ATLANTA (August 19) — Georgia Tech junior Bryce Molder (Conway, Ark.) had his run in the 99th U.S. Amateur Golf Championship stopped in the third round of match play by James Oh (Lakewood, Calif.), who won on the fifth hole of sudden death Thursday evening. The 1999 championship is being played at the par 71, 6,828-yard Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, Calif.
Oh, the youngest competitor in the field at age 17, rallied to keep the match alive by winning the 18th hole. Molder had gone 2-Up in the match after winning No. 14, but Oh won on No. 16 to get back into contention. The pair played even through the first four playoff holes, and Molder pushed his tee shot on the par 3, 196-yard fifth hole into the rough and missed a long par putt to surrender the match.
In the second round to start the day, Molder came through with some late heroics to defeat Gary Mankulish, Jr., of Laurel, Md., and the University of Maryland. After trailing 2-down with two holes to play, Molder won Nos. 17 and 18 to push the match to sudden death. He took the victory on the third playoff hole after sinking a nine foot par putt.
Molder, a two-time first team all-America, is now 5-2 in U.S. Amateur match play over the last two years. He is a candidatefor one of the five remaining Walker Cup team spots, which will be announced at the conclusion of the tournament.
