Tag: U.S. Amateur

Why this U.S. Amateur semifinalist needs a new caddie for the weekend

“At the end of the day, I’m swinging the club, so it’s not a big deal.”

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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — Neal Shipley is having a helluva summer.

He has runner-up finishes at the Dogwood Invitational, the Sunnehanna Amateur and the Trans-Mississippi Amateur. He also tied for third at the Pacific Coast Amateur. Now, the graduate student at Ohio State is a semifinalist in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club.

On Friday, Shipley dispatched Andi Xu 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals. His luscious, flowing hair has become a fun talking point for fans and makes him plenty noticeable on the course, but his game is doing most of the talking.

“You’ve got to beat so many good players, and I’ve had a lot of really tough matches,” Shipley said. “This one is pretty special because I started out kind of slow and had to claw back. Got up, and then he got me, and then just kind of won those two near the end.”

U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills

Buckeyes’ assistant coach Jimmy Beck has looped for Shipley this week, and they’ve been a formidable duo. However, Shipley has to find a new caddie for the weekend.

“Jimmy is awesome,” Shipley said. “Unfortunately, he has to go to his baby shower tomorrow.”

So, what’s the backup plan?

“Just so happens one of my really good friends who caddied for Austin Greaser at the Oakmont (U.S.) Am (2021), he happens to be at Beaver Creek, and I’m going to make him drive down for that.”

That good friend is Carter Pitcairn, a rising sophomore at Wisconsin. And yes, Pitcairn has plenty of experience in the U.S. Amateur as a caddie.

In 2021, he helped Greaser, now a grad student at North Carolina, to the championship match at Oakmont Country Club. This week, Greaser reached the Round of 32.

“I have a lot of trust in him,” Shipley said. “At the end of the day, I’m swinging the club, so it’s not a big deal.”

Beaver Creek is about two hours west of Cherry Hills in the Rocky Mountains. Instead of hanging out at the mountain resort, Pitcaird will be trying to help Shipley earn a berth in the championship match.

Shipley will take on Auburn senior John Marshall Butler at 2:15 p.m. ET in the semifinals.

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Nick Dunlap, John Marshall Butler highlight 2023 U.S. Amateur semifinalists

Here’s everything you need to know from the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur.

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — As the week has gone on at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, the course has gotten tougher, stakes have gotten higher and the players are coming closer to hoisting the Havemeyer Trophy.

The quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur are complete, meaning we’re down to four players in the Mile High City. Tee times went off early Friday morning in anticipation of afternoon thunderstorms in the Denver area, but Cherry Hills was baked in sunshine all morning.

Among the semifinalists are one of the favorites coming in, a player who has come oh-so-close to winning this summer but hasn’t quite pulled it off and a pair looking for their signature win.

The remaining players are all American heading into the semifinals.

U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills

Here’s everything you need to know from the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur.

Q&A: Bryson DeChambeau talks U.S. Amateur, and how he hasn’t heard from Zach Johnson on Ryder Cup

“But at the end of the day, it is what it is and I’ll be rooting for Team USA no matter what.”

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — Only three players have ever won a U.S. Amateur, NCAA individual championship and U.S. Open: Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bryson DeChambeau.

DeChambeau won the NCAA title at SMU in 2015. A couple months later, he went to Olympia Fields outside of Chicago and captured the U.S. Amateur in his fifth appearance. Then in 2020, he won his first major title at Winged Foot in New York.

However, in 2012, DeChambeau teed it up at Cherry Hills Country Club, site of this week’s U.S. Amateur, in his second appearance in the championship.

DeChambeau was back on property Thursday afternoon, taking in some of the action from Round of 16 matches. He signed autographs, took pictures and followed around a few groups. He even hit a couple of shots with a persimmon driver from the Arnold Palmer tee on the first hole, where Palmer famously drove the green in the final round en route to winning the 1960 U.S. Open.

