Aug. 16, 2015
THE FLATS – Returning players Vincent Whaley and Chris Petefish and incoming freshman Tye Waller are among 312 players who will begin two rounds of stroke play Monday in the 115th United States Amateur Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.
A field of 312 players will play 18 holes of stroke play on Aug. 17 and 18, one round on each of the two qualifying courses (North and South), after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play on the South course. Six rounds of match play begin on Aug. 19 and the championship concludes with a 36-hole championship match on Aug. 23.
The Tech trio will attempt to become the first Yellow Jackets to claim the Havemeyer Trophy since Matt Kuchar in 1997 at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Ill. The legendary Bobby Jones won the U.S. Amateur five times between 1924 and 1930.
Whaley, a junior from McKinney, Texas, and Petefish, a sophomore from Danville, Calif., represent the two leading returning players for the Yellow Jackets, who won the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and finished ninth in the NCAA Championship last spring. Waller, from Griffin, Ga., was the No. 55-ranked junior player in the United States and No. 6 in Georgia.
Whaley was the co-medalist at the Robert Kepler Invitational in the spring, and was Tech’s top finisher at the NCAA Championship. He has gone on to twice finish in the top 10 and earn a tie for 12th in leading amateur events this summer. Petefish had one top-10 finish and the Jackets’ third-best stroke average (72.38) over 10 events as a freshman. He tied for ninth at the Players Amateur and 23rd at the Pacific Coast Amateur this summer.
Sectional qualifying for the U.S. Amateur was conducted at 97 sites nationwide. Whaley finished fourth in the qualifier at the Capital City Club Crabapple Course to earn his spot, while Waller tied for second at the Golf Club of Georgia, and Petefish tied for third and won a playoff in Seaside, Calif.
Related items:
Whaley finding consistency, success this summer
2015 Amateur Results for Georgia Tech
2015 U.S. Amateur Championship facts
SCHEDULE OF PLAY (WITH TELEVISION BROADCAST TIMES)
Monday, Aug. 17: First round of stroke-play qualifying (18 holes)
Tuesday, Aug. 18: Second round of stroke-play qualifying (18 holes)
Wednesday, Aug. 19: First round of match play [Fox Sports 1, 2-5 p.m.]
Thursday, Aug. 20: Second and third rounds of match play [Fox Sports 1, 2-5 p.m.]
Friday, Aug. 21: Quarterfinal round of match play [Fox Sports 1, 2-5 p.m.]
Saturday, Aug. 22: Semifinal round of match play [Fox, 2-5 p.m.]
Sunday, Aug. 23: Championship match (36 holes) [Fox, 2-5 p.m.]
PAIRINGS AND TEE TIMES FOR STROKE PLAY
Monday (Aug. 17), North Course, hole #1 / Tuesday (Aug. 18), South Course, hole #10 12:30 p.m. / 7:30 a.m. – Vincent Whaley, Fayetteville, Ga.; Derek Bard, New Hartford, N.Y.; Joseph Winslow, Tampa, Fla.
Monday (Aug. 17), South Course, hole #10 / Tuesday (Aug. 18), North Course, hole #1 8:40 a.m. / 1:40 p.m. – Hunter Stewart, Nicholasville, Ky.; Chris Petefish, Danville, Calif.; Eric Banks, Canada Monday (Aug. 17), South Course, hole #10 / Tuesday (Aug. 18), North Course, hole #1 12:10 p.m. / 7:10 a.m. – Tye Waller, Griffin, Ga.; Ross Kronberg, Norwalk, Conn.; Stoney Crouch, Mount Juliet, Tenn.
