Hammer advances to quarterfinals of 118th US Amateur

Cole Hammer birdies the 13th hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018.  (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Cole Hammer, of Houston, Texas, the co-medalist and No. 2 seed who is seeking to win his second USGA championship of the year, survived two close matches on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the 118th U.S. Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Hammer, 18, an incoming freshman at the University of Texas, trailed through 14 holes in the morning before defeating Joshua McCarthy, 1 up, then ousted Zach Murray of Australia, 2 and 1, in the afternoon. He is bidding to add the oldest championship in the United States to his U.S. Amateur Four-Ball victory, earned in May with partner Garrett Barber.

“My game has felt great this whole year,” said Hammer, who qualified for the U.S. Open in 2015 at age 15. “I felt due for something big this summer, kind of got it kick-started with the Four-Ball and then the Western Am. And I feel like I’m still playing that type of golf.”

Hammer won the Western Amateur 12 days ago, defeating fellow U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist Davis Riley in the final match, and he also reached the semifinals of the U.S. Junior Amateur three weeks ago at Baltusrol Golf Club.

Six of the eight matches in the Round of 16 went to the 18th hole or beyond, and three of those went to extra holes. Riley, of Hattiesburg, Miss., survived the longest battle, birdieing the 21st hole to eliminate Mason Overstreet, of Kingfisher, Okla., after ousting co-medalist Daniel Hillier of New Zealand, 5 and 4, in the morning.

Alex Fitzpatrick, of England, is attempting to duplicate the feat of older brother Matthew, who captured the 2013 U.S. Amateur with Alex, then 14, as his caddie. Fitzpatrick, now 19, won a pair of extra-hole matches on Thursday, edging Jesus Montenegro, of Argentina, in 20 holes in the morning, then making a birdie on the 19th hole to move past McClure Meissner, of San Antonio, Texas, in the afternoon. 

Devon Bling, 18, a rising sophomore at UCLA, defeated 2018 U.S. Open qualifier Shintaro Ban, 2 up, in the morning, then ousted 2017 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Noah Goodwin in 20 holes in the afternoon. Bling is competing in his first U.S. Amateur.

Viktor Hovland, of Norway, the No. 5 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked player remaining, and he moved through with relative ease, earning a 2-and-1 victory over Harrison Ott in the morning and a 7-and-6 victory over fellow countryman Kristoffer Reitan.

Isaiah Salinda, 21, of South San Francisco, Calif., a rising senior at Stanford University who is competing in his first U.S. Amateur, ousted Trevor Phillips, 4 and 3, in the morning, then edged 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad, 1 up, in the afternoon. Salinda never led until the end against Hagestad, when he birdied No. 18 after Hagestad’s 25-foot birdie try stopped on the edge of the hole.

What’s Next

The quarterfinal round will begin at 2:30 p.m. PDT on Friday, with FS1 TV coverage from 7 to 10 p.m. EDT. The four quarterfinal winners advance to the semifinal round, which will be played on Saturday morning, beginning at 8 a.m. The 36-hole championship match will be played on Sunday, starting at 7:30 a.m.

Notable

►Jackson Van Paris, who turns 15 next week and who is believed to be the youngest player to win a match in the U.S. Amateur since Bob Jones in 1916, a 1-up victory on Wednesday, lost his Round-of-32 match on Thursday to Mason Overstreet, 3 and 2. “I played the coolest golf course in the country, played the biggest amateur tournament in the world and got, I guess you’d call this 17th [place], since I didn’t make it to the Round of 16,” said Van Paris, of Pinehurst, N.C., who lives a five-minute drive from the Pinehurst Resort, the host site of next year’s 119th U.S. Amateur Championship.

►All eight quarterfinalists are carrying the banner of an American college: Davis Riley (Alabama), Devon Bling (UCLA), Isaiah Salinda (Stanford), Will Gordon (Vanderbilt), Cole Hammer (Texas, incoming), Alex Fitzpatrick (Wake Forest, incoming), Austin Squires (Cincinnati) and Viktor Hovland (Oklahoma State). Gordon is the oldest at 22 and Devon Bling is the youngest at 18 (almost two months younger than Hammer). The average age is 20.

