Top Collegians Ryan Moore and Spencer Levin Win First Round Matches At U.S. Amateur

Mamaroneck, N.Y. - Reigning NCAA Division I champion Ryan Moore, 21, of Puyallup, Wash., and Spencer Levin of Elk Grove, Calif., who finished tied for 13^th at this year's U.S. Open, won their first round matches and were among the 32 golfers who advanced Wednesday at the U.S. Amateur at Winged Foot Golf Club.

Moore, who won the U.S. Amateur Public Links title earlier this year, never trailed and won holes two consecutive holes to close out his match against Clint Deibert of Doylestown, Pa., 4 and 2. He also won this year's Western Amateur and has been playing well enough that all but two of his last 41 competitive stroke play rounds have been at par or better.

"This is the one I'm gunning for and I think I've given myself a pretty good chance," said Moore, who qualified for the 2003 Open and made the cut at the 2003 Masters. "My game has been really solid since last October."

Spencer Levin follows through on a swing during his 3-and-1 victory over Mike Lane. (John Mummert/USGA)

Levin won three of the first four holes and held his margin throughout in beating Mike Lane of Citrus Heights, Calif., 3 and 1.

"New York has been good to me this summer," said Levin, who played in the Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island and won the Porter Cup, a top amateur tournament, in Buffalo. "Hopefully, I can keep it going.

"I feel like I'm playing pretty good, but Ryan Moore is going to be awfully tough to beat. I've got a lot of other guys I've got to beat if I want to play him, so we'll see."

Play continues Thursday with the second and third rounds of match play. Single rounds are scheduled for Friday through Sunday.

Winged Foot's West Course has a tough reputation. In fact, Hale Irwin, who won the 1974 U.S. Open here, still calls it the toughest course he's ever played. But don't tell that to Terrence Miskell, 38, of New Braunfels, Texas, and Chris Nallen, 22, of Hackettstown, N.J.

Miskell was 7 under par through 15 holes when he closed out his match against Kevin Hall of Cincinnati, Ohio. Nallen had the most one-sided win. He birdied four in a row to beat his match again 14-year-old Ryota Ito of Japan, 7 and 6.

"I just had one of those special rounds," said Miskell, a former Amateur Public Links runner-up who tried life as a professional golfer before being reinstated as an amateur in 2000. "It's nice to know it's in there. But tomorrow is another day. I needed to play as good as I did to beat Kevin."

"I've worked pretty hard this summer for this tournament," said Nallen, who was disappointed at not advancing to match play at last year's Amateur. "Having the tournament here, only an hour-and-a-half from my home is something special."

Andy Svoboda, a four-time club champion at Winged Foot, lines up a putt on the 16th hole with his caddie. (John Mummert/USGA)

The oldest to advance was 47-year-old Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn., a two-time qualifier for the Masters Tournament, who edged by Dan Mitchell of Oklahoma City, Okla., 1 up.

Another of the winners was Trip Kuehne of Dallas, Texas, who was runner-up to Tiger Woods at the 1994 Amateur. Now 31, Kuehne won the first two holes of his match en route to beating Ryan Keeney of Las Vegas, Nev., 3 and 1.

Four-time Winged Foot club champion Andy Svoboda of Stamford, Conn., used his local knowledge to pull away from Matt Kodama of Las Vegas, Nev., 4 and 2.

"It's the experience of a lifetime, to play the U.S. Amateur at your home course," said Svoboda.

The Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Mamaroneck, N.Y. - Results of Wednesday's first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Championship, at the 7,266-yard, par 35-35--70, West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club:

First Round
Upper Bracket

Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (139) def. Clint Deibert, Doylestown, Pa. (150), 4 and 2
Greg Peterson, Rochester, Minn. (148) def. Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C. (148), 2 and 1
Aron Price, Australia (149) def. Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (145), 19 holes
Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C. (146) def. Joseph Bramlett, Saratoga, Calif. (149), 19 holes
Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif. (144) def. Raymond Sheedy, Westminster, Md. (149), 2 up
Terrence Miskell, New Braunfels, Texas (148) def. Kevin Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio (147), 4 and 3
Jason Hartwick, Sacramento, Calif. (144) def. Tommy Medina, Thatcher, Ariz. (149), 19 holes
Jeff Hood, Atascadero, Calif. (148) def. Patrick Sullivan, Maumelle, Ark. (147), 3 and 1
Bronson La'Cassie, Australia (141) def. Buck Williams, Raleigh, N.C. (150), 2 and 1
Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (148) def. Roberto Castro, Alpharetta, Ga. (147), 2 and 1
John Keller, Bayside, N.Y. (149) def. Pat Tallent, Vienna, Va. (145), 1 up
Jeff Overton, Evansville, Ind. (146) def. Jonathan Pauli, St. Johns, Mich. (149), 6 and 5
Andy Svoboda, Stamford, Conn. (143) def. Matthew Kodama, Las Vegas, Nev. (150), 4 and 2
Robert Keller, Temecula, Calif. (147) def. John Griffin, Wilson, N.C. (148), 3 and 2
Madalitso Muthiya, Zambia (149) def. Micheal Thompson, Tucson, Ariz. (145), 20 holes
Tyler Docking, Overland Park, Kan. (146) def. Brendan Hester, Sutton, Mass. (149), 3 and 2

