APL Blog

It's official. We have our eight quarterfinalists. Interesting bunch of players. We've got two Ducks and two Aztecs, plus the medalist and our hole-in-one star. The two Ducks are University of Oregon standouts Andrew Vijarro and Daniel Miernicki. Vijarro, of Bend, is the only Oregonian left in the field. The two Aztecs are San Diego State golfers J.J. Spaun and Todd Baek. Baek is a very interesting story. Tod Leonard of the San Diego Union-Tribune wrote an interesting piece on him. Click here for the story.

The medalist, Corbin Mills, also survived two tough matches on Thursday, including a 1-up win over reigning NCAA Division I champion John Peterson, a 2011 Walker Cup hopeful. And Derek Ernst, who thrilled everyone at Bandon Trails on Wednesday by acing the par-4 eighth hole, nearly had another hole-in-one in Thursday's second-round win over Chris Mory. He then eliminated Alex Edfort in the third round. Ernst, the 2011 Mountain West Conference champion, plays Miernicki in one quarterfinal. Vijarro meets Mills and Spaun takes on Harris English, another 2011 Walker Cup hopeful who helped Georgia finish as the runner-up at this year's NCAA Division I Championship.

The final quarterfinal features Baek against Jonathan Randolph, who has played the least amount of holes among the final eight golfers. The Branson, Miss., native, who just completed his eligibility at Ole' Miss, needed only 28 holes to win two matches on Thursday at Old Macdonald. He played just 15 holes in Wednesday's first-round win over Max McKay. Randolph does have links golf experience, having played on the 2010 U.S. Palmer Cup Team at Royal Portrush. One of his teammates was Miernicki. Those two could play in the semifinals on Friday afternoon at Old Macdonald.

All the golf now will be played at Old Mac. The WAPL quarterfinals start before he APL quarters on Friday morning. The semis are scheduled to start at 1:15 p.m. PDT with the WAPL first, followed by the APL. Should be some great golf on Friday.

And the weather is supposed to be nice. -- David Shefter

We almost have all eight of our quarterfinalists at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links. Medalist Corbin Mills is already through after a 4-and-2 win over Talor Gooch. Mills had a tremendous second-round match with reigning NCAA Division I champion John Peterson. The two were all-square going to 18 when Mills stuffed a wedge approach to 3 feet for a winning birdie. Besides winning the NCAAs, Peterson also claimed the Jones Cup earlier this year and is on the USA Walker Cup Team radar.

The two remaining University of Oregon players also could be among the last eight. Andrew Vijarro and Daniel Miernicki are both leading in their matches. Vijarro is currently dormie 2 over Robert Hoadley. The long-hitting Miernicki leads Jack Schultz by one after the turn. Schultz is vying to make it two in a row for University of Michigan golfers at the APL. Lion Kim won last year, but joined a private club this summer in preparation for PGA Tour Qualifying School this fall.

As for the weather conditions, the sun has come out and the winds have picked up slightly. After walking Old Macdonald this morning, I must say the course is absolutely stunning. It's a cross between St. Andrews, Ballybunion, Prestwick and Royal County Down. -- David Shefter

We are now down to 32 competitors at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and by the end of today, there will be just eight golfers remaining. Such is the nature of a match-play event. The weather for today looks good. Much like yesterday, winds should be moderate at 10-15 mph, perhaps gusting to 15 to 20 mph by late in the afternoon. The APL competitors will be at Old Macdonald today. After today, all matches (WAPL and APL) will be at Old Macdonald.

There are some intriguing second-round match-ups beginning with the first match off at 7:30 a.m. PDT featuring stroke-play medalist Corbin Mills against reigning NCAA Division I champion John Peterson. Peterson is certainly on the Walker Cup radar and a strong showing this week will help his resume. Mills is competing in just his third USGA championship, but this is the first time he has qualified for match play.

A couple of mid-amateurs (25 and older) have advanced. T.J. Shuart, 28, of Coral Springs, Fla., will play one of the youngest remaining players, 19-year-old Talor Gooch of Midwest City, Okla. Another match-up features 29-year-old Herbie Aikens of Pembroke, Mass., against Paul McConnell, 20, of Garland, Texas.

The oldest remaining player, 38-year-old Scott Kammann of Baneberry, Tenn., meets USA Walker Cup hopeful Harris English, 21, of Thomasville, Ga. English was a 2010 APL quarterfinalist and has been a standout at the University of Georgia. Georgia was the NCAA Division I runner-up this year.

