Quarterfinals Set: Knost Chases Goal Of Winning Another USGA Title

San Francisco – Colt Knost, 22, of Dallas, Texas, the 2007 U.S. Amateur Public Links winner, won a pair of matches Thursday to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship being played at the Lake Course at the Olympic Club. Knost is trying to become only the second to win the APL and the Amateur in the same year.

Knost never trailed in either of his matches. He beat 54-year-old George Zahringer of New York, the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, in the third round. In the morning round, Knost defeated Brenden Gielow of Muskegon, Mich., 3 and 2.

Medalist Jason Kokrak ran into a hot Derek Fathauer in the third round, falling 6 and 4. (John Mummert/USGA)

Knost, who has been named to the USA Walker Cup team that will play in Northern Ireland next month, won the par-5 first hole with a birdie against Zahringer and felt in control until near the end. Knost needs three more wins to match the feat of Ryan Moore in 2004.

"I had a pretty comfortable lead (against Zahringer) coming down the stretch but he started making some birdies and scared me a bit," said Knost, who grew up on a ranch and didn’t play competitive golf until age 16. "George was putting it pretty good those last few holes. He’s tough."

Play continues Friday with the quarterfinal-round matches. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday and the 36-hole final match will be played Sunday.

Others who advanced were Casey Clendenon, 23, of Nederland, Texas; Derek Fathauer, 21, of Jensen Beach, Fla.; Eddie Olson, 20, of Aptos, Calif.; Cheng Tseng Pan, 15, of Chinese Taipei; Nick Taylor, 18, of Canada; Michael Thompson, 22, of Tucson, Ariz.; and Jhonattan Vegas, 23, of Venezula.

Clendenon won five consecutive holes on his way to a third-round win after surviving a playoff Wednesday morning just to gain one of the 64 spots in match play. In his two wins, Fathauer dispatched the reigning College Player of the Year and this week’s medalist without needing to play past the 14^th hole.

Olson birdied the first extra hole to oust Shiwan Kim, who won the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur at the Olympic Club. Olson had lost to Kim earlier this summer at the California State Amateur.

"I wanted to get a little revenge from him," said Olson, who made a 9-footer for birdie on the 19^th hole. Kim then missed his birdie chance from 5 feet, giving Olson the win.

Pan, who is believed to be the youngest quarterfinalist in the Amateur’s 107-year history, never trailed after the eighth hole in either match.

Taylor built a 3-up lead through 11 holes against 2007 individual NCAA champion Jamie Lovemark. He finished the equivalent of one under par for 17 holes, winning 2 and 1.

"I knew I would have to play solid," said Taylor, who won the Canadian Amateur two weeks ago in a similar match-play format. ""Having only two bogeys on this golf course is pretty good. Just to make it this far is pretty unbelievable."

In his third-round match, Thompson birdied holes 13 and 16 to gain his winning margin of 2 up. And Vegas, the 2006 Venezuelan National Amateur winner, pulled away in his afternoon match by winning four consecutive holes to build a 5-up advantage after 12 holes.

The Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game’s golfers and golf courses.

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

Results

San Francisco – Results of the second and third rounds of match play at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship, played Thursday at the 6,948-yard, par-70 Lake Course at The Olympic Club:

Round of 32

Upper Bracket
Jason Kokrak, Warren, Ohio (137) def. Mark Harrell, Hazlehurst, Ga. (144), 2 and 1
Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla. (142) def. Chris Kirk, St. Simons Island, Ga. (146), 7 and 6
Michael Thompson, Tucson, Ariz. (145) def. Bryce Ledford, Ooltewah, Tenn. (146), 20 holes
David McDaniel, Tucson, Ariz. (143) def. Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (140), 1 up
Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. (144) def. Trevor Murphy, St Johnsbury, Vt. (139), 4 and 2
Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. (145) def. Gene Elliott, West Des Moines, Iowa (141), 4 and 2
Casey Clendenon, Houston, Texas (147) def. Jonathan Hodge, Strawberry Plains, Tenn. (144), 2 and 1
Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. (145) def. Chris Kennedy, Sarasota, Fla. (146), 3 and 1

Lower Bracket

Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela (144) def. Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (147), 7 and 5
Kyle Dickey, Summerville, S.C. (142) def. Nathan Tyler, Tucson, Ariz. (142), 3 and 1
Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. (144) def. Travis Howe, Osceola, Pa. (146), 3 and 1
Cheng Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (143) def. Ji Moon, Severna Park, Md. (141), 1 up
Colt Knost, Dallas, Texas (144) def. Brendan Gielow, Muskegon, Mich. (147), 3 and 2
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (142) def. Ricky Jones, Thomaston, Maine (142), 2 up
Jamie Lovemark, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (138) def. Josh Dupont, Poway, Calif. (140), 21 holes
Nick Taylor, Canada (146) def. Kyle Ellis, Senatobia, Miss. (143), 5 and 4

Round of 16

Upper Bracket
Fathauer def. Kokrak, 6 and 4
Thompson def. McDaniel, 2 and 1
Olson def. Kim, 19 holes
Clendenon def. Putnam, 4 and 3

Lower Bracket
Vegas def. Dickey, 6 and 4
Pan def. Ernst, 5 and 4
Knost def. Zahringer, 2 and 1
Taylor def. Lovemark, 3 and 2

Pairings

San Francisco – Pairings for the quarterfinal round of match play Friday at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship, being played at the 6,948-yard, par-70 Lake Course at The Olympic Club:

Quarterfinal Matches

Upper Bracket
10 a.m. -- Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla. (142) vs. Michael Thompson, Tucson, Ariz. (145).
10:15 a.m. -- Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. (145) vs. Casey Clendenon, Houston, Texas (147)

Lower Bracket
10:30 a.m. -- Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela (144) vs. Cheng Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (143)
10:45 a.m. -- Colt Knost, Dallas, Texas (144) vs. Nick Taylor, Canada (146)