Aman Gupta
Aug 12: Aman Gupta safely moved into the match play segment of the 120th US Amateur despite a none-too-happy one-over 73 that saw him slip from overnight shared lead to Tied-5th after the 36-hole stroke play segment, at Bandon Dunes, Oregon.
An Indian-American, born and bred in the US, Gupta shot 73 in the second round at Bandon Dune. After a bogey free at Bandon Trails, a day earlier, Gupta had five birdies, six bogeys and seven pars in his second round. He seemed on way to a sub-par round at one-under through 13, but dropped shots in three holes between 14 and 17 before finishing with a birdie. His 64-73 meant he was six-under 137.
“I mean, obviously it would have been nice to medal. The goal at the end of the day was to try to win the overall (portion of stroke play). I mean, I still needed to get to match play; the real tournament starts now,” said Aman Gupta, a last-minute addition when world No. 2 Ricky Castillo withdrew on Friday.
Overnight co-leader, McClure Meissner, who shot 64 at Bandon Dunes, carded a 3-over 75 at Bandon Trails for a total of 5-under 138.
While Gupta was playing at Bandon Dune, his one-day old record of 64 at Bandon Trails was re-written by Wilson Furr, who shot nine-under 62.
Furr, 22, produced a brilliant nine-under 62 with 11 birdies and two bogeys at Bandon Trails and that put alongside his first round 70 took the University of Alabama star to 11-under for the medallist honours. Furr qualified for match play for the first time in his four attempts in the U.S. Amateur.
“That’s super cool. I’ve never been to match play before in the U.S. Am, so super excited about that. That was my big goal coming into the day,” said Furr.
Billy Horschel owns the U.S. Amateur and USGA 18-hole scoring record of 60, which he produced in Round 1 of the 2006 championship at the Chaska (Minn.) Town Course.
The stroke play segment with 264 players was played over two courses – Par-71 Bandon Trails and the Par-72 Bandon Dunes.
The top 64 players qualify for the match play and the first round will pit Gupta against Van Holmgren, who shot 72 at both the courses. The cut for match play came at 2-over-par 145, with 18 players fighting for three final spots in the draw.
While Furr totalled 11-under, James Piot (69-65), playing in his first U.S. Amateur, was second at seven-under and Ben Chipp (68-67) was third and Travis McInroe (65-71). Aman Gupta and David Ford (68-69) tied for fifth.
For the second consecutive day, competitors were greeted with bright sunshine and mild winds.
Notables to qualify for match play include 2019 U.S. Amateur runner-up John Augenstein, 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad, 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Scott Harvey, 2018 US Junior Amateur champion Michael Thorbjornsen and 2017 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Kevin O’Connell.
Andy Ogletree became the first defending champion to miss the cut since Stephen Fox in 2013. He shot 3-over 146.
Some other big names missing out included Cole Hammer, the 2019 McCormack Medal winner who was on the victorious 2019 USA Walker Cup Team; two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Yuxin Lin, and 2019 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team member Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of 2013 U.S. Amateur champion Matthew Fitzpatrick.
NBC’s new free streaming service, Peacock, will carry the first hour of the live broadcast from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT, with Golf Channel picking up the final two hours. Match play continues the rest of the week through Sunday’s 36-hole championship match.
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Indian-American Aman Gupta shoots 64, shares lead at US Men’s Amateur
