Aug. 12, 2014
Video interviews from Tuesday: Bo Andrews | Seth Reeves | Photo gallery | Match play bracket and stroke play results
Johns Creek, Ga. – Ollie Schniederjans easily advanced to match play following a 3-under-par 69 Tuesday at the 114th United States Amateur Championship, while Georgia Tech teammates Bo Andrews and Seth Reeves played well enough to make the cut and avoid a playoff for the final spots in the bracket at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
Following a playoff to determine the final four participants in the 64-player bracket, the first round of match play begins at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning on the 7,490-yard, par 71 Highlands Course, which has hosted three PGA Championships and a U.S. Open. Final pairings will be determined following the playoff, which fell at 2-over-par and includes 17 players for four spots. That begins at 8 a.m. on the 7,381-yard, par 72 Riverside Course.
Schniederjans takes on Matt Teesdale of Maple Glen, Pa., at 10:50 a.m., while Reeves faces Gunn Yang of Korea at 11:10 a.m., and Andrews plays Chris Waters of Atlanta at 12:10 p.m.
All six rounds of match play will be contested on the Highlands Course, culminating in the 36-hole final Sunday.
Related stories:
Schniederjans at end of a stunning summer
Andrews gets off to strong start at club he now calls home (USGA)
Tech’s Schniederjans makes it through at U.S. Amateur (AJC)
Schniederjans admits to pressure at U.S. Amateur (Golfweek)
Schniederjans, the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur player, finished 36 holes with a 1-under-par total of 142 and tied for 24th place, reaching the match play bracket for the second time in three years. Andrews, who shot 2-over-par 73 on the Highlands Course Tuesday, and Reeves, with an even-par 72 on the Riverside Course, tied for 43rd place at 1-over-par 144. Both players advanced to match play for the second straight year after having done so last August at the Country Club at Brookline (Mass.).
None of the three Yellow Jackets came home breathing easily, especially Andrews and Reeves, who had to wait until all the scores were posted to ensure they were clear of the playoff.
Andrews, who shot 1-under-par 71 at Riverside Monday, played the back nine (his opening nine) on the Highlands Course Tuesday even. The 2014 Tech graduate bogeyed 2, 3 and 5 on his back nine before posting birdie at the par-4 sixth and then finishing with three straight pars.
Reeves, who shot 72 on the Highlands Course Monday, started on the back nine on Riverside and played it 1-under-par with birdies on both par-3s. When he birdied the par-4 first hole to begin his back nine, he was 2-under for the day. But a bogey at the par-5 third and the par-4 seventh after errant tee shots left the Tech graduate needing to par his final two holes to stay at level par. He did that easily at the par-3 eighth hole, but on the ninth, his finishing hole, he put his tee shot in the left-hand fairway bunker, leaving him unable to reach the green in two. After pitching out, he stuck his approach within a foot of the pin and tapped in for par.
Schniederjans was steady in the early going of his round on Riverside, making birdies at 2 and 6 before posting a bogey at 7. With a 1-under score at the turn, he reeled off four straight birdies at 10, 11, 12 and 13, making short putts on each to get to 5-under-par for the round and some breathing room in the championship at 3-under.
But the Powder Springs, Ga., native also made things interesting coming home. At the par-4 16th, he hit his drive left behind a tree and missed a short putt for bogey. At the par-3 17th, he put his tee shot within 12 feet of the pin and then three-putted for another bogey. At the par-5 18th, his second shot came to rest in a sand-filled divot, forcing him to play a safe shot away from the pond fronting the green. His lag putt came to rest inches from the cup for a closing par.
The three Yellow Jackets will attempt 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 the first three days of match play Wednesday through Friday, and NBC will air coverage of the semi-finals Saturday and championship match Sunday.
TECH PLAYERS IN U.S. AMATEUR MATCH PLAY
Bo Andrews – 2013, lost to Gavin Hall (Pittsford, N.Y.), 2 & 1
Seth Reeves – 2013, defeated Jordan Niebrugge (Mequon, Wis.), 1-up, lost to Brady Watt (Australia), 3 & 2
Ollie Schniederjans – 2012, lost to Adam Schenck (Vincennes, Ind.), 2 & 1
SCHEDULE OF PLAY
Wednesday, Aug. 13: First round of match play on Highlands Course, 9 a.m. (TV: Golf Channel, 4-6 p.m.)
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.
