Village of Pinehurst, N.C. – Three members of the winning 2007 USA Walker Cup team were among the 32 who advanced in first-round matches Wednesday at the U.S. Amateur on the No. 2 course at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.

Rickie Fowler, 19, of Murrieta, Calif.; Billy Horschel, 21, of Grant, Fla.; and Kyle Stanley, 20, of Gig Harbor, Wash., each pulled away on the final holes over the 7,281-yard, par-70 layout that has hosted two U.S. Opens in the last 10 years.

Three past U.S. Junior Amateur champions also advanced – Sihwan Kim, 20, of Buena Park, Calif.; Brian Harman, 21, of Savannah, Ga.; and Kevin Tway, 19, of Edmond, Okla.

Play continues Thursday with the second and third rounds of match play. The championship runs through the end of the week, with the 36-hole final match scheduled for Sunday.

Fowler lost two of the first four holes but rallied to beat Isaiah Telles, 18, of Tualatin, Calif., 4 and 2. Horschel never trailed in defeating Drew Lethem, 22, of Camdenton, Md., 3 and 2. Stanley won three of the first six holes on his way to a 4-and-3 win over Seung-Su Han, 22, of Irvine, Calif.

"I haven’t had the greatest summer," said Fowler, even though he made the cut at the U.S. Open. "I won the Sunnehanna Amateur, but I snuck into match play here (4-over-par 144 for 36 holes) and won my first match. Hopefully, I can keep it going."

Kim gave away the last three holes and needed a winning par on the first extra hole against Arnold Palmer’s grandson, 20-year-old Sam Saunders of Orlando, Fla. Harman, a 2005 USA Walker Cup team member, edged Kevin O’Connell, 20, of Cary, N.C., 1 up. Tway, who had PGA Tour veteran and father, Bob, as caddie, won four of the final seven holes to close out 2006 U.S. Junior champion Philip Francis, 19, of Scottsdale, Ariz., 2 up.

Returning quarterfinalist Derek Fathauer, 22, of Jensen Beach, Fla., won a close match against Jhonattan Vegas, 24, of Venezuela, 1 up. Most of the matches were closely contested, with only five not reaching the 16^th hole. Jeff Edelman, 20, of Southlake, Texas, was an exception. He was the biggest winner, beating Carlos Santos-Ocampo, 20, of Naples, Fla., 5 and 3. Top-seeded Robbie Filmore, 22, of Provo, Utah, who led stroke-play qualifying at 6-under-par 134, also easily advanced. He beat Ross Beal, 23, of Uniontown, Ohio, 3 and 2.

Fifty-two-year-old Brady Exber of Las Vegas, Nev., was the oldest player to advance. He lost the final two holes of regulation before making a winning birdie on the second extra hole against Josh Anderson, 19, of Murrieta, Calif. The youngest is highly regarded Danny Lee, an 18-year-old from New Zealand, who finished tied for 20^th at last week’s Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour. He also won the coveted Western Amateur title last month. Lee won three of the first four holes and marched to an easy win over David Bartman, 37, of Los Angeles, Calif., 4 and 3.

Lee is playing in his seventh tournament in as many weeks.

"I probably started in June," said Lee, who is a high school senior in New Zealand. "You know, I really want to have a break right now, but I can’t. I need to keep playing well and winning my matches. It’s worth it."

Four other 18-year-olds also are headed to the second round – Wesley Bryan of Chapin, S.C.; Jacob Burger of Orangeburg, S.C.; Patrick Reed of Augusta, Ga.; and Peter Uihlein of Bradenton, Fla.

The Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

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

Village of Pinehurst, N.C. – Results of Wednesday’s first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur, played at the 7,281-yard, par-70, No. 2 course:

Upper Bracket

Robbie Fillmore, Provo, Utah (134) def. Ross Beal, Uniontown, Ohio (145), 3 and 2
Kevin Tway, Edmond, Okla. (143) def. Philip Francis, Scottsdale, Ariz. (142), 2 up
Peter Uihlein, Bradenton, Fla. (140) def. Trent Leon, Dallas, Texas (144), 1 up
Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla. (140) def. Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela (144), 1 up
Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. (139) def. Rob Chappell, Cincinnati, Ohio (144), 4 and 2
Drew Kittleson, Scottsdale, Ariz. (143) def. Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. (142), 3 and 2
Jeff Edelman, Southlake, Texas (139) def. Carl Santos-Ocampo, Naples, Fla. (144), 5 and 3
Paul Woodbury, Lake City, S.C. (143) def. David McDaniel, Tucson, Ariz. (141), 4 and 3
Adam Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. (144) def. Corey Nagy, Charlotte, N.C. (137), 2 up
Mike McCoy, West Des Moines, Iowa (142) def. Adam Hadwin, Canada (143), 19 holes
Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif. (144) def. Isaiah Telles, Tualatin, Ore. (140), 4 and 2
Jake Koppenberg, Everett, Wash. (141) def. Sam Smith, Turlock, Calif. (143), 2 and 1
Erik Flores, Grass Valley, Calif. (138) def. Mark Anderson, Beaufort, S.C. (144), 3 and 2
Charlie Holland, Dallas, Texas (143) def. Tyler Gann, Houston, Texas (142), 1 up
Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. (140) def. Sam Saunders, Orlando, Fla. (144), 19 holes
Matt Hill, Canada (141) def. Jamie Lovemark, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (143), 1 up

