Aug. 17, 2017
Pacific Palisades, Calif. – Georgia Tech freshman Noah Norton became the first Yellow Jacket to reach the round of 16 since 2014, but his run came to an end there Thursday afternoon, while sophomore Tyler Strafaci fell in the round of 32 at the 117th U.S. Amateur Championship at Riviera Country Club.
U.S. Amateur scores and pairings
Norton, a Chico, Calif., native ranked 140th in the World Amateur Golf rankings, was eliminated 4 and 3, by Theo Humphrey of Greenwich, Conn. The senior at Vanderbilt, ranked No. 42 in the world, opened a three-hole lead after six holes. Norton won three of the next five holes, getting birdies and 9 and 11 to close within a hole, but faltered after that with a pair of double bogeys that allowed Humphrey to close out the match on the 15th.
Norton became the first Tech player since Ollie Schniederjans in 2014 to reach the round of 16.
In the round of 32 earlier in the day, Norton (Chico, Calif.) was able to get by Cole Madey of West Linn, Ore., a junior at UCLA, 2 and 1. The match went back and forth with neither player getting ahead by more than one hole, and stood all square through 14, but Norton won the next two holes with pars to close it out.
Strafaci (Davie, Fla.) dug himself a big hole early, losing five of the first six holes to Virginia Tech senior Mark Lawrence. But the Yellow Jacket sophomore mounted a charge and won six of the next eight holes, pulling ahead 1-up through 15. After halving at 16, Strafaci bogeyed the par-5 17th to square the match. On 18, both players hit good tee shots, but Lawrence stuck his approach within two feet of the pin. Strafaci hit his second shot to 10 feet but missed his birdie chance, and Lawrence holed his birdie putt to win the match.
The U.S. Amateur continues with quarterfinal matches Friday, followed by semifinal matches Saturday and the 36-hole championship match Sunday.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is entering its 23rd under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 16 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GT_Golf) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
