the 2010-11 season, and he won the regionally
prestigious Hochster Memorial Tournament this
summer. He previously competed in the 2006
U.S. Junior Amateur and 2009 Amateur.
Buckley, who says he plans to become a
career amateur, was born in the United States
but holds dual citizenship with Australia. He
gave Cantlay everything he had, probably to
Cantlay’s surprise, in the quarterfinals before
bowing out on the 19th hole.
As happens almost every year, there was
a true kid in the field. Hawaii’s
Danny Hopoi
was 14 when he qualified, and he turned 15
on the first day of the championship. He was
overmatched by Erin Hills, where he carded a
78. California’s
Randy Haag
, 52, was the oldest
player. Haag, amateur golf’s great blogger, shot
3-over 145 and went home early.
The 36-hole cut came at even-par 142, a sur-
prisingly low score that was the result of benign,
windless conditions on the first day of stroke-
play qualifying. Also, a three-hour downpour on
Tuesday morning softened the greens at Erin
Hills, although the winds stiffened that day.
A 20-for-four playoff took place Wednesday
afternoon to determine the final spots in match
play. Prominent names that missed qualifying
included British Amateur champion
Bryden
Macpherson
, reigning Crump and Coleman
champion
Mike McCoy
, Walker Cup hopeful
Bank Vongvanij
and 2009 U.S. Public Links
champion
Brad Benjamin
.
Only two of the 41 mid-ams in the tourna-
ment advanced to match play. New Orleans’
Patrick Christovich
shot 139 to easily make it,
while Rhode Island’s
Bobby Leopold
became
player 64 when he survived the playoff. U.S.
Mid-Am champion Smith bogeyed the first play-
off hole to bow out.
Leopold became this year’s Cinderella story
when he rallied to knock off medalist Main, 2 and
1. This was the second consecutive U.S. Amateur
in which the last seed has knocked off the A
Sixteen-year-old
Brad Hossler
’s summer
hasn’t been quite as memorable as his South-
ern California neighbor Cantlay, but it was
impressive nonetheless. He was the youngest
player in the field at the U.S. Open, and he took
the medal at the U.S. Junior and advanced to
the quarterfinals. Hossler first played in the
U.S. Amateur at age 14 in 2009. This year, he
advanced to match play before falling in the
second round to
John Hahn
.
David Chung
’s hopes to make the Walker Cup
ended when he withdrew from the Amateur be-
fore teeing off for his second round, due to food
poisoning. Also withdrawing was 2009 champion
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