U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills

After watching Ben James beat David Ford on the 19th hole, he took some time to speak with Golfweek about the U.S. Amateur, Ryder Cup and more.

Meet the quarterfinalists at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills

The 2023 U.S. Amateur is down to eight.

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — After a grueling Thursday at Cherry Hills Country Club, the 2023 U.S. Amateur is down to eight vying for the Havemeyer Trophy.

Cherry Hills started to show its teeth, especially during the Round of 16 on Thursday afternoon. The wind picked up, the greens became more firm and started browning out, and players who stayed out of trouble took advantage.

However, one semifinal match was tied heading to a 19th hole on Friday morning, and it had an incredible ending Thursday night before play was suspended due to darkness.

Eight golfers are closer to winning the biggest championship in men’s amateur golf.

Friday’s quarterfinal tee times were moved up to the morning because of possible severe weather in the afternoon. The first tee time will be at 10:30 a.m. ET.

U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills

Here’s a look at the quarterfinalists in the U.S. Amateur, as well as Friday matchups and TV information.

Trio of co-medalists go down in 2023 U.S. Amateur Round of 32 at Cherry Hills

It wasn’t a good morning to be a co-medalist at Cherry Hills.

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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — It was a bad morning to be a co-medalist in the 2023 U.S. Amateur.

Blades Brown, who at 16 became the youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history, Jackson Buchanan and Sampson Zheng, the top three seeds at Cherry Hills Country Club, lost in their Round of 32 matches Thursday morning.

Brown, who shot 64 on Tuesday at Colorado Golf Club, the stroke-play co-host, led 1 up after seven holes but proceeded to lose three of the next four to Auburn’s Jackson Koivun. Then, Koivun won consecutive holes on Nos. 14 and 15 to end the match, 4 and 3.

Buchanan, a senior at Illinois, fell in a similar fashion, losing 4 and 3 to Cooper Jones, an incoming freshman at BYU. The match was tied walking to the ninth tee, but Jones proceeded to win four straight holes to take command.

U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills

Then, the final co-medalist from stroke play, Sampson Zheng of China, lost to Mexico’s Jose Islas, 2 and 1, meaning all three co-medalists and the top three seeds are out after the Round of 32.

Nick Dunlap, who knocked off World No. 1 Gordon Sargent in the Round of 64, topped local Connor Jones on Thursday morning, 4 and 3. He’ll face Bowen Mauss of Draper, Utah next.

After Thursday’s Round of 16, the quarterfinals will be set for Friday. The semifinals will be Saturday with the 36-hole final set for Sunday.

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Round of 16 matchups

  • No. 32 Jackson Koivun vs. No. 48 Matthew Sutherland, 4 p.m. ET
  • No. 57 Bowen Mauss vs. No. 41 Nick Dunlap, 4:10 p.m. ET
  • No. 4 Maxwell Ford vs. No. 52 Parker Bell, 4:20 p.m. ET
  • No. 28 David Ford vs. No. 12 Ben James, 4:30 p.m. ET
  • No. 31 Cooper Jones vs. No. 47 Neal Shipley, 4:40 p.m. ET
  • No. 7 Andi Xu vs. No. 42 Connor Gaunt, 4:50 p.m. ET
  • No. 30 Jose Islas vs. No. 51 Carson Bacha, 5 p.m. ET
  • No. 38 Rui Chang vs. No. 11 John Marshall Butler, 5:10 p.m. ET

Maxwell Ford and Andi Xu are the lone remaining single-digit seeds.

The Round of 16 field

There are 16 golfers left and just three are international players: China’s Andi Xu and Rui Chang and Mexico’s Jose Islas.

Nick Dunlap takes down World No. 1 among U.S. Amateur Round of 64 takeaways

Match play got off to a great start Wednesday.

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — Down goes No. 1.

The match-play portion of the 2023 U.S. Amateur began Wednesday at Cherry Hills Country Club, and with that came the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking falling in the Round of 64. However, there were numerous other events to happen on a steamy day in the Mile High City.