►Brothers Trevor and Trent Phillips of Inman, S.C., who were the first brothers to advance to match play since 2008, both lost their morning Round-of-32 matches.

►Davis Riley lost to fellow quarterfinalist, Cole Hammer, 1 down, in the championship match of the 2018 Western Amateur 12 days ago. They cannot meet until the final match this week.

►Viktor Hovland, of Norway, has defeated two teammates in three matches: fellow Oklahoma State player Hayden Wood in the Round of 64, and former high school teammate Kristoffer Reitan in the Round of 16.

Isaiah Salinda

Isaiah Salinda plays his tee shot on the 10th hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

Viktor Hovland

Viktor Hovland lines up his putt on the fourth green during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Stewart Hagestad

Stewart Hagestad plays his third shot on the 14th hole during the round of 32 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

McClure Meissner, Alex Fitzpatrick

McClure Meissner, left, congratulates Alex Fitzpatrick, right, after Fitzpatrick won on the 19th hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Stewart Hagestad

Stewart Hagestad celebrates with his caddie after winning his match during the round of 32 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Kristoffer Reitan

Kristoffer Reitan plays his second shot on the eighth hole during the round of 32 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

Cole Hammer

Cole Hammer birdies the 13th hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

McClure Meissner

McClure Meissner plays his tee shot on the 10th hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Alex Fitzpatrick

Alex Fitzpatrick plays from a greenside bunker on the 17th hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/Chris Keane)

McClure Meissner

McClure Meissner plays his second shot on the fourth hole during the round of 16 at the 2018 U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Thursday, Aug. 16, 2018. (Copyright USGA/JD Cuban)

Quotable

Isaiah Salinda, who edged Stewart Hagestad with a birdie on No. 18:

“He had about a 25-footer for birdie, and I had already lagged my eagle putt up there to like 2 feet, and he just barely left it short. I thought it was in the whole way. I’m sure he did, too. You’ve got to expect your opponent to make it, and I thought we were going extra holes.”

Salinda, a rising senior at Stanford, on playing two years with All-America player Maverick McNealy:

“I learned a lot from him just watching how he prepares for tournaments, gets himself ready. Mentally he’s one of the strongest players I’ve ever seen. I talk about confidence a lot, and he has it. So I learned a lot from him definitely in my two years with him.”

Will Gordon, who got to know three-time NBA champion Steph Curry in his hometown of Davidson, N.C.:

“I haven’t hung out with him in probably three or four years, but while he was at Davidson his first couple years, we used to play a lot, but I beat him probably eight times and he beat me the last time, and he never called me again.”

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Results from Thursday's second round of match play at the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,075-yard, par-71 Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Round of 32

(Upper Bracket)

1. Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (144) def. Daniel Hillier, New Zealand (137), 5 and 4
2. Mason Overstreet, Kingfisher, Okla. (146) def. Jackson Van Paris, Pinehurst, N.C. (146), 3 and 2
3. Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas (141) def. Raul Pereda, Mexico (144), 2 and 1
4. Devon Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. (145) def. Shintaro Ban, San Jose, Calif. (141), 2 up
5. Isaiah Salinda, South San Francisco, Calif. (144) def. Trevor Phillips, Inman, S.C. (146), 5 and 4
6. Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. (142) def. Davis Chatfield, Attleboro, Mass. (145), 4 and 3
7. Will Gordon, Davidson, N.C. (139) def. Zheng Kai Bai, People's Republic of China (144), 3 and 2
8. William Mouw, Chino, Calif. (146) def. Trent Phillips, Inman, S.C. (143), 20 holes

(Lower Bracket)

1. Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas (137) def. Joshua McCarthy, Danville, Calif. (144), 1 up
2. Zach Murray, Australia (146) def. Clay Feagler, Laguna Niguel, Calif. (146), 3 and 2
3. Alex Fitzpatrick, England (146) def. Jesus Montenegro, Argentina (144), 20 holes
4. McClure Meissner, San Antonio, Texas (145) def. John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. (142), 2 and 1
5. Andrew Alligood, St. Johns, Fla. (138) def. Chun An Yu, Chinese Taipei (144), 2 and 1
6. Austin Squires, Union, Ky. (142) def. Luis Gagne, Costa Rica (146), 19 holes
7. Viktor Hovland, Norway (144) vs. Harrison Ott, Brookfield, Wis. (146), 2 and 1
8. Kristoffer Reitan, Norway (143) vs. Bradford Tilley, Easton, Conn. (146), 2 and 1

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Results from Thursday's third round of match play at the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,075-yard, par-71 Pebble Beach Golf Links.

