Stewart appeared to be on his way to advancing to match play 10 holes into his second round of the stroke-play portion of the championship at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J. At 1 over par for the day and 4 over par for the tournament, he was well inside the top 64, which is the number of players that would make match play.

Then the rain came and a long weather delay ensued (see USGA photo), and when Stewart resumed his round, things went awry. The 2018 AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior champion bogeyed four times in a five-hole stretch starting at No. 11 on the Upper Course and ended up missing the cut by one.

Stewart shot a 5-over-par 76 on Tuesday, giving him an 8-over 149 total, which left him in 70th place. The golfers at 148 ended up playing off for the final match play berths. Stewart finished the day with two birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey.

Also falling short of advancing to match play on Tuesday was the other Coloradan in the field, Christopher Kennedy of Aurora, who finished at 155 and in 119th place after rounds of 76-79. Kennedy played his final 10 holes of the championship in even-par.

Here are the scores for the Coloradans who competed this week:

Failed to Make Match Play
70. Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 73-76–149
“¨119. Christopher Kennedy, Aurora 76-79–155″¨

For all the scores from Baltusrol, CLICK HERE.
 

Stewart, the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior champion, stands in 51st place out of the 156-golfer field at historic Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.

The top 64 players after Tuesday’s second stroke play round will move to match play starting on Wednesday.

Stewart (pictured) was 5 over par after 10 holes on the Lower Course — having made three bogeys and a double bogey — but rallied down the stretch, playing his final eight holes in 2 under. He birdied the 14th and 17th holes.

Meanwhile, the other Coloradan in the field, Christopher Kennedy of Aurora, opened with a 76 on Monday, which put him in 101st place. He made two birdies — both on par-3s — in addition to four bogeys and two double bogeys.

Kelly Chinn of Great Falls, Va., and Australian Karl Vilips were the stroke play co-leaders after matching 66s on Monday.

Here are the scores for the Coloradans competing:

Dillon Stewart, Fort Collins 73″¨
Christopher Kennedy, Aurora 76″¨

For all the scores from Baltusrol, CLICK HERE.
 

But with the change, one Coloradan will have the opportunity for No. 3 this year.

Davis Bryant of Aurora, who has won the last four Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors in which he’s competed, has qualified for the 2015 and ’17 U.S. Junior Ams. And he can add one last one next week before he starts his college golf career at Colorado State University in the fall. Bryant went to 21 holes in the match play round of 64 at last year’s Junior Am.

Buffalo Run Golf Course in Commerce City will host the 18-hole U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying on Tuesday (June 26), with 79 competitors vying for three spots in the national championship. Baltusrol in Springfield, N.J., a major championship venue many times in the past, will be the site for the national event July 16-21.

Also trying to earn a return trip to the U.S. Junior Amateur on Tuesday will be TJ Shehee of Mead, who advanced last year.

Likewise in the field at Buffalo Run will be Dillon Stewart of Fort Collins, who won the AJGA Hale Irwin Colorado Junior early this month; Cal McCoy of Highlands Ranch, who captured the title earlier this week in the JGAC Tour event at Black Bear Golf Club in Parker; U.S. Open Sectional qualifier Jack Castiglia of Lakewood; and 3A state high school runner-up Walker Franklin of Broomfield.

For Tuesday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.

The University of Denver signee made an eagle and two birdies in his first five holes and was 2 up in his round of 32 match on Thursday morning at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan. And he was still 2 up through eight holes on 12th-seeded Aman Gupta of Charlotte, N.C.

But that’s when things went awry for Solem (pictured) in a match that Gupta eventually won 2 and 1, ending the Coloradan’s run in arguably the most prestigious junior championship in the world.

Gupta won four straight holes (9-12) with pars as Solem went double bogey, bogey, bogey, bogey. Solem rebounded a bit with a birdie at No. 13, leaving him 1 down, but Gupta won No. 15 with a par then halved 16 and 17 with pars to end the match. In fact, Gupta parred the last 10 holes against Solem. (July 21 Update: Gupta ended up going to the quarterfinals before losing.)