Lower Bracket

Wesley Bryan, Chapin, S.C. (136) def. Jason Bittick, Coto De Caza, Calif. (145), 4 and 3
Morgan Hoffmann, Saddle Brook, N.J. (143) def. Jason Millard, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (142), 1 up
Andrew Landry, Groves, Texas (144) def. Scott Langley, St Louis, Mo. (140), 2 and 1
Billy Horschel, Grant, Fla. (140) def. Drew Lethem, Camdenton, Mo. (144), 3 and 2
Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (138) def. Seung-Su Han, Irvine, Calif. (144), 4 and 3
Connor McHenry, Jefferson City, Mo. (142) def. Barden Berry, Kinston, N.C. (143), 2 and 1
Jacob Burger, Orangeburg, S.C. (140) def. Michael O'Neal, Jacksonville, Fla. (144), 2 and 1
Danny Lee, New Zealand (141) def. David Bartman, Los Angeles, Calif. (143), 4 and 3
Patrick Reed, Augusta, Ga. (144) def. Dan Woltman, Beaver Dam, Wis. (137), 19 holes
Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev. (142) def. Josh Anderson, Murrieta, Calif. (143), 20 holes
Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (140) def. Kevin O'Connell, Cary, N.C. (144), 1 up
Brandon Detweiler, Akron, Pa. (140) def. Conrad Shindler, Westlake, Texas (143), 19 holes
Skip Berkmeyer, St. Louis, Mo. (144) def. Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. (138), 1 up
Graham Hill, Canada (142) def. J.C. Horne, Daytona Beach, Fla. (143), 2 and 1
Nick Taylor, Canada (140) def. Trent Sanders, Scottsdale, Ariz. (144), 3 and 2
Kevin Marsh, Henderson, Nev. (141) def. David Vanegas, Colombia (143), 1 up

Pairings

Village of Pinehurst, N.C. – Pairings for Thursday’s second round of match play at the U.S. Amateur, at the 7,281-yard, par-70, No. 2 course (Times are EDT):

Upper Bracket

7:30 a.m. -- Robbie Fillmore, Provo, Utah (134) vs. Kevin Tway, Edmond, Okla. (143)
7:40 a.m. -- Peter Uihlein, Bradenton, Fla. (140) vs. Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla. (140)
7:50 a.m. -- Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. (139) vs. Drew Kittleson, Scottsdale, Ariz. (143)
8 a.m. -- Jeff Edelman, Southlake, Texas (139) vs. Paul Woodbury, Lake City, S.C. (143)
8:10 a.m. -- Adam Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. (144) vs. Mike McCoy, W. Des Moines, Iowa (142)
8:20 a.m. -- Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif. (144) vs. Jake Koppenberg, Everett, Wash. (141)
8:30 a.m. -- Erik Flores, Grass Valley, Calif. (138) vs. Charlie Holland, Dallas, Texas (143)
8:40 a.m. -- Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. (140) vs. Matt Hill, Canada (141)

Lower Bracket

8:50 a.m. -- Wesley Bryan, Chapin, S.C. (136) vs. Morgan Hoffmann, Saddle Brook, N.J. (143)
9 a.m. -- Andrew Landry, Groves, Texas (144) vs. Billy Horschel, Grant, Fla. (140)
9:10 a.m. -- Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (138) vs. Connor McHenry, Jefferson City, Mo. (142)
9:20 a.m. -- Jacob Burger, Orangeburg, S.C. (140) vs. Danny Lee, New Zealand (141)
9:30 a.m. -- Patrick Reed, Augusta, Ga. (144) vs. Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev. (142)
9:40 a.m. -- Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (140) vs. Brandon Detweiler, Akron, Pa. (140)
9:50 a.m. -- Skip Berkmeyer, St. Louis, Mo. (144) vs. Graham Hill, Canada (142)
10 a.m. -- Nick Taylor, Canada (140) vs. Kevin Marsh, Henderson, Nev. (141)