Strafaci Moves on to Round of 16 at U.S. AmateurStrafaci Moves on to Round of 16 at U.S. Amateur
Men's Golf

Strafaci Moves on to Round of 16 at U.S. Amateur

Strafaci facing Arkansas' Oliva Pinto in round of 16, Norton falls to Osborne in round of 32

U.S. Amateur official site  |  Scoring/Match Play Bracket

Bandon, Ore. – Georgia Tech’s Tyler Strafaci has reached the round of 16 for the first time at the United States Amateur Championship, while teammate Noah Norton bowed out in the round of 32 Thursday morning at the 120th playing of the U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes.

Strafaci, seeded No. 41 in the match play bracket, has made his deepest run in his four U.S. Amateur appearances after earning a 2 and 1 victory over Arkansas junior Julian Perico Thursday morning, rallying from a 2-hole deficit over the last six holes. The Davie, Fla., senior played from behind from the start when he double-bogeyed the first hole, and fell two holes in arrears when the 9th-seeded Peruvian birdied the 10th hole. But Strafaci rebounded to win the next three holes for a 1-up lead, getting a birdie at the par-4 11th, par at the par-3 12th and an eagle at the par-5 13th. He slipped back into a tie when he bogeyed 15, but finished off Perico with birdies at 16 and 17.

He moved on to face another Arkansas Razorback, Argentian Segundo Oliva Pinto, in the afternoon round of 16.

Norton, seeded No. 59 and advanced to the round of 32 after defeating 6th-seeded David Ford Wednesday, fell behind early in his match with No. 27 seed Charles Osborne of Reno, Nev., and was eliminated, 2 and 1. The Tech senior from Chico, Calif., fell three holes behind through the first eight holes, battled back to get within a hole twice on the second nine, but came up short against the SMU junior.

Norton, 21, has competed in three previous U.S. Amateurs and reached match play in two. Norton also qualified for the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach and has reached match play in two U.S. Junior Amateurs. Norton, a rising senior at Georgia Tech, is ranked No. 60 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. He is a two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) selection and won the Patriot All-America Invitational last December. He finished runner-up to Cooper Dossey in the 2019 North & South Amateur and was the 2017 California State Amateur runner-up.

Strafaci, 22, won the 2020 North & South Amateur on July 4, defeating William Holcomb V, 3 and 1, in the final. Strafaci, who competed in the 2018 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills and two U.S. Junior Amateurs, has played in three previous U.S. Amateurs and reached match play twice. Ranked No. 51 in the world, Strafaci also won the Palmetto Amateur this summer, a week after his North & South triumph. He will return to Georgia Tech for a fifth year in 2020-21 and is a three-time All-East Region and two-time All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) performer.

Norton and Strafaci are chasing a title won five times by Georgia Tech’s legendary Bobby Jones (1924 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930), by Matt Kuchar in 1997 and last year by Ogletree.

Because of the Covid-19 outbreak, all qualifying events for the U.S. Amateur were cancelled, and the 264-player field (down from the normal 312) was established using a set of exemption categories, expanded use of the World Amateur Golf Ranking and finishes in recent United States Golf Association championships.

U.S. AMATEUR SCHEDULE OF COMPETITION (TV/streaming coverage, times Eastern)

  • Thursday, Aug. 13: Rounds of 32 and 16 matches (6-7 p.m. Peacock, 7-9 p.m. Golf Channel)
  • Friday, Aug. 14: Quarterfinal matches (6-7 p.m. Peacock, 7-9 p.m. Golf Channel)
  • Saturday, Aug. 15: Semifinal matches (7-10 p.m. Golf Channel)
  • Sunday, Aug. 16: Championship match (7-10 p.m. Golf Channel)

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