2018 U.S. Amateur Stroke-Play Recap: Let the Madness Begin

Can March match this?

There are 24 players going over every what-if in their head. At 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, the 24 golfers who finished at +4 will vie for a lone spot in a wild playoff to fill-out the 64-player match-play field at the 2018 U.S. Amateur. They’ll play Nos. 17 and 18 until only one exhausted man is left standing.

Until then, let’s reflect on a whirlwind first two days for 312 golfers with an average age of just over 22:

SPYGLASS HILL PLAYED NEARLY A STROKE TOUGHER THAN PEBBLE BEACH

That would make sense, since Spyglass Hill played to a par-72, while Pebble Beach was a par-71 (the second hole was converted to a 501-yard par-4). But Spyglass Hill picked up almost stroke on Pebble Beach despite playing just 10 yards longer (7,049 vs. 7,039).

Spyglass Hill’s stroke average finished more than 4-over par at 76.304. The toughest hole was No. 6 (+0.478), a perennial front-runner for that honor. But the second toughest was a bit of a surprise: No. 10 (+0.413). (At this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, No. 10 was the sixth toughest hole.) The third toughest was No. 8 (+0.410), followed by No. 5 (also +0.410) and No. 16 (+0.397). Only Nos. 11 and 17 played under par. Andrew Alligood fired the best score at Spyglass Hill with his second-round 5-under 67, which featured an eagle-2 at the 392-yard fourth hole.

Pebble Beach finished with a stroke average of 75.317, but it did feature the three toughest holes during qualifying. The most challenging hole was the converted No. 2 (+0.590), followed by No. 8 (+0.503), No. 10 (+0.497), No. 9 (+0.410) and No. 5 (+0.368). Only Nos. 4, 6 and 7 played under par. Stewart Hagestad, the 2016 U.S. Mid-Am champion, rallied from an opening 76 at Spyglass Hill with the lowest round of the tournament, putting together a bogey-free 5-under 66 at Pebble Beach to make match play.

DANIEL HILLIER AND COLE HAMMER SHARE MEDALIST HONORS AT 6-UNDER

In 1999, the medalist score was an even-par 143, the second-highest total since stroke-play qualifying returned in 1979. This time around, an impressive 18 players bettered that mark and finished in red figures. Daniel Hillier and Cole Hammer topped the field with 6-under 137s by breaking par at both Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill.

Hammer, an incoming freshman at the University of Texas who played in the 2015 U.S. Open as a 15-year-old, caught the two-time New Zealand Amateur winner Hillier with a bogey-free 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill. Hillier fired an opening 4-under 67, which included five birdies and a hole-out for eagle at No. 14 from 110 yards. Hillier picked up a second eagle at Spyglass Hill, recording a 2 at the fourth hole during a front-nine 4-under 32.

HOW DID THE BIG NAMES DO?

World No. 1 Braden Thornberry (+2), No. 2 Justin Suh (-3), No. 3 Collin Morikawa (+3) and No. 5 Viktor Hovland (+1) all lurk, rendering the seeding mostly meaningless. U.S. Junior Amateur champion Michael Thorbjornsen (-4) also looks dangerous after posting under-par scores in both rounds, while few have played better this year than than 16-year-old Akshay Bhatia (-1), who has either won or just missed in nearly every significant junior tournament he has entered over the last 13 months.

JACK’S SON GARY NICKLAUS MISSES THE CUT

All these years later, after winning the 1961 U.S. Amateur and 1972 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach, Jack Nicklaus was back. But this time, it was to watch every shot of son Gary Nicklaus, who was grinding through stroke-play qualifying at the 2018 U.S. Amateur.

Gary Nicklaus missed just two fairway each round, but he shot 78-77 to miss the cut.

“How would I sum up my week? There is no better place to play golf than Pebble Beach,” said Nicklaus, 49, after completing two rounds in 14-over-par 157. “The weather is fantastic. The golf course is amazing. It wasn‘t my week to play. I hit a lot of good shots. The putter wasn’t good to me. Besides that, it was great being here. …

If there is ever a place where you would want to win a tournament, a major championship, anything … it’s here. It’s the best place there is to play.”

Famous sons of Major champions who also missed the cut included Carter Toms (+13) and Thomas Lehman (+20). Jovan Rebula (+5), the nephew of Ernie Els and reigning British Amateur champion, fell just shy of that wild playoff.

YOU CAN WATCH THE REST OF THE CHAMPIONSHIP ON FOX AND FS1

Here is the TV schedule:

  • Wednesday, Aug. 15: First Round of Match Play (2-5 p.m. Pacific) — FS1
  • Thursday, Aug. 16: Third Round (4-7 p.m. Pacific) — FS1
  • Friday, Aug. 17: Quarterfinals (4-7 p.m. Pacific) — FS1
  • Saturday, Aug. 18: Semifinals (9 a.m. to noon Pacific) — FOX
  • Sunday. Aug. 19: Finals (1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pacific) — FOX

The Second Round will also be played Thursday, with morning coverage provided by usga.org. The opening 18 holes of Sunday’s 36-hole Finals will be aired on usga.org as well.

We can’t wait!

Back to Inside Pebble Beach

Facebook Conversations

Related Articles
Reliving One of the Most Unique Weeks in Golf
From hiking 100 holes to an exclusive look at the TaylorMade Tour truck, here's your recap of one of the… Read More »
Pebble Beach and Partners Go All In for Girls Golf
On Wednesday, Pebble Beach Company teamed up with partners from around the business world to raise $1.5 Million for the LPGA*USGA Girls Golf Program. Read More »
Your Ultimate Pebble Beach Car Week To-Do List
First time experiencing Car Week? We have compiled a list of the must see and to-dos to make the most out of this eventful week at Pebble Beach. Read More »
  1. Icon of a house
  2. Pebble Beach Resorts
  3. Inside Pebble Beach
  4. 2018 U.S. Amateur Stroke-Play Recap: Let the Madness Begin