Uihlein Edges First Match-Play Opponent in Weather-Delayed U.S. Amateur


Defending champion Peter Uihlein, 21, of Orlando, Fla., began his title defense with a 3-and-1 win Wednesday over Eugene Wong, 20, of Canada in the first round of match play in the 2011 U.S. Amateur at Erin Hills.

Because of weather delays that began Tuesday, only six of the scheduled first-round matches were completed Wednesday before the round was suspended due to darkness at 7:30 p.m. CDT.

Uihlein, who will represent the USA for the second time at the Walker Cup Match in Scotland in September, won the third and fourth holes, and went on to extend his lead to 4 up through 14 holes.

"The wind was blowing, the golf course was hard, the pins were brutal and I knew pars were going to be good," said Uihlein, who won the 2011 Hogan Award as the best player in college golf. "I had an early awful bogey on two but I was pretty solid the rest of the way. He is a good player so it was a tough draw."

Uihlein meets Dylan Frittelli, 21, of South Africa, who plays at the University of Texas, in the second round. "It's nice to get the first victory out of the way but it's still not easy," said Uihlein, who also played on the 2009 USA Walker Cup Team. "The more you go, the harder it gets. I'm going to have to play well, Dylan is a great player. I play with him a lot since he's in the Big 12."

Medalist Gregor Main, 22, of Danville, Calif., who tied for the lowest 36-hole stroke-play qualifying score in U.S. Amateur Championship history at 10-under-par 132, was 2 down through nine holes in his match with Bobby Leopold, 26, of Cranston, R.I., before play was suspended.

Main, a three-time All-American at UCLA, completed a bogey-free 5-under-par 67 at par-72, 7,760-yard Erin Hills on Wednesday to earn medalist honors by two strokes.

Main tied the previous low 36-hole score of 132 (12 under par) shot by Hank Kim in 1994 at TPC Sawgrass (Stadium and Valley Courses) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

The first round of match play began at 3 p.m. CDT because of a fog delay of two hours and 25 minutes that delayed the morning re-start of the second round of stroke play.

The last five matches of the first round will begin Thursday morning and the first-round matches that are in progress will resume at 7:15 a.m.

For all the scores, visit http://www.usga.org/ChampEventScore.aspx?id=17179869326&year=2011&type=reversetree.

The 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Sunday.

The above report is courtesy of the USGA. For more information, visit www.usga.org.