The youngest medalist in U.S. Amateur history, and top seed for match play, faces battles. There were players making a push for the U.S. Walker Cup team. There were also upsets and plenty of high-profile players heading home early.

Match play got off to a great start Wednesday, and there’s still plenty of golf to go.

U.S. Amateur: Photos

Here’s everything you need to know from the Round of 64 at the 2023 U.S. Amateur.

After freak injury at NCAAs, Gregory Solhaug advances at 2023 U.S. Amateur

“I definitely got a lot of questions.”

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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — When you step on a tee, it goes through your shoe and into your foot, you sort of make a name for yourself.

That’s what Gregory Solhaug did at the NCAA Championships in May. Walking off the 11th tee box during the second round, a tee somehow broke through his shoe and went into his foot. He was forced to withdraw after the freak accident, though there wasn’t any long-term damage. He was back at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, the next day to support his Oregon teammates, though on crutches with his foot heavily wrapped.

“I definitely got a lot of questions,” Solhaug said while laughing. “Super random. Unlucky. It’s hard to believe it could be something like that.”

U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills

The injury only kept Solhaug, from Norway, away from competition for two weeks. Even with the time off his feet, it didn’t restrict his golf game, as he advanced to the Round of 32 at the Amateur Championship in Europe three weeks later. And that came after he was walking for only four or five days before teeing it up again, he said.

Solhaug is in the Round of 32 again, this time in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club. In the third match off Wednesday morning, Solhaug took control quickly, becoming the first Round of 64 match to wrap up, winning 5 and 4.

“I started off pretty well getting 3 up after three,” Solhaug said. “Made a couple of mistakes after that but won three more holes on 9, 10 and 11.”

All in all, Solhaug, who’s set to begin his senior season at Oregon this fall, won eight of the 14 holes he played Wednesday, advancing to Thursday morning’s Round of 32. He’ll face off against No. 48 Matthew Sutherland from Fresno State.

“I have to be a bit more aggressive in match play,” Solhaug said. “Just making sure we stick to the game plan. It’s important.”

Although many people came to know Solhaug because of his injury, he’s hoping to wow them with his golf came via a deep run in the Mile High City.

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Closing hole at Cherry Hills to provide fascinating theater at 2023 U.S. Amateur

The 487-yard par-4 closing hole at the 2023 U.S. Amateur is a brute.

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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — As far as closing holes go, Cherry Hills Country Club may have one of the best in the world.

The tee shot is terrifying. To the left is Cherry Hills Lake. On the right, a steep hill with thick, luscious rough as well as some trees that lurk. In the middle, the pristine fairway with a steep bank on the right and a flatter portion on the left.

Then there’s the approach shot. The green is uphill from the fairway. A large bunker guides the front right portion with a smaller one on the left. Any shot left short will roll back some 50 yards to the fairway, leaving nearly an impossible chip.

U.S. Amateur: Photos

The 487-yard par-4 closing hole at the 2023 U.S. Amateur is a brute, yet come match play, it’s going to provide excellent theater for fans and a strong test for 64 golfers aiming to become the next U.S. Amateur champion.

“It’s a great finisher,” said Piercen Hunt, who shot 6 under in stroke play and is the fifth seed for match play. “I’m sure any match that gets to that hole is going to be pretty exciting.”

In stroke play, it was the most difficult hole at Cherry Hills, with more triples or worse (17) than birdies (11). The average for the field in stroke play was 4.68.

The 18th is part of a strong finishing stretch at Cherry Hills, which hosted the 1990 and 2012 U.S. Amateurs. In 1990, Phil Mickelson hoisted the Havemeyer Trophy. In the latest rendition, history was made, as Steven Fox won as a 63rd seed, the only player to do that at a U.S. Amateur (In 2021, Jensen Castle won as a 63rd seed at the U.S. Women’s Amateur).