Despite the defeat, Solem ended up advancing further in match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur than any Coloradan had since Wyndham Clark made the round of 16 in 2009.

And with Davis Bryant of Aurora making the round of 64, this year was the first time since 2013 that two Coloradans earned spots in the match-play bracket at this championship.

Here are the stroke-play scores for all the Coloradans who competed this week:ӬӬ

Made Match Play
“¨39. Jackson Solem, Longmont 75-69–144 (lost in round of 32)
“¨47. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-74–145 (lost in round of 64)
ҬFailed to Advance to Match Play
“¨127. TJ Shehee, Mead 78-80–158

For all the results from the Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.

The former 4A state high school champion, playing in his first USGA championship, on Wednesday became the first Coloradan to win a match at the U.S. Junior Am since Wyndham Clark went to the round of 16 in 2009. Clark, the 2017 Pac-12 Conference champion, has competed in three PGA Tour events since turning pro last month.

Solem (pictured), a University of Denver signee, scored a 5 and 3 victory over another Jackson, Jackson Suber of Tampa, Fla., in the round of 64 Wednesday at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan. The other Coloradan who made match play, Davis Bryant of Aurora, went 21 holes Tuesday, but lost to South Korean Won Jun Lee, who’s competing in his fourth U.S. Junior Am.

Solem was 1 down after five holes, but never trailed after winning No. 6 with a par. Starting on No. 9, Solem won five of seven holes to close out the match. Overall on Wednesday, he finished 1 under par for 15 holes, making three birdies and a double bogey.

In Thursday morning’s round of 32, Solem will face 12th-seeded Aman Gupta of Charlotte, N.C., a 2 and 1 winner over Canadian James Song on Wednesday.

Should Solem advance to the round of 16 on Thursday afternoon, FS1 will be televising some of those matches beginning at 1:30 p.m. (MT).

Solem had qualified for the CoBank Colorado Open, which starts on Thursday, but had to withdraw with the conflict.

In Bryant’s case, as the USGA noted in its pre-tournament biographies, the Coloradan has been a scrapper since birth. After all, he was born 14 weeks premature, weighed 26 ounces at birth and didn’t go home from the hospital until he was 105 days old.

On Wednesday in the round of 64, that scrappiness came to the forefront again as Bryant had a tough draw for his opening match at the Junior Am. Competing against Lee, who has made match play in four U.S. Junior Amateurs and has advanced to the semifinals (2015) and quarterfinals (2016), Bryant rallied from being 2 down and took Lee to 21 holes. The Korean birdied that third extra hole for the victory.

Bryant, winner of the first two majors of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado season, never led on Wednesday. He was 2 down after Lee birdied two of the first three holes and 2 down again after 13 holes. But the future Colorado State University golfer squared the match with a par on the ninth hole and a par on the 18th hole.

In extra holes in his second U.S. Junior appearance, Bryant went par-bogey-par, while Lee went par-bogey-birdie.

For the match, Bryant was 2 over par, having made one birdie and three bogeys.

Here are the stroke-play scores for all the Coloradans competing this week:

Made Match Play
39. Jackson Solem, Longmont 75-69–144 (advances to round of 32)
47. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-74–145 (lost in round of 64)
Failed to Advance to Match Play
127. TJ Shehee, Mead 78-80–158

For all the results from the Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Two junior golfers from Colorado ended up advancing to the 64-golfer match play bracket, marking the first time that’s happened since Josh Seiple and Spencer Painton pulled it off in 2013.

Moving on Tuesday at Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover, Kan., were Jackson Solem of Longmont and Davis Bryant of Aurora, who next week will be Colorado teammates for the third consecutive year at the Junior America’s Cup tournament. (The two are pictured, with Bryant at left.)