Round of 16

(Upper Bracket)

1. Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (144) def. Mason Overstreet, Kingfisher, Okla. (146), 21 holes
2. Devon Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. (145) def. Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas (141), 20 holes
3. Isaiah Salinda, South San Francisco, Calif. (144) def. Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. (142), 1 up
4. Will Gordon, Davidson, N.C. (139) def. William Mouw, Chino, Calif. (146), 2 up

(Lower Bracket)

1. Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas (137) def. Zach Murray, Australia (146), 2 and 1
2. Alex Fitzpatrick, England (146) def. McClure Meissner, San Antonio, Texas (145), 19 holes
3. Austin Squires, Union, Ky. (142) def. Andrew Alligood, St. Johns, Fla. (138), 1 up
4. Viktor Hovland, Norway (144) def. Kristoffer Reitan, Norway (143), 7 and 6

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Pairings and tee times for Friday's quarterfinal round of match play at the 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,075-yard, par-71 Pebble Beach Golf Links.

All Times PDT

Quarterfinal Round

(Upper Bracket)

1. 2:30 p.m. - Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (144) vs. Devon Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. (145)
2. 2:45 p.m. - Isaiah Salinda, South San Francisco, Calif. (144) vs. Will Gordon, Davidson, N.C. (139)

(Lower Bracket)

1. 3 p.m. - Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas (137) vs. Alex Fitzpatrick, England (146)
2. 3:15 p.m. - Austin Squires, Union, Ky. (142) vs. Viktor Hovland, Norway (144)

*Quarterfinal round winners advance to the semifinal round of match play on Saturday, beginning at 8 a.m.

Meet the 2018 U.S. Amateur Quarterfinalists

Devon Bling, 18, of Ridgecrest, Calif.

• Born Oct. 9, 1999 in Ridgecrest, Calif.
• No. 302 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 41 seed with rounds of 75-70 in stroke play
• Defeated No. 9 seed Shintaro Ban in the Round of 32 and No. 8 seed Noah Goodwin in the Round of 16
• Competing in his third USGA championship; advanced to match play in the two U.S. Junior Amateurs he played
• Tied for eighth in the NCAA Bryan Regional and tied for 19th in the Pac-12 Conference Championship as a freshman at UCLA in 2017-18
• Selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team
• Posted seven top-20 finishes, including a first-place showing in the Jackrabbit Invitational
• Honourable mention AJGA Rolex All-American
• Three-time league MVP and two-time CIF regional qualifier on the high school level

Alex Fitzpatrick, 19, of England

• Born Jan. 2, 1999 in England
• No. 67 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 58 seed with rounds of 72-74 in stroke play
• Won extra-hole matches in the Round of 32 and Round of 16 to advance to quarterfinals
• Competing in his first USGA championship
• Runner-up to Billy McKenzie in the Spanish International Amateur
• Fourth in the Irish Amateur Open Championship
• Served as caddie for his brother Matthew when he won the 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club, in Brookline, Mass.
• His brother owns four PGA European Tour wins and tied for 12th in the 2018 U.S. Open
• Will attend Wake Forest University in the fall

Will Gordon, 22, of Davidson, N.C.

