By Stuart Hall

Village of Pinehurst, N.C. — Derek Fathauer was ecstatic to have reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship. But his enthusiasm was masked by sheer exhaustion.

Fathauer frittered away a 3-up lead with four holes remaining to extend his third-round match against Kevin Tway. Fathauer then rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt to win on the 22^nd hole, thus completing a marathon day in which he played 42 holes around Pinehurst Resort & Country Club’s No. 2 course.

"Tired," said Fathauer in his opening comments to the media following his victory. "That’s it, tired."

Fathauer, 22, of Jensen Beach, Fla., appeared in control of his match against Tway, shooting the equivalent of four under with usual concessions through 11 holes to build a 3-up lead. Through the 14^th, Fathauer still led 3 up but ran into a mental and physical barrier.

"I was swinging, I don't know what you would call it, wild … not good," Fathauer said, "and it caught up to me. You got to have your swing under control to be able to handle the pressure out there. And I hit a couple loose shots and definitely let him right back in it."

Fathauer wrapped two bogeys around a double bogey over the next three holes to square the match and gift-wrapped the momentum in Tway’s favor. Following the bogey at the par-3 17^th hole, Fathauer’s frustration had seeped over to his caddie — and girlfriend — Amanda Henry, who just threw up her hands and frowned while leaving the green.

"I don't know, that's the way she gets to me and likes to get her point across," said Fathauer of Henry, a junior on the Louisville women’s golf team. "She dropped the bag right there.

"She kept me in it all day. If it wasn't for her, I’d be still laying on the course out there somewhere."

Fathauer found his mojo after driving left into the pine straw off the 18^th tee and Tway sitting nicely in the middle of the fairway. Fathauer, having used up his eligibility at the University of Louisville and remaining an amateur this summer in hopes of winning this 108^th championship that he so covets, reached into his mental reserve that was being severely taxed.

"I figured that I had given him enough and this is my last chance in amateur golf, so I need to give it my best," said Fathauer, who made a tidy par to head to extra holes.

Tway, 19, of Edmond, Okla., and a sophomore at Oklahoma State University, traded inspired play with Fathauer through No. 2’s first three playoff holes. Each went par-birdie-par to reach the 565-yard, par-5 fourth hole amid a growing gallery and diminishing sunlight.

Fathauer found the left fairway bunker and then played a cut shot to 157 yards shy of the green. He lofted an 8-iron approach to 20 feet from the hole. Meanwhile, Tway hit into the pine straw left of the fairway, deftly pulled off a draw around the pines to within 50 yards. His approach nestled 10 feet behind the hole.

Fathauer, who considers himself a good putter, came up clutch by rolling it in and forcing Tway’s hand.

"He finally was making a few mistakes and I had my chances," Tway said. "He made a 20-footer for birdie and I needed to make mine from 10 feet. I thought it was straight in, but it broke a little bit to the left. I felt like I hit a good putt."

"I’m real disappointed after having come back; to fight so hard and to not have it be good enough to win. It hurts."

When asked about getting to this point in the championship, Fathauer said, "I'm happy with where I'm at; I just want to keep winning."

No doubt he wouldn’t mind a breather along the way.

Stuart Hall is a freelance writer whose work has previously appeared on www.usamateur.org.