Lower Bracket

Nick Cook, Shelton, Conn. (140) def. Roger Hoit, Summit, N.J. (150), 5 and 4
Jordan Nasser, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (148) def. Patrick Carter, Huntington, W.Va. (148). 1 up
Brian Gillespie, Wayne, Pa. (149) def. Charlie Soule, Longmont, Colo. (145), 1 up
Dayton Rose, Midwest City, Okla. (146) def. Chris Heintz, Brea, Calif. (149), 1 up
Chad Poling, Delaware, Ohio (143) def. Skip Berkmeyer, St. Louis, Mo. (149), 1 up
J.J. Jakovac, Napa, Calif. (147) def. Brandon Skeen, Jefferson City, Tenn. (148), 5 and 4
Chris Nallen, Hackettstown, N.J. (144) def. Ryota Ito, Japan (149), 7 and 6
Anthony Kim, Norman, Okla. (147) def. David Denham, Tifton, Ga. (149), 1 up
James Allenby, Canada (150) def. Oscar Alvarez, Colombia (140), 4 and 2
Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. (148) def. Daniel Mitchell, Oklahoma City, Okla. (148), 1 up
Spencer Levin, Elk Grove, Calif. (145) def. Mike Lane, Citrus Heights, Calif. (149), 3 and 1
Frank Vana Jr., Worcester, Mass. (149) def. Andrew Medley, Athens, Ala. (146), 3 and 2
Luke List, Ringgold, Ga. (143) def. Sihwan Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (149), 4 and 2
Trip Kuehne, Dallas, Texas. (147) def. Ryan Keeney, Las Vegas, Nev. (148), 4 and 3
John Holmes, Campbellsville, Ky. (144) def. Brady Myers, Colusa, Calif. (149), 19 holes
Tom Glissmeyer, Colo. Springs, Colo. (149) def. Lee Williams, Alexander City, Ala. (146), 2 and 1

Mamaroneck, N.Y. - Pairings for Thursday's second round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Championship, at the 7,266-yard, par 35-35--70, West Course at Winged Foot Golf Club:

Second Round (Times are EDT)
Upper Bracket

7:30 a.m. - Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (139) vs. Gary Peterson, Rochester, Minn. (148)
7:40 a.m. - Aron Price, Australia (149) vs. Kevin Kisner, Aiken, S.C. (146)
7:50 a.m. - Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif. (144) vs.Terrence Miskell, New Braunfels, Texas (148)
8:00 a.m. - Jason Hartwick, Sacramento, Calif. (144) vs. Jeff Hood, Atascadero, Calif. (148)
8:10 a.m. - Bronson La'Cassie, Australia (141) vs. Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (148)
8:20 a.m. - John Keller, Bayside, N.Y. (149) vs. Jeff Overton, Evansville, Ind. (146)
8:30 a.m. - Andy Svoboda, Stamford, Conn. (143) vs. Robert Keller, Temecula, Calif. (147)
8:40 a.m. - Madalitso Muthiya, Zambia (149) vs. Tyler Docking, Overland Park, Kan. (146)

Lower Bracket

8:50 a.m. - Nick Cook, Shelton, Conn. (140) vs. Jordan Nasser, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (148)
9:00 a.m. - Brian Gillespie, Wayne, Pa. (149) vs. Dayton Rose, Midwest City, Okla. (146)
9:10 a.m. - Chad Poling, Delaware, Ohio (143) vs. J.J. Jakovac, Napa, Calif. (147)
9:20 a.m. - Chris Nallen, Hackettstown, N.J. (144) vs. Anthony Kim, Norman, Okla. (147)
9:30 a.m. - James Allenby, Canada (150) vs. Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. (148)
9:40 a.m. - Spencer Levin, Elk Grove, Calif. (145) vs. Frank Vana Jr., Worcester, Mass. (149)
9:50 a.m. - Luke List, Ringgold, Ga. (143) vs. Trip Kuehne, Dallas, Texas. (147)
10:00 a.m. - John Holmes, Campbellsville, Ky. (144) vs. Tom Glissmeyer, Colorado Springs, Colo. (149)