Wolfes Moves on at U.S. Amateur Championship with Comeback Victory
8/14/2013 5:38:00 PM | Men's Golf
BROOKLINE, Mass. – Georgia Southern golfer Scott Wolfes erased a two-hole deficit on the back nine at The Country Club to post a 2-and-1 victory over Mario Clemens and advance to the round of 32 in match play at the 113th U.S. Amateur Championship Wednesday afternoon.
He will face 19th-seeded Xander Schauffele, a junior on the San Diego State golf team, Thursday at 9:40 a.m. with an appearance in Friday's quarterfinals on the line. The Golf Channel will provide TV coverage from noon-2 p.m.
Wolfes, the 14th seed, won four straight holes to turn a two-hole deficit into a 2-up advantage against Clemens. The stretch began on the par-4 10th hole as Wolfes posted three straight pars on 10, 11 and 12, while Clemens went double bogey, bogey, bogey. Wolfes capped the stretch with a birdie on 13 to go 2 up.
"I was just staying patient and hoping he would make a mistake, and it paid off in that stretch," said Wolfes. "I'm pretty confident in the way I've been playing, and I just try to approach it one hole at a time."
Clemens parred 14 to trim the margin in half after Wolfes notched a seven, but the junior recovered nicely, parring 15 and 16. Clemens bogeyed 16 as the lead went back to 2 up, and both players parred 17 to end the match.
"That was just a tough hole," Wolfes said about his triple bogey on 14. "I'm just glad it's match play today."
Wolfes got off to a shaky start, bogeying holes 2 and 4 as Clemens, who won the Mexican Amateur Championship in June, opened a quick 2-up cushion. Both players posted par on the next four holes, and the duo bogeyed hole 9 as Clemens made the turn with a 2-up cushion.
Schauffele topped Richard Hearden III 2-and-1 by winning two of the last three holes in the match.
Wolfes advanced to match play with the help of a 67 in Tuesday's stroke-play round at The Country Club. It was the lowest score on The Country Club course Tuesday and one of just four scores under par. The top 64 players from the two rounds of stroke play advanced to match play and were seeded based on their standing.
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.
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.
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