Solem, a former 4A state high school champion who will play his college golf at the University of Denver beginning this fall, came back from a first-round 75 to shoot a 3-under-par 69 on Tuesday, finishing 39th in stroke play in his first U.S. Junior Am. Solem made seven birdies and five bogeys in round 2. He recorded just one par in his final 10 holes on Tuesday.

Two years after making his U.S. Junior Amateur debut by shooting 81-80 as a 15-year-old, Bryant proved a much different player this time around, finishing 47th out of 156 players in the 36-hole stroke-play portion of the championship. The winner of both Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado majors held so far this year, Bryant shot rounds of 71-74 for a 3-over-par 145 total. The future Colorado State University golfer, who made three birdies and three double bogeys on Tuesday, ended up 13 strokes behind medalist Austin Eckroat of Edmond, Okla.

Match play will begin on Wednesday, and if either Solem or Bryant wins in the round of 64, it would be the first time since Wyndham Clark went to the round of 16 in 2009 that a Coloradan has won a match in the U.S. Junior Amateur.

The third Colorado competing in the U.S. Junior Am, TJ Shehee of Mead, didn’t advance to match play after posting rounds of 78-80 for a 158 total.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing this week:

Advance to Match Play
39. Jackson Solem, Longmont 75-69–144
47. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71-74–145
Failed to Advance to Match Play
127. TJ Shehee, Mead 78-80–158

For all the scores from the Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

Bryant, winner of the first two majors of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado’s 2017 season, shares 30th place with one round remaining in stroke play. The 17-year-old, who has verbally committed to play his college golf at Colorado State University beginning in 2018, made two birdies and two bogeys on Monday.

Bryant (pictured) is competing in his second U.S. Junior Am.

The top 64 players out of the field of 156 will advance to match play, which begins on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the other two Coloradans competing in the U.S. Junior Am have some ground to make up on Tuesday if they want to make the match-play bracket.

Jackson Solem of Longmont opened with a 4-over-par 75 and is tied for 78th place. The former 4A state high school champion made two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in round 1.

TJ Shehee of Mead carded a 7-over-par 78 on Monday, leaving him in 114th place. Shehee recorded a birdie and eight bogeys.

Brandon Mancheno of Jacksonville, Fla., leads the way after 18 holes at 8-under-par 63.

Here are the scores for all the Coloradans competing this week:

30. Davis Bryant, Aurora 71
78. Jackson Solem, Longmont 75
114. TJ Shehee, Mead 78

For all the scores from the Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.
 

At the Junior Amateur in Ooltewah, Tenn., Griffin Barela of Lakewood fell five strokes shy of the playoff to determine the last of the 64 competitors to advance to match play, while Trevor Olkowski missed the mark by nine.

Barela posted rounds of 76-80 for a 12-over-par 156 total. Olkowski checked in at 160 after going 81-79.

Easton Paxton of Riverton, Wyo., a member of the Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado, missed the playoff by one as he went 77-75–152.

At the Girls’ Junior in Paramus, N.J., Kiselya Plewe of Cortez missed the playoff for the 64th and final match play spot by three strokes. The Weber State signee carded scores of 84-75 for a 13-over-par 159 total.

One player with local ties who did make match play was Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, Calif., who once lived in Colorado. Wang, winner of last year’s national Junior PGA Championship, followed up a 79 with a 1-under-par 72 on Tuesday to post a 5-over 151 total. She finished 28th in stroke play.

(July 20 Update: Wang lost in her round-of-64 match 3 and 2 to Yu Chiang Hou of Chinese Taipei.)

For scores from the U.S. Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.

For scores from the U.S. Girls’ Junior, CLICK HERE.

