Attempting to qualify for the U.S. Amateur is no small matter any year. But this summer, the carrot for success is even bigger.
Having Pebble Beach Golf Links in the Monterey area of California serve as host will do that. And Spyglass Hill as the second stroke-play course isn’t bad either.
Pebble Beach GL, which will be home to the 2019 U.S. Open, will do the honors for the U.S. Am Aug. 13-19.
Two qualifying tournaments in Colorado will fill six spots in the 312-man international field. Fort Collins Country Club (on Monday, July 2) and Columbine Country Club in Columbine Valley (July 16) will hold 36-hole qualifiers, with the top three finishers at each site earning trips to “Pebble”. The qualifying fields number 83 at Fort Collins and 84 at Columbine.
Three golfers who qualified for the 2017 U.S. Am will be back hoping for a return trip: Colorado State University players AJ Ott and Jake Staiano, along with the University of Northern Colorado’s Li Chen — all of whom are in the field at Fort Collins CC.
Ott, winner of the CGA Match Play last week, finished a stroke out of a playoff for the final match play spots at last year’s U.S. Am. Staiano also went to the U.S. Amateur in 2015. Chen was the medalist in qualifying at Fort Collins CC last year.
Two former CGA Players of the Year will be competing in Fort Collins: Staiano (2017) and Kyler Dunkle (2016). Another, Michael Harrington (2014), will be at Columbine.
Among the others competing Monday will be 2017 CGA Match Play champ Chris Korte, 2018 Match Play runner-up Ross Macdonald; 2017 Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado Boys Player of the Year Davis Bryant, who was first alternate in U.S. Am qualifying in Fort Collins last year; 2016 CGA Amateur winner Colin Prater; and Hunter Paugh, who won a 5A state high school title at Fort Collins CC.
The competitors at Columbine, in addition to Harrington, will include three-time CGA Mid-Amateur champion Jon Lindstrom, two-time U.S. Open Sectional qualifier Josh Seiple and 2012 CGA Match Play champion Brian Dorfman.
For tee times at Fort Collins CC, CLICK HERE.
For tee times at Columbine CC, CLICK HERE.