Harold Varner III, bidding to become just the second African-American to win the APL, meets Alex Edfort.

The youngest remaining player, 18-year-old Kevin Lee of Cerritos, Calif., takes on Robert Hoadley, 20, of Southern Pines, N.C.

And the caddies at Bandon Dunes certainly will be rooting for one of their brethren, Kevin Rei of Chico, Calif. He meets Todd Baek of San Diego, Calif.

Another interesting storyline is Alex Williams, a 24-year-old assistant golf coach at Army. Williams graduated from Oregon State, so he should have a following here at Bandon Dunes. -- David Shefter

 

The U.S. Amateur Public Links has had 10 holes-in-one since the USGA began tracking the statistic in 1982. But none have occurred quite like the one Derek Ernst of Clovis, Calif., produced on Wednesday at Bandon Trails. With the tee markers moved up at the par-4 eighth hole -- it was playing 299 yards -- Ernst launched a 3-wood toward the flagstick, which was in the back-left portion of the green.

"I almost thought it was going in the right bunker," said Ernst.

The ball kicked left, went up over a ridge and then disappeared for the first hole-in-one on a par 4 in APL history.

"I was thinking there's no way it went over the green," said Ernst. "There were two marshals on the side of the green and one guy ran out and put his hands in the air. That's when I knew it was in. It gave me a big boost of momentum the rest of the way."

Ernst went on to post a 19-hole victory over Joseph David of Madison, Tenn. He will now face Chris Mory of Haslett, Mich., in the second round on Thursday morning at Old Macdonald. -- David Shefter

The 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links field has now been whittled down from 156 players to 64 for the match-play portion of the championship that begins today. But before we delve into the remaining players, let's review what happened the last two days at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

Weather certainly made a difference in the scoring. On Monday, when gusty winds and rain greeted the players at Bandon Trails, the scoring average was 78.5 and just one player broke par (Devon Purser). With the winds virtually non-existent on Tuesday at Old Macdonald, the players pounced on the benign conditions and lowered the scoring average by 2.5 strokes. Fifteen players broke par, led by Corbin Mills' 4-under-par 67, which earned the Clemson junior and Easley, S.C., native medalist honors at 3-under 138.

So it is clearly safe to say that wind is the biggest defense for the courses at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. It also helped that overnight rains softened the greens just enough to help scoring.

Now we are on to the match-play portion of the competition and we have some excellent storylines.

The oldest player remaining is 38-year-old Scott Kammann of Baneberry, Tenn., who was a semifinalist in the APL 17 years ago.

Peter Kyo Won Koo of Korea, at 15, is the youngest competitor by 12 over reigning U.S. Junior Amateur champion Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y. Liu was born Aug. 9, 1995 and Koo Aug. 21 of the same year.

The average age of the match-play field is 21.25 or a little less than two years younger than the average age of the entire 156-player field.

Besides Kammann, four other mid-amateurs (25 and older) qualified for the final 64. They are Herbie Aikens, 29, of Pembroke, Mass., T.J. Shuart, 28, of Coral Springs, Fla., Daniel Falcucci, 28, of Worcester, Mass., and Brodie Hullinger, 26, of Vivian, S.D.

John Peterson of Fort Worth, Texas, who won this year's NCAA Division I individual title, also advanced. He is hoping to play on the USA Walker Cup Team in September.

Harold Varner III, 20, of Gastonia, N.C., would like to join William Wright as the second African-American to win the APL. In 1959, Wright, a Seattle native, became the first African-American USGA champion.

For the local angle, you have all three players from the University of Oregon in the match-play field: Andrew Vijarro of Bend, Ore., Daniel Miernicki of Santee, Calif., and Sean Maekawa of Paauilo, Hawaii. The University of Washington advanced two of its three players: Chris Williams of Moscow, Idaho, and Canadian Charlie Hughes. Incidentally, Hughes won the Bandon Dunes Championship, a college event hosted by Gonzaga University, in March on Bandon Dunes and Williams, a 2010 APL quarterfinalist and 2011 U.S. Open qualifier, finished second.

Two Penn State golfers have also advanced in Anthony Degol of Hollidaysburg, Pa., and T.J. Howe of Osceola, Fla.

We also have two players named J.J. in the field: J.J. Holen of Castaic, Calif., and J.J. Spaun of Los Angeles.

