Wolfes Shoots 67, Advances to Match Play at U.S. Amateur Championship
8/13/2013 9:18:00 PM | Men's Golf
BROOKLINE, Mass. – Georgia Southern golfer Scott Wolfes fired a 67 on the The Country Club Course in the second round of the U.S. Amateur Championship to tie for ninth and earn a spot in match play Wednesday.
Wolfes' 67 was the lowest on The Country Club course today and one of just four scores under par.
"I hit a lot of good shots today and when I was in trouble, I played smart and stayed patient," said Wolfes.
The top 64 players from two rounds of stroke play advanced to match play and are seeded based on their standing. Wolfes finished stroke play 1-under (139) and will tee off tomorrow at 11 a.m. at The Country Club. His opponent will be determined after a playoff tomorrow at 7 a.m. The Golf Channel will provide TV coverage from 3-5 p.m.
The junior finished his second round with a flurry, birdieing the final two holes of the day. He was 3-under par on the back nine and 2-under on his final four holes.
"I knew where I was in the standings at that point and just kept the same mentality," he said.
Wolfes played his first six holes at one-under and finished the front nine bogey, birdy, bogey. He birdied 10 and 13, a par-4, 446-yard hole. A bogey on the par-4, 507-yard 14th hole left him at 1-under, setting the stage for his strong finish.
Wolfes has a positive history with match play in a tournament of this magnitude. He advanced to match play in the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur, a similar national tournament also hosted by the USGA.
He made it to the quarterfinals (round of 8) before falling 2-and-1 to Justin Thomas, who went on to finish second in the tournament. A junior at University of Alabama, Thomas won the Schenkel Invitational, Georgia Southern's home tournament, last spring.
"It's great experience to have under my belt," Wolfes said. "I'm excited to get started tomorrow."
Along with the prestigious Havemeyer Trophy, among the spoils for the winner of the U.S. Amateur is an exemption from local and sectional qualifying for the next U.S. Open, an exemption from qualifying for the next 10 U.S. Amateurs, an exemption from qualifying for the next British Open Championship and a likely invitation to the next Masters Tournament.
Wolfes advanced to the U.S. Amateur Championship by surviving a five-hole playoff in qualifying, sinking a 20-foot putt for birdie on hole 18 at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course in July to take the fifth and final qualifying spot. He is the first Georgia Southern player to compete in the U.S. Amateur since 2008.
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