The 15th can play as the longest (245 yards) and shortest (115 yards) par 3 on the course. The 466 par-4 16th is home to the highest score in U.S. Open history (19 by Ray Ainsley in 1938) and has a tricky creek meandering the fairway. Then the 17th is iconic because it was the first par 5 in American golf featuring an island green. If that’s not tough enough, fairway bunkers are lurking for wary tee shots.

Meanwhile, the 18th hole is where Cherry Hills shows its teeth.

Take Caleb Surratt for example. He needed a par at the last to finish at 8 under and win medalist honors. He ended up making double.

“It doesn’t really matter how good you’re playing,” Surratt said. “You still have to step up and hit golf shots on that hole. It’s going to be hard to make a birdie on the 18th hole, but it’s pretty easy to make a bogey.”

Although not every match will reach the 18th hole, those that do are going to face a difficult test.

For players leading, it’s going to take a strong effort to stay on top and clinch the hole. For those trailing, two good shots give an opportunity to tie the match.

Any match that’s all square with one hole to play, the 18th hole will make for a memorable finish.

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Current USGA champion, 16 year old among medalists at 2023 U.S. Amateur

In the 123-year history of the U.S. Amateur, no one has done what Blades Brown did Tuesday.

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CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — In the 123-year history of the U.S. Amateur, no one has done what Blades Brown did Tuesday.

The 16-year-old, from Nashville, Tennessee, tied the competitive course record at Colorado Golf Club, the stroke-play co-host, shooting an 8-under 64 with four bogeys. He finished at 7 under following 36 holes, tying for medalist honors. Brown is the youngest in the history of the U.S. Amateur to win medalist honors.

“It’s up there,” he said of the accomplishment, “just because this is my first U.S. Am. I was told the U.S. Am is like one level down from the U.S. Open. To be able to shoot 8 under here is awesome. It really gives me confidence in my game and my practice.”

U.S. Amateur: Photos

Brown tied with Sampson Zheng, who earlier this year won the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball title. Zheng shot 1-under 70 at Cherry Hills on Tuesday after an opening 6-under 66 at Colorado Golf Club.

“There were definitely some nerves going off the tee,” Zheng said. “I knew I was the leader and I had the chance to be medalist. But the goal from the start was to win, so I feel like I handled myself pretty well out there. I didn’t back off from any tough shots, I didn’t back off from any tough holes, and I stayed process really well, step by step, I took it one at a time, just fairways and greens, and then stayed out of trouble for the most part.”

Also tying for medalist honors was Jackson Buchanan, who birdied his final three holes at Colorado Golf Club to tie Brown and Zheng.

Stroke play is a little different than match play, I think it proves the best player,” Buchanan said. “Two days is obviously not much but I think stroke play proves the best player. Once you get to match play everyone here is so good. It doesn’t matter if you are [seeds] 64 or 1.”

That trio will be the top three seeds in the Round of 64, which is set to begin at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday. Additionally, there won’t be a playoff because exactly 64 players made the cut, which was even-par. However, that doesn’t mean there weren’t some big names heading home early.

Some, like 2022 semifinalist Dylan Menante and 2023 Western Amateur semifinalist Andrew Goodman, made the cut on the number.

When match play seeds are determined, they’ll be posted here.

Notables who missed the cut in the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills

Some big names are heading home before match play.

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — It’s extremely difficult to make the cut at the U.S. Amateur. So much so, only one in five golfers make it to match play.

What started Monday morning with 312 players across two sites is down to 64 at the 2023 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club. The cut came in at 1 over, but that doesn’t mean the match play bracket is set.

For a while, it looked as if there would be a 15-for-1 playoff on Wednesday morning, but some late score adjustments resulted in exactly 64 players making the cut, meaning match play will begin at 11 a.m. ET Wednesday at Cherry Hills.

Those 1 over and worse are packing their bags. Meanwhile, there was a three-way tie for medalist honors, including the youngest to win the U.S. Amateur medalist honors.

U.S. Amateur: Photos

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Here’s a look at which notable amateurs didn’t make the cut at the U.S. Amateur.