Wyatt & Williams Advance at U.S. Amateur


Medalist Bobby Wyatt, 20, of Mobile, Ala., and the No. 1-ranked Amateur in the world, Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho, advanced to the second round of match play in the 112th U.S. Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club south of Denver.

An All-American at the University at Alabama, Wyatt defeated Taylor Hancock, of Clearwater, Fla., 4 and 2, to become the first medalist to win his first-round match since 2009. With the match all-square after five holes, Wyatt won three of the next four holes with a birdie and three pars. He birdied the par-4 16th hole to close out the victory and did have a three-putt.

"Winning the medal was a great honor and certainly something that I am proud of," said Wyatt, who tied the Amateur's 36-hole stroke-play record with a two-round total of 132. "But I didn't come out to do well in stroke play and not do well in match play."

The U.S. Amateur at the par-71, 7,409-yard Cherry Hills continues with the second and third rounds of match play Thursday. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played Friday and Saturday, respectively, with the 36-hole championship match on Sunday starting at 8:30 a.m. MDT.

The medalist runner-up to Wyatt after posting rounds of 69 and 65, Cheng-Tsung Pan, 20, of Chinese Taipei, beat Evan Bowser of Dearborn, Mich., 4 and 3. "It helps me to win the first match; it's always a good thing. It's quite important and gives myself a good start," said Pan, a sophomore at the University of Washington who is playing in his third consecutive U.S. Amateur.

Thomas Pieters, 20, of Belgium, upset Jordan Spieth, a two-time U.S. Junior Amateur champion and the low amateur at this year's U.S. Open, 1-up. Pieters, the reigning NCAA champion from the University of Illinois, made match play by surviving a 17-for-14 playoff that completed the match-play field earlier on Thursday. Pieters, who parred the first playoff hole to advance, was not able to see either course used for stroke play prior to the championship as he spent Sunday traveling to Denver from the European Amateur in Ireland.

Michael Weaver, 21, of Fresno, Calif., and Devon Purser, 19, of Clearfield, Utah, also survived the playoff, each with a birdie on the morning's third hole, and both went on to record first-round upsets.

Purser upended No. 4 seed Sebastian Vasquez, of Mexico, 4 and 3, while Weaver dispatched No. 5 seed Zac Blair, of Ogden, Utah, 2 and 1. Jeff Osberg, the second seed from Philadelphia who equaled Pan's stroke-play total of 134, also lost in the round of 64, 3 and 2, to Steven Fox, 21, of Hendersonville, Tenn., another player who advanced in the morning playoff.

In a match-up of players in the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Chris Williams, 21, of Moscow, Idaho, defeated Peter Williamson, of Hanover, N.H., 3-up. Williams, the WAGR's No. 1 amateur, opened with 10 consecutive pars before making birdie on the par-5 11th to take control. "I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens," Williams said. "Birdies are hard to come by. Pars are a good score out here."

Doug Hanzel, a 55-year-old from Savannah, Ga., and Todd White, a 44-year-old from Spartanburg, S.C., used their age and experience to advance. Hanzel celebrated his fifth consecutive decade as a U.S. Amateur participant with a 3-and-2 victory. White, who played in this championship at Cherry Hills in 1990, posted a 3-and-1 win.

"I have no pressure," said Hanzel, who was the low amateur at last month's U.S. Senior Open. "The kids have the pressure. Losing to a 55-year-old is pressure."

Bobby Leopold, of Cranston, R.I., was involved in one of six matches that went to extra holes. Leopold, who reached the round of 16 at last year's Amateur, defeated Michael Kim on the 20th hole with a par.