• Born July 28, 1996 in Davidson, N.C.
• No. 126 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 5 seed with rounds of 69-70 in stroke play
• Defeated William Mouw, 2 up, in the Round of 16
• Competing in his third consecutive U.S. Amateur
• Chosen honourable mention All-American and first-team All-Southeastern Conference as a junior at Vanderbilt University in 2017-18
• Recorded four top-five finishes and was sixth in the Carmel Cup held at Pebble Beach Golf Links
• Second on the team in stroke average (70.89)
• Received All-America and All-SEC recognition as a freshman
• In 2018, he finished third in the Northeast Amateur and fourth in the Pacific Coast Amateur

Cole Hammer, 18, of Houston, Texas

• Born Aug. 28, 1999 in Houston, Texas
• No. 17 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™ 
• Earned No. 2 seed and was co-medalist with rounds of 69-68 in stroke play
• Defeated Zach Murray, of Australia, 2 and 1, in the Round of 16
• Competing his ninth USGA championship and second U.S. Amateur
• Won 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship with partner Garrett Barber
• Advanced to the semifinals in this year’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Baltusrol Golf Club
• Was the third-youngest (age 15) to compete in the U.S. Open when he played at Chambers Bay in 2015
• Won the 2018 Western Amateur when he posted a 1-up decision against Davis Riley
• Won 2018 Azalea Invitational, defeating Hugo Bernard and Joseph Pagdin in a playoff
• Will attend the University of Texas in the fall

Viktor Hovland, 20, of Norway

• Born Sept. 18, 1997 in Norway
• No. 5 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 27 seed with rounds of 71-73 in stroke play
• Defeated Oklahoma State teammate Hayden Wood in the Round of 64 and fellow Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan in the Round of 16
• Helped Oklahoma State capture the 2018 NCAA Championship, tying for 11th as an individual
• Earned first-team All-America and All-Big 12 Conference recognition
• Recorded eight top-10 finishes, including a tie for third in the Big 12 Championship
• Competing in his third USGA championship and second U.S. Amateur
• Runner-up to Luca Cianchetti in the 2016 European Amateur, losing in a seven-hole playoff
• Fired a final-round 65 in the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship to help Norway place fifth, its best-ever finish
• Oklahoma State head coach Alan Bratton is serving as his caddie in the 2018 U.S. Amateur

Davis Riley, 21, of Hattiesburg, Miss.

• Born Dec. 17, 1996 in Hattiesburg, Miss.
• No. 24 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 32 seed with rounds of 74-70 in stroke play
• Defeated No. 1 seed Daniel Hillier, 5 and 4, in the Round of 32 and won his Round-of-16 match in 21 holes
• Competing in his fifth U.S. Amateur and ninth USGA championship
• Runner-up in both the 2013 and 2014 U.S. Junior Amateurs
• Chosen third-team All-American and first-team All-Southeastern Conference as a junior in 2017-18
• Helped Alabama to a 2018 NCAA runner-up finish and tied for 29th individually
• Runner-up to Cole Hammer in the 2018 Western Amateur
• Tied for seventh in the Pacific Coast Amateur at The Olympic Club (Lake Course)

Isaiah Salinda, 21, of South San Francisco, Calif.

• Born March 13, 1997 in San Francisco, Calif.
• No. 73 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 29 seed with rounds of 68-76 in stroke play
• Defeated 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Stewart Hagestad, 1 up, in the Round of 16
• Competing in his first USGA championship
• Chosen honourable mention All-American and All-Pac-12 Conference as a junior at Stanford University in 2017-18
• Tied for 15th in the NCAA Championship and tied for 23rd in the NCAA Pacific Regional
• Won the 2018 Pacific Coast Amateur by one stroke over Austin Eckroat when he shot 12-under 272 at The Olympic Club (Lake Course)
• Shot his lowest competitive round (64) in this year’s Trans-Mississippi Amateur

Austin Squires, 21, of Union, Ky.

• Born May 1, 1997 in Union, Ky.
• No. 148 in World Amateur Golf Ranking™
• Earned No. 14 seed with rounds of 70-72 in stroke play
• Defeated Luis Gagne, in 19 holes, in the Round of 32 and No. 3 seed Andrew Alligood in the Round of 16
• Competing in his third USGA championship and second U.S. Amateur
• Earned All-American Athletic Conference honours and posted seven top-20 finishes as a junior at the University of Cincinnati
• In 2017, he was chosen American Athletic Conference Player of the Year and advanced to the NCAA West Lafayette Regional
• His UC Bearcats head coach Doug Martin won the 1984 U.S. Junior Amateur
• Tied for sixth in this year’s Northeast Amateur and tied for 11th in the Sunnehanna Amateur

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