August 13, 2014

Schniederjans, Andrews Advance at U.S. Amateur

Aug. 13, 2014

Video interviews from Wednesday: Bo Andrews | Seth Reeves | Ollie Schniederjans
Related links: Complete results | Photo gallery

Johns Creek, Ga. – Ollie Schniederjans and Bo Andrews rolled to easy victories Wednesday in the opening round of match play at the 114th United States Amateur Championship, while Georgia Tech teammate Seth Reeves fell 1-up in his match at the Atlanta Athletic Club.

The world’s No. 1-ranked amateur, Schniederjans closed out Matt Teesdale, a senior at Temple, on the 14th hole for a 6 and 5 victory, while Andrews, a member at the Atlanta Athletic Club and a 2014 Tech graduate, rolled to a 5 and 4 win over Atlanta’s Chris Waters after dropping the first two holes of their match.

Schniederjans, a rising Tech senior, moved on to face Sam Burns, a rising high school senior from Shreveport, La., at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday. Andrews faces a second-round match at 9:35 a.m. against Oklahoma State sophomore Zachary Olsen. That is a rematch of their contest in the opening round of the NCAA Championship in May, when Olsen eked out a 1-up victory.

Wednesday will be a 36-hole day for the winning players. Second-round matches begin at 7:45 a.m., followed by round of 16 matches beginning at 1:30 p.m.

Schniederjans started quickly, making birdie at No. 1 and par at 2 to take a 2-hole lead and never looked back. He extended his lead to 3-up with a par at No. 7, then stuck his approach to within two feet at No. 9 to go 4-up. The Powder Springs, Ga., native went 5-up with a par at No. 10 after Teesdale flew the green on his second shot.

Schniederjans only hiccup came at the par-4 11th, when his second shot caught the wind and bounced into the water behind the green. Up 4 now, Schniederjans birdied the 12th while Teesdale found trouble off the tee and on his second shot, then parred the 13th to close out the match when Teesdale flew his approach beyond the green.

“Obviously I’m ecstatic to be done for the day and have some time to rest for the long day tomorrow,” said Schneiderjans, who won his first U.S. Amateur match after losing in the first round at Cherry Hills in 2012. “I’ve struggled to get to match play and then to win the first match, so this is the furthest I’ve gone already in one of these. I’m excited to get that out of the way. I have played some match play this year between NCAAs and the Palmer Cup, so I had some nice experience and I feel so much more comfortable playing match play now than I ever have, and especially on this course. Today couldn’t have gone any better.”

After bogeys at 1 and 2, Andrews rallied to square the match when Waters bogeyed 3 and 4. A birdie at the par-5 fifth gave Andrews the lead, which he held until he bogeyed the ninth. The Raleigh, N.C., native won the next five holes with pars to finish the match at the 14th.

“I’m just trying to take advantage of having that advantage and make use of it,” said Andrews, who has played the 7,490-yard, par 71 Highlands Course 10 times since becoming a member earlier this summer. “I think it’s great because you get to see different winds, kind of prepared and played as much as I could, being a member. Today the wind picked up, and I think that was nice because I’ve seen that wind and I know how hard some of the holes can play and kind of told myself that pars are going to be pretty good.”

Reeves, a May graduate of Georgia Tech, saw his amateur career come to a close. He fell behind by three holes through seven and was never able to even the match, closing to within one on the 16th hole before halving the last two. The match was his last competition as an amateur player for the Duluth, Ga., native, who will compete in mini-tour events and attempt to enter PGA Tour qualifying school later this year.

NOTES

Schniederjans’ victory Wednesday gives him a 5-1-1 record in match play competition this year, including a 3-1 record at the Palmer Cup. Andrews is 1-2-1 following his victory Wednesday.

Both co-medalists from stroke play lost their first-round matches Wednesday. Lee McCoy of Clarksville, Ga., fell 1-up to Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., while Taylor Moore of Edmond, Okla., dropped a 3 and 2 decision to Jess Heinly of Bend, Ore. The fourth seed, Jimmy Beck of Columbus, Ga., also lost, 1-up to Garrett Rank of Canada. No. 3 seed Cheng-Tsung Pan is the highest seed remaining after he defeated Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners, Ga., 4 and 2.

Schniederjans and Andrews are attempting to join a select group of U.S. Amateur winners from Georgia Tech. Matt Kuchar, a 2000 Tech graduate and a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, was a rising sophomore at Georgia Tech when he won the 1997 title at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in 1997. The legendary Bobby Jones, who was a member and served as president of the Atlanta Athletic Club, won five U.S. Amateur titles (1924, 1925, 1927, 1928, 1930).

Tickets are $20 for a single-day grounds pass. Other passes and packages are available online. Golf Channel will provide coverage of of match play through Friday, and NBC will air coverage of the semi-finals Saturday and championship match Sunday.

ROUND OF 16 PAIRINGS FOR TECH

8:45 a.m. – Ollie Schniederjans vs. Sam Burns (Shreveport, La.)
9:35 a.m. – Bo Andrews vs. Zachary Olsen (Cordova, Tenn.)

TECH PLAYERS IN U.S. AMATEUR MATCH PLAY

Bo Andrews – 2014, defeated Chris Waters (Atlanta, Ga.), 5 & 4; 2013, lost to Gavin Hall (Pittsford, N.Y.), 2 & 1
Ollie Schniederjans – 2014, defeated Matt Teesdale (Maple Glen, Pa.), 6 & 5; 2012, lost to Adam Schenck (Vincennes, Ind.), 2 & 1

REMAINING SCHEDULE OF PLAY

Thursday, Aug. 14: Second and third rounds of match play on Highlands Course (TV: Golf Channel, 6:30-8:30 p.m.)
Friday, Aug. 15: Quarterfinal round of match play on Highlands Course (TV: Golf Channel, 8:30-10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 16: Semifinal round of match play on Highlands Course (TV: NBC, 4-6 p.m.)
Sunday, Aug. 17: Championship match (36 holes) on Highlands Course (TV: NBC, 4-6 p.m.)

ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF

Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 20th year under head coach Bruce Heppler. The Yellow Jackets have won 15 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 27 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). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.