U.S. Amateur First-Round Results

Upper Bracket

Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala. (132) def. Tyler Hancock, Clearwater, Fla. (143), 4 and 2
Matthew Stieger, Australia (141) def. Jade Scott, Daingerfield, Texas (141), 7 and 5
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. (139) def. Barry Dyche, Charlotte, N.C. (142), 3 and 1
Max Homa, Valencia, Calif. (139) def. Corey Conners, Canada (142), 5 and 4
Devin Miertschin, El Paso, Texas (138) def. Drew Evans, Dallas, Texas (143), 3 and 2
Bobby Leopold, Cranston, R.I. (142) def. Michael Kim, Del Mar, Calif. (141), 20 holes
Oliver Goss, Australia (138) def. Eli Cole, Los Angeles, Calif. (143), 3 and 1
Michael Miller, Brewster, N.Y. (142) def. Brett Drewitt, Australia (140), 19 holes
Devon Purser, Clearfield, Utah (143) def. Sebastian Vazquez, Mexico (135), 4 and 3
Adam Schenk, Vincennes, Ind. (141) def. Oliver Schniederjans, Powder Springs, Ga. (141), 2 and 1
Patrick Duncan Jr., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (143) def. Nicholas Reach, Moscow, Pa. (139), 1 up
Ricardo Gouveia, Portugal (140) def. Eric Frazzetta, Long Beach, Calif. (142), 4 and 3
Michael Weaver, Fresno, Calif. (143) def. Zac Blair, Ogden, Utah (136), 2 and 1
Patrick Rodgers, Avon, Ind. (141) def. Justin Spray, Gold Canyon, Ariz. (141), 3 and 2
Thomas Pieters, Belgium (143) def. Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas (138), 1 up
Albin Choi, Canada (142) def. Mackenzie Hughes, Canada (140), 2 and 1

Lower Bracket

Steven Fox, Hendersonville, Tenn. (143) def. Jeff Osberg, Philadelphia, Pa. (134), 3 and 2
Douglas Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (141) def. Andrew Biggadike, Ridgewood, N.J. (141), 3 and 2
Zack Munroe, Charlotte, N.C. (139) def. Michael Schoolcraft, Englewood, Colo. (142), 19 holes
Todd White, Spartanburg, S.C. (142) def. Jonathan De Los Reyes, Antioch, Calif. (139), 3 and 1
Eduoard Espana, France (143) def. Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (138), 1 up
Justin Shin, Canada (141) def. Brad Valois, Warwick, R.I. (142), 1 up
Chris Williams, Moscow, Idaho (138) def. Peter Williamson, Hanover, N.H. (143), 3 and 2
Adam Stephenson, Greenville, N.C. (140) def. Carlos Ortiz, Mexico (142), 1 up
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (134) def. Evan Bowser, Dearborn, Mich. (143), 4 and 3
Gavin Green, Malaysia (141) vs. Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. (141), 3 and 1
Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. (139) def. T.J. Mitchell, Albany, Ga. (143), 5 and 3
Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas (142) def. Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. (140), 19 holes
Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. (137) def. Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md. (143), 19 holes
Paul Misko, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (141) def. Kenny Cook, Noblesville, Ind. (141), 20 holes
Patrick Newcomb, Benton, Ky. (143) def. Richard Lamb, South Bend, Ind. (138), 2 and 1
Michael Hebert, Alpharetta, Ga. (140) def. Todd Sinnott, Australia (142), 6 and 4

Pairings for Thursday's Second Round of Match Play

7:30 a.m. -- Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala. (132) vs. Matthew Stieger, Australia (141)
7:40 a.m. -- Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. (139) vs. Max Homa, Valencia, Calif. (139)
7:50 a.m. -- Devin Miertschin, El Paso, Texas (138) vs. Bobby Leopold, Cranston, R.I. (142)
8:00 a.m. -- Oliver Goss, Australia (138) vs. Michael Miller, Brewster, N.Y. (142)
8:10 a.m. -- Devon Purser, Clearfield, Utah (143) vs. Adam Schenk, Vincennes, Ind. (141)
8:20 a.m. -- Patrick Duncan Jr., Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (143) vs. Ricardo Gouveia, Portugal (140)
8:30 a.m. -- Michael Weaver, Fresno, Calif. (143) vs. Patrick Rodgers, Avon, Ind. (141)
8:40 a.m. -- Thomas Pieters, Belgium (143) vs. Albin Choi, Canada (142)
8:50 a.m. -- Steven Fox, Hendersonville, Tenn. (143) vs. Douglas Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (141)
9:00 a.m. -- Zack Munroe, Charlotte, N.C. (139) vs. Todd White, Spartanburg, S.C. (142)
9:10 a.m. -- Edouard Espana, France (143) vs. Justin Shin, Canada (141)
9:20 a.m. -- Chris Williams, Moscow, Idaho (138) vs. Adam Stephenson, Greenville, N.C. (140)
9:30 a.m. -- Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (134) vs. Gavin Green, Malaysia (141)
9:40 a.m. -- Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. (139) vs. Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas (142)
9:50 a.m. -- Brandon Hagy, Westlake Village, Calif. (137) vs. Paul Misko, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (141)
10:00 a.m. -- Patrick Newcomb, Benton, Ky. (143) vs. Michael Hebert, Alpharetta, Ga. (140)

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org. For the latest match-play results, visit http://www.usga.org/ChampEventScore.aspx?id=17179869326&year=2012&type=reversetree.