Harman Uses Walker Cup Experience As Recipe For Success To Advance

Ardmore, Pa. – After a couple of narrow escapes and lucky breaks just to get to the second round of match play Thursday at the U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club, Brian Harman decided that he needed a change in strategy.

Appearing in his 17th U.S. Amateur, George Zahringer got by 16-year-old Walker Cupper Oliver Fisher, 5 and 4, in the morning-round match. (John Mummert/USGA)

It was just want the doctor ordered as Harmon walked off with a one-sided win over U.S. Open qualifier David Denham, 22, of Tifton, Ga. He took four consecutive holes and sealed the 6-and-5 win with his birdie on the par-3 13^th hole. He hit a pitching wedge on the 130-yard hole to 2 feet, and Denham had seen enough. Harman had just made four birdies in a seven-hole stretch.

"I needed to be more decisive and just play," said the 18-year-old USA Walker Cup selection from Savannah, Ga. "I need to hit the first club that comes to mind and stop reading putts so long that I don’t know which way they break. I want to hit what I feel and stop thinking so much.

"Maybe we can have a Walker-Cup final," said the confident lefty. "At least it shows that we picked the right guys for the team."

Harman survived a playoff after 36 holes just to get in to the match play portion of the championship, and then needed 22 holes before he got past his first-round opponent.

But now, Harmon, the youngest player ever named to a USA Walker Cup team, is one of 16 golfers who advanced to the third round on Thursday afternoon.

Among the others was his Walker Cup teammate and foursomes partner Anthony Kim, 20, of LaQuinta, Calif. Kim had two eagles and two birdies through the first seven holes in his win over Webb Simpson, 20, of Raleigh, N.C., 4 and 2. Harman and Kim were keys to the one-point victory in the Walker Cup Match earlier this month.

The oldest player to advance was 52-year-old George Zahringer, an investment broker from New York, N.Y., who played in the Amateur at Merion in 1989 and was a member of the 2003 USA Walker Cup team. He beat 16-year-old talent Oliver Fisher, a member of this year’s Walker Cup team from Great Britain and Ireland, 5 and 4.

"I made one birdie and one bogey in 14 holes and that’s going to win out here," said Zahringer, the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. "I don’t really feel the age thing except when someone like Brian Harman says, ‘Good morning, Mr. Zahringer.’ When I’m on the golf course, I feel young."

The Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. The Amateur is the Association’s oldest championship, first played in 1895.

Story written by Craig Smith, Director of Media Relations for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at csmith@usga.org.

Results

Ardmore, Pa. – Results of Thursday’s second round of match play at the U.S. Amateur at the par 35-35—70, 6,846-yard Merion Golf Club:

Upper Bracket
Dane Burkhart, Aiken, S.C. (144) def. James Lepp, Canada (135), 2 and 1.
Dillon Dougherty, Woodland, Calif. (143) def. Gary Wolstenholme, England (143), 4 and 2.
Ryan Yip, Canada (146) def. Brett Stegmaier, Hamden, Conn. (145), 2 up.
Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (146) def. David Denham, Tifton, Ga. (144), 6 and 5.
Mark Leon, Canada (144) def. Billy Hurley, Leesburg, Va., (146), 1 up.
Kevin Chappell, Fresno, Calif. (146) def. David Lutterus, Australia (143), 4 and 2.
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (145) def. Oliver Fisher, England (146), 5 and 4.
J.C. Deacon, Canada (146) def. Nathan Smith, Brookville, Pa. (143), 3 and 2.

Lower Bracket
Korey Mahoney, East Lansing, Mich. (139) def. Brad Tilley, Chappaqua, N.Y. (144), 2 up.
Dawie Van Der Walt, South Africa (143) def. Nicholas Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (143), 1 up.
Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. (146) def. Michael Sim, Australia (145), 19 holes.
Edoardo Molinari, Italy (146) def. Matthew Every, Daytona Beach, Fla. (145), 19 holes.
Jay Choi, Korea (140) def. Ryan Blaum, Coral Gables, Fla. (144), 4 and 3.
Anthony Kim, LaQuinta, Calif. (146) def. Webb Simpson, Raleigh, N.C. (143), 4 and 2.
Austin Eaton III, North Sutton, N.H. (141) def. Seung-Su Han, Las Vegas, Nev. (144), 3 and 1.
Rhys Davies, Wales (145) def. Arnond Vongvanij, Bradenton, Fla. (146), 4 and 2.

Third Round Pairings

Upper Bracket
1:15 p.m. – Burkhart vs. Dougherty
1:25 p.m. – Yip vs. Harman
1:35 p.m. – Leon vs. Chappell
1:45 p.m. – Zahringer vs. Deacon

Lower Bracket
1:55 p.m. – Mahoney vs. van der Walt
2:05 p.m. – Swan vs. Molinari
2:15 p.m. – Choi vs. Kim
2:25 p.m. – Eaton vs. Davies