John Daly II and Amateur Golf Stars Advance at the U.S. Amateur
San Francisco – The first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur saw the triumph of 32 players, including the son of two-time major champion John Daly. The competition, which took place at The Olympic Club, also saw five of the top ten amateur players in the world advance.
John Daly II, approaching his final year at Arkansas, demonstrated a different strategy than his famous father. In a 1-up victory over Cooper Claycomb, Daly secured the 11th hole with a birdie, while the other 17 holes ended in a tie.
Jackson Koivun, from Auburn and number 1 in the world amateur ranking, tied with Ryan Vools until he managed a par on the 16th hole, taking a 1-up lead. Koivun closed the match with a birdie on the par-5 17th hole, the only birdie he got in the match.
Ben James, the second-best amateur in the world and a senior at Virginia, defeated Parker Claxton 2-and-1, and Preston Stout, ranked fourth, won 4 and 3 over Pennson Badgett.
Two top 10 players suffered defeats in extra holes. Tommy Morrison (No. 6), from Texas, lost to 18-year-old Mason Howell after a bogey on the 17th hole and a double bogey on the 19th hole. Filip Jakubcik (No. 5) was also defeated by Eric Lee in 19 holes.
Jace Summy (No. 7) and Christiaan Maas (No. 9) also managed to advance.
Tim Wiedenmeyer, from Germany, staged the biggest comeback. After losing five of the first seven holes against Reed Greyserman, he won the last four holes for a 2-and-1 victory.
In one of the most exciting matches of the day, the son of a former British golf writer defeated the son of a prominent Ryder Cup player.
Niall Shiels Donegan, from Scotland, whose father Lawrence was a golf correspondent at The Guardian, birdied the last two holes, securing a 1-up victory over Luke Poulter, a student in Florida and son of Ian Poulter.
Donegan was one of 17 players who advanced from a 20-player playoff on Wednesday morning to define the 64 finalists for the match play.
