Notebook: Svoboda Continues Improbable Run

By Stuart Hall

Mamaroneck, N.Y. -- Andy Svoboda appears to be for real.

The four-time Winged Foot Country Club champion continued to advanced through the U.S. Amateur Championship's match play bracket, knocking off Robert Keller of Temecula, Calif., 6 and 5 in the morning's second round and then Tyler Docking of Overland Park, Kan., 3 and 2 in the afternoon's third round.

When Svoboda closed out Docking on the 16th hole, a huge roar from the growing gallery - many of them being fellow club members - went up.

"It's just an incredible feeling to have all of my fellow members and a lot of my friends and such a huge gallery here at Winged Foot," said Svoboda, 24. "I never dreamed of anything like this."

While Svoboda may have a home-course advantage by virtue of the number of rounds he has played on Winged Foot's West Course, he also has to deal with the gallery, many of whom are in his corner.

"I'm trying to stay focused out there, and if I go up and talk to everybody, that's not the way I play golf," he said. "I try to stick to my game and stay pretty quiet and try to just stay calm and think about what I have to do."

Svoboda says that if he does have an advantage it might be in reading the greens, though, he admits that he has not been so accurate this week.

"Just maybe certain shots under a lot of pressure," he said. "I've been there, I've had that shot, things like that."

Top-ranked Ryan Moore supplied the dramatics in the U.S. Amateur Championship's third round Wednesday. But others like Jason Hartwick and Jeff Overton went about winning in relative anonymity.

Jason Hartwick, who lost in the third round last year, takes his second shot amongst some trees on Thursday while playing against Tim Hogarth. (John Mummert/USGA)

Moore rallied from 2-down through 15 holes to win on the 18^th. Hartwick and Overton played their respective matches in between Moore and Svoboda and each posted 3 and 2 victories.

In Friday afternoon's quarterfinals, Hartwick will meet Moore, while Overton will face Svoboda.

"Anything is possible, which is why we're out here," said Overton, 21, of Evansville, Ind., regarding Moore's near upset loss and Svoboda's popular run.

Against Nick Thompson, 21, of Coral Springs, Fla., the lanky, bucket-hat wearing Overton was 5-up through the 10th hole before Thompson won the next three with a birdie-par-par run. Overton, though, closed the match by halving the 16th.

Instead of calling it a day after 27 holes of competition, Overton opted to play in the final two holes.

"I think I've played the 17th and 18th holes only once or twice this week," said Overton, whose first three matches have been finished at the 13th, 14th and 16th holes, respectively. "You never know when I might have to play those holes."

Hartwick, 22, of Sacramento, Calif., opted to take the U.S. Golf Association shuttle in from the 16th green.

"I'm going to go have some dinner, relax a little and then get ready for tomorrow," said Hartwick, who defeated Jeff Hood 3 and 1 in Wednesday morning's second round and Tim Hogarth in the afternoon.

"I really didn't try to do anything different than I have been this week, which was hit fairways and greens. You just have to play smart on each hole around here. You do that and you're going to be in a lot of matches."

Wednesday afternoon marked the arrival of wind at Winged Foot, and Overton, for one, had to rethink his club selection on some holes.

"Made things a little interesting," said Overton. "It was downwind on a bunch of holes. I was hitting 9-iron from 135 yards a couple of days ago and now I was finally able to hit my pitching wedge. [The course] is starting to firm up a little bit. At the same time, if it firms up any more it's going to be really tough."