And if you are looking for the Cinderella story, how about Kevin Rei of Chico, Calif., who is spending his second summer on the Oregon coast working as a Bandon Dunes caddie. You don't think he has a little local knowledge of the courses here.

Let the fun begin. -- David Shefter

The 6-for-2 playoff lasted just one hole with Max McKay and Greg O'Connor each making birdie-3 at the par-4 first hole. We should be getting first-round pairings soon. -- David Shefter

The cut came at 11-over-par 142 with six golfers playing off for the final two match-play spots. The playoff will be taking place shortly. We hope to have updates from the course.

Paul McClure, Greg O'Connor, Jon Lindstrom, Max MacKay, Alexander Medinis and J.T. Griffin are the six who will be vying for those precious two spots.

But for those who don't qualify for match play, there is a nice consolation prize. Bandon Dunes owner Mike Keiser is offering up complimentary golf to those golfer on the two courses not being used for the championship: Pacific Dunes and Bandon Dunes. That's not a bad way to spend a Wednesday. -- David Shefter

Players definitely got a huge break today with the weather. The overnight rains softened the greens just a tad and without much wind, scoring definitely improved. A day after just one golfer (Devon Purser) broke par over at Bandon Trails, we've already seen eight sub-70 scores on Old Macdonald. Corbin Mills of Easley, S.C., who looks like will be the stroke-play medalist, carded a 4-under 67 and sits at 3-under 138.

Mills said he definitely got the better end of the draw, having played Monday morning when it didn't rain and Tuesday afternoon with the winds virtually non-existent.

We also had five players shoot 68, including Alex Edfort of Somerset, N.J., and Paul McConnell of Garland, Texas, both of whom sit at 2-over 143. All of these sub-70 scores came in the afternoon wave. On Tuesday morning, there was a slight breeze, but not like anything the players saw on Monday when gusts up to 30 mph and afternoon rain made things very challenging on the competitors.

Right now, the cut is at 11-over 152, but it could easily fall to 151.

With play scheduled to conclude around 8 p.m. PDT, USGA officials are hopeful to complete the playoff -- if necessary -- for the final match-play spots this evening. -- David Shefter

For virtually every competitor at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links, it's been a major adjustment in thinking when it comes to playing Bandon Trails and Old Macdonald. Most players are accustomed to playiing the ball in the air. But on the links courses being used for the championship, it's all about the ground game.

"I've pretty much kept my two wedges in the bag," said Anthony Degol of Hollidaysburg, Pa. Except when he has to play a bunker shot. Degol posted a 2-over-par 73 on Tuesday at Old Macdonald for a 36-hole total of 145 (four over)

Charlie Hughes of Canada, a junior-to-be at the University of Washington, has gone from launching high, arching shots to low stingers. He hasn't had too much trouble as his 71-73 scores at Bandon Trails and Old Macdonald, respectively, have indicated. Then again, Hughes got a taste of this kind of golf in March when he won the Bandon Dunes Championship, a college event that has been hosted by Gonzaga the past two years. This year's event was held on Bandon Dunes, the original 18-hole course at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

"I thought it might be hard," said Hughes. "But it’s going pretty smoothly so far." 

Hughes said the University of Washington occasionally plays at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash., another firm-and-fast links-style layout that hosted the 2010 U.S. Amateur and will host the 2015 U.S. Open. But for the most part, the team plays at tree-lined country clubs. 

"You’ve got to adapt and adapt quickly," said Hughes of the conditions here at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.  

Ben Geyer of Arbuckle, Calif., also competed here in March for St. Mary's College. Geyer's coach, Scott Hardy, had tremendous success at Bandon Dunes four years ago, advancing to the semifinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Geyer posted a 1-under-par 70 on Tuesday and sits at 4-over 145. That score will easily qualify for match play, which starts on Wednesday at Bandon Trails. 

For those who can make the mental and physical adjustments to the ground game that links golf requires, success will likely come this week.

"I've spent a couple of hours over in the chipping areas," said Degol, who plays at Penn State and works with Mike Taylor at Sea Island in Georgia. "If you don't have a good short game, you can come to a course like this and totally be lost. There's a lot of putting, a lot of bump and runs and a lot of keeping the ball in play. And you have to get your speed right on the greens." -- David Shefter  

The good news for the U.S. Amateur Public Links field is the wind is not blowing this morning. The bad news, it rained most of the night and it is still streaming down softly this morning, making things quite damp. On Monday at Bandon Trails, the competitors dealt with gusty winds most of the day and then rain in the afternoon, making things highly challenging.

