U.S. Amateur Runs End for Met Area Players
UPDATE (August 16, 2018) -- The runs for Met Area players in the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship came to an end on Thursday at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Related: Scoring | U.S. Amateur Home Page
Stewart Hagestad steadily built his lead in the Round of 32, eventually defeating Davis Chatfield of Attleboro, Mass., by a 4-and-3 margin. In the afternoon's Round of 16, Hagestad took on Isaiah Salinda, a rising senior at Stanford. Hagestad won Nos. 9-10 with pars to earn a 2-up advantage, but those were his last wins of the match as Salinda took Nos. 11 and 15 to square the match and converted a birdie on 18 for a 1-up victory. Hagestad had a lengthy, downhill look at birdie but his bid came up just short.
In the Round of 32, Brad Tilley dropped the opening hole but came back to win Nos. 2, 4 and 5 to earn a 2-up advantage. However, his opponent Krostoffer Reitan of Norway didn't give up another hole the remainder of the match and Tilley fell by a 2-and-1 margin.
UPDATE (August 15, 2018) -- Wednesday's opening round of match play in the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship saw two of three Met Area representatives claim victories to advance to the Round of 32 at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Related: Scoring | U.S. Amateur Home Page
In what was likely the upset of the day according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Brad Tilley (No. 2695) of Easton, Conn., held off 16-year-old Akshay Bhatia (No. 35) of Wake Forest, N.C., winning in 19 holes. Tilley earned a 3-up advantage through seven, as par fours on Nos. 1 and 2 and a birdie two on the iconic 7th all landed wins for the 35-year-old. Bhatia, the U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up last month at Baltusrol, made a run though, squaring the match with wins on Nos. 9-11. Though Bhatia birdied the par-5 14th, a Rules infraction relating to his caddie and use of a cart tagged him with a one-stroke penalty and kept the match at all square. Bhatia then went 1-up with a win on the par-4 15th, but Tilley returned the match to all square with a par-3 on the 17th. After halving the par-5 finisher, a par on the first earned Tilley the victory. Two rounds of match play are slated for Thursday, with Tilley meeting Norway's Kristoffer Reitan at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, 2016 MGA Player of the Year Stewart Hagestad clinched a 1-up victory over Harry Hall of England. Hall held a 1-up advantage through the opening nine, but Hagestad won Nos. 11 and 13 to claim his first lead of the match. The match returned to all square after Hall's par four on the 15th, but Hagestad's three on 17 and a halved 18th hole closed the match in his favor. Hagestad continues play Thursday against Davis Chatfield of Attleboro, Mass., beginning play at 11:50 a.m. EDT.
Max Theodorakis of Danbury, Conn., won three holes in his match against Austin Squires of Union, Ky., but Squires claimed the victory by a 5-and-4 margin.
UPDATE (August 14, 2018) -- Following 36 holes of stroke play qualifying at Pebble Beach Golf Links and co-host Spyglass Hill Golf Course in the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship, 2016 MGA Player of the Year Stewart Hagestad of Newport Beach, Calif., Max Theodorakis of Danbury, Conn., and Brad Tilley of Easton, Conn., all earned their way into match play, which begins Wednesday.
Related: Scoring | U.S. Amateur Home Page
Hagestad made a big move on Tuesday to advance to match play for the first time in nine attempts at the U.S. Amateur. Following an opening round 76 at Spyglass Hill on Monday, Hagestad fired a bogey-free 66 at Pebble Beach, registering the low 18-hole score in the stroke play portion of the championship. With his 1-under total, Hagestad garners the No. 13 seed in match play and takes on Harry Hall of England in the Round of 64 at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
Theodorakis, the Met Junior runner-up in 2016 and a rising junior at Campbell University, posted rounds of 72 at Pebble and 74 at Spyglass to advance in his first-ever U.S. Amateur appearance. His 3-over total landed him the No. 51 seed and a Round of 64 matchup against Austin Squires of Union, Ky. at 4:10 p.m. EDT.
Meanwhile, Tilley is no stranger to match play in USGA events, having made a run to the quarterfinal round of last year's U.S. Mid-Am. Tilley, a recently named member of the MGA's French-American team, also registered a 3-over total, carding a pair of 73s. He takes the No. 54 seed to match play and opens against Akshay Bhatia of Wake Forest, N.C., the recent U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up at Baltusrol, at 4:50 p.m. EDT.
ELMSFORD, N.Y. (August 12, 2018) – With the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship taking place in California once again this year, many of the Met Area’s top players have traveled to the west coast to battle for the prestigious Havemeyer Trophy, August 13-19.
Related: Scoring | U.S. Amateur Home Page
The 36 holes of stroke play qualifying is slated for Monday and Tuesday, with competitors playing one round at both Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif. Match play then takes place at Pebble Beach Golf Links, which next year will welcome the U.S. Open Championship.
Those competing in the U.S. Amateur include (with Mon-Tues starting times, EDT listed):
| Name | Hometown | Monday | Tuesday |
| Gray Barnes | Stormville, N.Y. | 11:43 am - No. 10, PB | 4:58 pm - No. 10, SH |
| Jack Casler | Garden City, N.Y | 11:33 am - No. 10, SH | 4:48 pm - No. 1, PB |
| Christian Cavaliere | Katonah, N.Y. | 11:01 am - No. 1, PB | 4:16 pm - No. 10, SH |
| Matthew Cocorikis | Monroe Township, N.J. | 4:58 pm - No. 1, SH | 11:43 pm - No. 10, PB |
| Brandon Dalinka | New York, N.Y. | 12:25 pm - No. 10, SH | 5:40 pm - No. 1, PB |
| Sam Goldenring | Florham Park, N.J. | 12:25 pm - No. 10, SH | 5:40 pm - No. 1, PB |
| Darin Goldstein | New York, N.Y. | 5:40 pm - No. 1, SH | 12:25 pm - No. 10, PB |
| Stewart Hagestad | Newport Beach, Calif. | 11:54 am - No. 1, SH | 5:09 pm - No. 10, PB |
| Matthew Lowe | Farmingdale, N.Y. | 10:30 am - No. 10, SH | 3:45 pm - No. 1, PB |
| John Pak | Scotch Plains, N.J. | 11:22 am - No. 1, SH | 4:37 pm - No. 10, PB |
| Max Theodorakis | Danbury, Conn. | 11:33 am - No. 10, PB | 4:48 pm - No. 1, SH |
| Brad Tilley | Easton, Conn. | 4:48 pm - No. 1, PB | 11:33 am - No. 10, SH |