Stieger and Goss through at US Amateur
BY Bruce Young | US Mens Amateur Tour | 2012 US Amateur Championship | Day Three | 16 Aug 2012
Matt Stieger and Oliver Goss are the only Australians remaining at the US Amateur Championship at the Cherry Hills Country Club near Denver in Colorado following the completion of the first round of match play today.
Nine Australians started the event on Monday but only four would make it to the match play phase.
Queenslander Cameron Smith became one of the unlucky losers in the playoff between 17 players for one of the 14 places still available in the 64 man field when that took place early on Wednesday morning.
Smith was one of the first players eliminated when he bogeyed the third extra hole.
New South Welshman Stieger qualified 25th in the stroke play phase and faced Texan Jade Scott in round one. The match did not start well for Stieger when he bogeyed the opening hole at the famed Cherry Hills layout.
Stieger would go on to record six birdies in the remainder of his round however to defeat Scott 7&5. That’s the good news but now Stieger appears likely to face the leading qualifier Bobby Wyatt in round two.
West Australian Goss has been the surprise packet of the event to date amongst the Australians. He was the leading Australian qualifier when he finished in a share of 7th and today faced American Eli Cole. Cole was two up through four holes but Goss fought to win two of the next four and drew clear over the closing stages to win 2&1.
The 18 year old Goss, the current WA Amateur Champion and National Squad member, now faces American Michael Miller who defeated Goss’s fellow Australian Brett Drewitt.
New South Welshman Drewitt suffered an agonising defeat at the hands of Miller in a match where there was never more than one hole between the pair, Drewitt squaring the match at the 18th hole only to lose to a birdie by Miller at the 19th.
Victorian Todd Sinnott led early in his match against American Michael Herbert but was eventually overwhelmed by Herbert in a relatively high scoring match. Sinnott lost 6&4.
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