U.S. Junior Amateur
The Honors Course, Ooltewah, Tenn.
MC. Easton Paxton of Riverton, Wyo (JGAC member) 77-75–152
MC. Griffin Barela of Lakewood 76-80–156
MC. Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction 81-79–160

U.S. Girls’ Junior
The Ridgewood CC in Paramus, N.J.
28. Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, Calif. 79-72–151
MC. Kiselya Plewe of Cortez 84-75–159
 

With the top 64 players after two stroke-play rounds of each tournament advancing to match play, Griffin Barela of Lakewood shot a 4-over-par 76 Monday and is tied for 79th place in the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Honors Course (left) in Ooltewah, Tenn., while Trevor Olkowski of Grand Junction posted an 81, leaving him in 130th place.

Barela made two birdies and six bogeys on Monday, while Olkowski carded two birdies, three bogeys and four double bogeys.

Easton Paxton of Riverton, Wyo., a Junior Golf Alliance of Colorado member, shot a first-round 77, putting him in 91st place.

After day 1, 64th place fell at 75.

Meanwhile, at the U.S. Girls’ Junior in Parasmus, N.J., Kiselya Plewe of Cortez opened with an 11-over-par 84, leaving the Weber State signee in 135th place. Plewe posted five bogeys and three double bogeys on Monday.

Former Coloradan Elizabeth Wang, winner of last year’s national Junior PGA Championship, recorded a 79, good for 79th place.

Sixty-fourth place after round 1 fell at 77.

For scores from the U.S. Junior Amateur, CLICK HERE.

For scores from the U.S. Girls’ Junior, CLICK HERE.

Matt is the general manager and director of golf at the club, while Julie is the executive director of The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch and director of member services for the Colorado Open Golf Foundation.

As might be expected with that being the case, Davis Bryant is often a fixture at GVR during tournament weeks. In fact, he caddied during the 2014 HealthOne Colorado Senior Open for a guy named John Elway.

But Bryant (pictured) has some game in his own right, and, despite being just 15 years old, that’s come to the forefront in recent weeks. In that period, he’s:

— Finished 10th in the CGA Junior Stroke Play.

— Shot a 69 at Flatirons Golf Course in Boulder and earned medalist honors in the boys 14-15 qualifying for the Optimist Junior Golf national championships.

— Posted rounds of 72-71 and birdied the third playoff hole at the Fox Hill Club in Longmont to earn the final spot in qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur, arguably the biggest junior event there is for boys.

“This is definitely my biggest accomplishment in golf,” he said after a day in which he tied for second place out of a field of 71 players. The Junior Am will be contested July 20-25 in Bluffton, S.C.

— Been named one of the CGA’s four representatives for the boys Junior America’s Cup team that will compete in Flagstaff, Ariz., July 28-30.

Then in an announcement that came on Wednesday on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive, Bryant was selected one of 81 junior golfers nationwide who will compete alongside Champions Tour players in the internationally televised Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach Sept. 25-27.

Bryant, a sophomore-to-be at Eaglecrest High School, will be one of two Coloradans headed to that Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach Golf Links, one of the top golf courses in the world, and Poppy Hills.

Also landing a spot in the pro-junior portion of the tournament was Brock Dowdy of Denver. Dowdy will represent the The First Tee of Denver, while Bryant comes from The First Tee of Green Valley Ranch.

The juniors chosen to participate in the First Tee Open were picked from First Tee chapters throughout the country based on playing ability and comprehension of the life skills and core values learned through their involvement with The First Tee.

Dowdy has been part of The First Tee of Denver for eight years. He plays golf for Denver East and made the 2014 all-league team for the Denver Prep League.

Bryant played as a freshman on his high school golf team — at Eaglecrest — and finished 30th at the 5A state meet last fall.

Bryant is the second GVR First Tee participant to be chosen to play in The First Tee Open at Pebble Beach. Austin Powell competed in 2012.

Dowdy is the sixth junior golfer from The First Tee of Denver that will play in the Champions Tour event at Pebble Beach. Previously in the field were Aaron Woodard (2004 and ’05), Elizabeth Kresock (2008), Aaron Guereca (2008), Jack Tynan (2012) and Kobe Padilla (2013).