By Pete Kowalski, USGA
Tulsa, Okla. – Charlie Holland, 23, of Dallas, Texas, won two matches and advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship for the second consecutive year Thursday at the par-70, 7,093-yard Southern Hills Country Club.
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Mike Van Sickle likes his second shot on the 18th hole in his third-round match, which he dropped in 20 holes. (John Mummert/USGA) |
Holland started his day with a 2-and-1 second-round win over stroke-play medalist Tim Jackson, 50, of Germantown, Tenn. In the afternoon’s third round, he defeated Christopher Ross, 22, of Canada, 2 and 1.
In Wednesday’s first round, he had dispatched USA Walker Cup team member and Oklahoma State All-American Morgan Hoffmann.
“My confidence is up there,” said Holland, a senior at the University of Texas. “In the match with Morgan (Hoffman), we both struggled. Tim (Jackson) was tough. He’s a veteran. He’s a grinder. Both of the wins were big.”
Holland received a phone call from a familiar source after his first-round win. It was from PGA Tour player Colt Knost, who won the 2007 U.S. Amateur and flew from Dallas to Tulsa on Thursday morning to support Holland.
“He’s a good friend; I’ve known him since I was 15,” Holland said. “He told me that Tim Jackson would wear out the fairways and wear out the greens but that I should keep grinding and stay positive.”
Holland, who plays Oklahoma State sophomore Peter Uihlein, 19, of Orlando, Fla., in the quarterfinals, will rely on his experience in last year’s championship.
“I won’t think about it like I did last year,” said Holland, who won the 2007 Texas State Amateur. “There were times last year when I almost couldn’t take the club back because I was thinking too much about the tournaments I might be in.”
The finalists of the U.S. Amateur are exempt from qualifying for the U.S. Open Championship the following year.
The only remaining USA Walker Cup team member, Bud Cauley, 19, of Jacksonville, Fla., lost a 2-and-1 second-round decision to David Lingmerth, 22, of Sweden, who plays golf at the University of Arkansas. Lingmerth advanced to the quarterfinals with a 4-and-2 defeat of Cameron Tringale, 21, of Laguna Niguel, Calif., in the third round.
The other quarterfinalists are: two Clemson University seniors, Ben Martin, 21, of Greenwood, S.C., and Phillip Mollica, 22, of Anderson, S.C., Fresno State University sophomore Bhavik Patel, 18, of Bakersfield, Calif., Byeong-Hun ’Ben’ An, 17, of Korea, and Steve Ziegler, 20, of Broomfield, Colo.
Match play continues Friday with the quarterfinals and ends with Sunday’s scheduled 36-hole championship final.
As quarterfinalists, winners of this afternoon’s third-round matches are traditionally exempt from qualifying for the 2010 U.S. Amateur.
Begun in 1895, the U.S. Amateur is the oldest of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Pete Kowalski is a Manager of Communications for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at pkowalski@usga.org.
Results
Tulsa, Okla. – Results from Thursday’s second and third rounds of match play at the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at the 7,093-yard, par-70 Southern Hills Country Club.
Second Round
Charlie Holland, Dallas, Texas (146) def. Tim Jackson, Germantown, Tenn. (140), 1 up
Christopher Ross, Canada (147) def. Travis Woolf, Fort Worth, Texas (144), 2 and 1
Peter Uihlein, Orlando, Fla. (147) def. Connor Driscoll, Encinitas, Calif. (146), 2 and 1
Connor Arendell, Cape Coral, Fla. (146) def. Dodge Kemmer, Wichita, Kan. (147), 3 and 2
Ben Martin, Greenwood, S.C. (141) def. Chris Ward, McKinney, Texas (146), 19 holes
Nico Geyger, Chile (143) def. Matt Smith, Australia (147), 3 and 2
David Lingmerth, Sweden (145) def. Bud Cauley, Jacksonville, Fla. (142), 2 and 1
Cameron Tringale, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (143) def. Bronson Burgoon, The Woodlands, Texas (146), 1 up
Mark Anderson, Beaufort, S.C. (141) def. Zach Barlow, Percy, Ill. (145), 1 up
Phillip Mollica, Anderson, S.C. (147) def. Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn. (144), 1 up
Marcel Puyat, Philippines (145) def. Scott Langley, St. Louis, Mo. (142), 4 and 3
Bhavik Patel, Bakersfield, Calif. (145) def. Brad Revell, Canada (147), 2 up
Steve Ziegler, Broomfield, Colo. (145) def. Will Strickler, Gainesville, Fla. (141), 1 up
Dan Woltman, Beaver Dam, Wis. (144) def. Glenn Northcutt, Dothan, Ala. (147), 7 and 5
Mike Van Sickle, Wexford, Pa. (145) def.Trent Whitekiller, Sallisaw, Okla. (142), 6 and 5
Byeong-Hun An, Korea (145) def. Brett Kanda, La Crescenta, Calif. (147), 4 and 3
Third Round
Charlie Holland, Dallas, Texas (146) def. Christopher Ross, Canada (147), 2 and 1
Peter Uihlein, Orlando, Fla. (147) def. Connor Arendell, Cape Coral, Fla. (146), 2 and 1
Ben Martin, Greenwood, S.C. (141) def. Nico Geyger, Chile (143), 2 and 1
David Lingmerth, Sweden (145) def. Cameron Tringale, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (143), 4 and 2
Phillip Mollica, Anderson, S.C. (147) def. Mark Anderson, Beaufort, S.C. (141), 1 up
Bhavik Patel, Bakersfield, Calif. (145) def. Marcel Puyat, Philippines (145), 1 up
Steve Ziegler, Broomfield, Colo. (145) def. Dan Woltman, Beaver Dam, Wis. (144), 22 holes
Byeong-Hun An, Korea (145) def. Mike Van Sickle, Wexford, Pa. (145), 20 holes
