round of 5-over 75 at Riviera on Monday, but the 2015 MGA Player of the Year once again went low when he needed to, matching the day's low score with a bogey-free 6-under 64 at Bel Air. The round propelled Young, who has his father on the bag, into a tie for 15th at day's end at 1-under 139. Young takes the No. 18 seed into match play, where he faces off against Robert MacIntyre of Scotland at 2:10 p.m. He's making his fourth consecutive appearance in match play.

Meanwhile, Nicholas' breakout summer continued as he posted rounds of 69-72 (playing Riviera on day one) to finish tied for 29th at 1-over 141 and advance to match play in his first ever U.S. Amateur appearance. Nicholas takes the No. 29 seed into match play, where he begins play against Kyle Mueller of Athens, Ga., at 12:50 p.m. Should both Humphrey and Nicholas win their opening round matches, the local pair would face one another in the Round of 32.

Kyle Brey of Farmingdale, N.Y., and Michael Graboyes of Watchung N.J., also had quality showings in California, finishing at 5-over 145 over the two days and just one shot outside of a playoff for the final qualifying positions. Stewart Hagestad narrowly missed a chance to grab one of the final spots as well, shooting 6-over 146.

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ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 14, 2017) – The 117th U.S. Amateur Championship takes place this week, and the Met Area is once again well represented as the world’s top amateurs compete for the prestigious Havemeyer Trophy.

Related: Scoring | U.S. Amateur Home

Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., headlines the area’s competitors. Young’s summer has been highlighted by a playoff win in the New York State Open, in which he fired a course record-tying 64 on Bethpage’s Black Course in the final round. About to enter his junior year at Wake Forest, Young is competing in his fifth consecutive U.S. Amateur and is looking to advance to match play for the fourth consecutive year.

Rising Vanderbilt senior Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn., and rising Yale junior James Nicholas of Scarsdale, N.Y., are also top collegiate competitors. Humphrey aims to continue his posting of high finishes in the nation’s top-tournaments, following a tie for third in the stroke play portion of this year’s NCAA Championship and a tie for a second at the Northeast Amateur. Nicholas has produced a standout season after putting a heightened focus on his game has led to a win in the Arcola Cup, a tie for fifth in the Ike and semifinal appearances in the Met Amateur, as well as WGA and Long Island amateurs.

The list of collegiate competitors continues with Cornell’s 2017 Ivy League individual champion Michael Graboyes of Watchung, N.J.; Campbell’s Thomas LaMorte of Haworth, N.J.; Barry’s Kyle Brey of Farmingdale, N.Y.; and Loyola’s Jeremy Wall of Brielle, N.J.—all soon entering their senior seasons—plus rising Arizona junior Dylan Stein of Flemington, N.J., and rising St. John’s sophomore Gerry Mackedon of Port Jefferson, N.Y.

Two even younger competitors are also repping the Met Area, as soon-to-be Florida State Seminole John Pak of Scotch Plains, N.J., and 16-year old Carter Nunez of South Orange, N.J., are also in the field. Pak is looking to carry his success from the U.S. Junior into the U.S. Amateur, following a run to the semifinals in 2016 and quarterfinals in 2015.

On the other end of the spectrum is ten-time MGA Player of the Year George Zahringer III of New York City, who at 64 years of age is the oldest competitor in the field by nearly seven years. The average age of the field is just over 22 years old. Zahringer is making a field-best 19th appearance in the U.S. Amateur.

Reigning MGA Player of the Year and 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad is also in the field, competing nearby his hometown of Newport Beach, Calif. Following his finish as low amateur in the 2017 Masters Tournament, Hagestad has played a national schedule in aims of making this fall’s Walker Cup squad. The U.S. Amateur, in which he’s making his eighth appearance, is yet another chance for him to put his name among those considered.

Stroke play qualifying will take place Monday and Tuesday at both Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles. The top 64 competitors advance to match play, which will be contested at Riviera.