Three Share First-Round Lead in U.S. Amateur


Jimmy Beck, Sam Horsfield and Taylor Moore each fired 6-under-par rounds to share the first-round lead in stroke-play qualifying at the 2014 U.S. Amateur, which started Monday in Georgia.

Beck, a Kennesaw State senior who won the 2013 Georgia State Amateur and finished second in the 2014 Georgia Open, tallied seven birdies and a bogey on the 7,374-yard, par-71 Highlands Course at Atlanta Athletic Club. Horsfield, who advanced to the quarterfinals of this year's U.S. Junior Amateur, shot a bogey-free 66 on the companion stroke-play course, the 7,437-yard, par-72 Riverside. Moore, a University of Arkansas junior, made seven birdies and a bogey for his 66 at Riverside.

"It feels so good. I've been playing well coming into this, and just to see putts fall, continue to fall and just hit it where you want to hit it, it's a good feeling," said Beck, a first-team Atlantic Sun Conference honoree in 2013 and '14. "I was just really trying to have fun and end the summer right and what better way to do it than right here in Georgia?"

"I saw the scores when I made the turn," Beck added. "I saw that someone shot 67. So, I was trying to beat it, but at the same time, I wasn't trying to do anything stupid. So, I just hit it towards the center of the greens and made a few putts."

"Shooting 66 puts me in a good spot," noted Moore, the 2013 SEC co-Freshman of the Year. "I've got to go stay aggressive tomorrow, keep hitting greens and not let off the gas."

Trailing the leaders by a stroke is University of Georgia junior Lee McCoy, 20, of Clarkesville, Ga., who had a bogey-free, 5-under-par 67 at Riverside.

The second-team All-American recorded four birdies in a six-hole stretch on hole Nos. 10 through 15 after making the turn in 1-under. "I hit some great iron shots today," said McCoy, playing in his first U.S. Amateur. "Everything, 7-iron and under, I was going right at the flag without a care in the world. It was fun."

McCoy, the 2012 Georgia High School Player of the Year at Habersham Central, lives about 65 miles from Atlanta Athletic Club. He's enjoying playing close to home.

"It would be huge to win in the home state," said McCoy. "It would be huge to win anywhere. But if I go a long ways this week, I might have some hometown guys out here watching me, so that extra support always helps. I heard a couple of 'Go Dawgs' out there, and that made my day."

Two players are at 5-under - Jonathan Garrick, 20, of Atherton, Calif. (67 on Highlands) and Cameron Young, 17, of Scarborough, N.Y. (68 on Riverside).

Among the 10 who posted 3-under scores were 2014 British Open competitor and 2012 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist Cheng-Tsung Pan, a senior at the University of Washington; University of Alabama All-American and world No. 2 Robby Shelton; 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Will Zalatoris; and 2014 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Corey Connors of Canada.

The 2014 U.S. Amateur consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship concluding with a 36-hole final on Sunday.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For all the scores and additional information, visit www.usga.org.