August 14, 2018

Strafaci Reaches Match Play at U.S. Amateur

Pebble Beach, Calif. – Georgia Tech junior Tyler Strafaci fired a 1-over-par 72 Tuesday at Pebble Beach Golf Links to finish 36 holes of stroke play at even-par 143, finishing safely among the top 64 golfers advancing to match play at the 118^th U.S. Amateur Championship at in Pebble Beach, Calif.

Strafaci, a native of Davie, Fla., ranked 65^th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, opened the championship Monday with a 1-under-par 71 at Spyglass Hill Golf Course to put himself solidly in position to advance. Despite an up-and-down second nine Tuesday at Pebble Beach, which included an eagle, a birdie, three bogeys and a double bogey, Strafaci carded a hard-earned 72 and finished stroke play in a tie for 19^th place.

Tech’s other two golfers in the field, junior Andy Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.) and sophomore Noah Norton (Chico, Calif.), failed to advance after posting 36-hole scores of 149 (+6), tying for 109^th place in the 312-player field. The cut came at 4-over-par, with 24 players tied at that number. Those 24 will play off for the final spot in the 64-player match play bracket Wednesday morning.

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Continuing an excellent summer in which he qualified for the U.S. Open, reached the semifinals of match play at the Western Amateur and posted top-10 finishes at the Porter Cup and the Players Amateur, Strafaci will aim to surpass the round of 32, where he fell last year to Mark Lawrence of Virginia Tech on the final hole. The All-Atlantic Coast Conference honoree will be chasing a title won five times by Georgia Tech’s legendary Bobby Jones (1924 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), and most recently by Matt Kuchar (1997).

The round of 64 in the match play portion of the championship will commence following the playoff Wednesday morning. The rounds of 32 and 16 take place Thursday, with quarterfinal matches Friday, semifinal matches Saturday and the 36-hole championship match on Sunday. All matches will take place at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

FS1 will provide television coverage Wednesday through Friday, with the Fox network taking over coverage of the semifinals and finals Saturday and Sunday. The USGA will provide live streaming of early round of 32 matches and the early portion of the championship match before Fox comes on the air.

U.S. Amateur Schedule of Competition

Wednesday, Aug. 15: First round, match play

Thursday, Aug. 16: Second and third rounds, match play

Friday, Aug. 17: Quarterfinal round, match play

Saturday, Aug. 18: Semifinal round, match play

Sunday, Aug. 19: Championship match (36 holes)

Television Coverage

Fox and FS1 will air coverage of the match-play portion of the competition from Aug. 15-19.

Date / Network / Broadcast Hours (Local/PDT)

Aug. 15 / FS1 / Round-of-64 matches, 2-5 p.m.

Aug. 16 / FS1 / Rounds-of-32 and 16 matches, 4-7 p.m.

Aug. 17 / FS1 / Quarterfinal matches, 4-7 p.m.