"I was putting my umbrella up and down," said Canadian Charlie Hughes, a University of Washington junior-to-be who won the Gonzaga Invitational at Bandon Dunes earlier this year and opened with a solid 1-over 71. "The weather was wild."

Hughes' score was well under the field average of 78.5.

Today, the APL competitors move over to Old Macdonald, where the Women's Amateur Public Links field averaged 82.6 on Monday. The WAPL field takes on Bandon Trails today.

The weather forecast is calling for more showers today, but the winds won't be as strong. Our on-site meteorologist Jake Swick said in his morning report that winds could get up to as high as 15 miles per hour. On Monday, the gusts were in the high 20s and temperatures were in the upper 50s.

Welcome to golf on the southwest Oregon coast. The first two days of practice rounds were baked in sunshine. Hopefully that weather returns as the championship moves into match play, beginning on Wednesday at Bandon Trails (APL) and Old Macdonald (WAPL). The low 64 scorers and ties move into the match-play segment of the championship. -- David Shefter

 

Rain has now replaced the heavy wind gusts from this morning. Rain was in the forecast today and it could get real heavy by 5 p.m. PDT. The challenging conditions certainly has made scoring very tough. Only Devon Purser of Clearfield, Utah, managed to break par on the par-70 Bandon Trails layout among the early wave of golfers. Two others, Maxwell Marsico and Jonathan Randolph, each shot even-par 70s. Otherwise, players are not only battling a challenging golf course, but the windy conditions and their mental fortitude. How tough can things get? One golfer took a 13 on the 325-yard, par-4 14th hole. Charles Chon, a player from Aurora, Colo., opened with a 48 and then bounced back with a 1-over 36 on the inward nine. That's how crazy things can get when the winds pick up and players are trying every which way to control the trajectory of their golf ball. That's what makes true links golf special. -- David Shefter

Tim Hogarth, 45, of Northridge, Calif., the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, has withdrawn from the championship due to a hand injury. Hogarth broke his hand eight weeks ago and had to withdraw from U.S. Open sectional qualifying. He was hoping the hand would respond this week at Bandon Dunes, but the pain forced him to withdraw. Hogarth was also the runner-up at last year's U.S. Mid-Amateur, which earned him an exemption into this year's APL, along with the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur. -- David Shefter

So far Devon Purser is the only player to break par among the first-round early wave at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship being played today at windy Bandon Trails. The 18-year-old from Clearfield, Utah, (30 miles north of Salt Lake City) carded a 1-under 69, a remarkable score considering the challenging conditions. 

About an hour after the first group started on Monday, the winds picked up and Purser said when they reached the first tee (he started on No. 10) the gusts were as high as 30 mph. The winds also came from the south today, a change from the two official practice rounds when players had the prevailing north wind.

Nevertheless, Purser said he could have posted a 29 on his first nine had a couple of 6-footers dropped.

"After the first nine, I was trying to take it deep," said Purser, who will play for Brigham Young University in the fall. "And then it got really windy."

Purser, who competed in last year's U.S. Junior Amateur and advanced to the round of 16, certainly is in excellent position to make the match-play cut. On Tuesday, the field moves over to Old Macdonald.

Purser said he plays a links-style course back in Utah, but it's nothing like the courses he's seen this week at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

For one thing, he's done a lot of putting from off the green.

"I don’t know how many players like putting from off the green, but I don’t mind it all," he said. "So I think it’s kind of a good thing for me to be able to putt from 20 yards off the green. I hit a lot of greens [today]. And I had a couple of two-putts from like 50 feet."

Purser put the finishing touches on his round by holing an 18-footer for birdie at the par-5 ninth.

"I shot three under on the first nine (inward nine)," he said, "so I had a couple of credits in the bank when it started getting windy." -- David Shefter  

The 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Bandon Dunes has commenced. Today, the golfers will be at Bandon Trails for the first of two qualifying rounds. On Tuesday, the players move over to Old Macdonald, after which the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play. The players will be back at Bandon Trails on Wednesday and then over to Old Macdonald the remainder of the championship.

This morning the weather is quite benign as we have some overcast skies and just a hint of wind. But that should change this afternoon. The forecast is calling for some showers and gusty winds. And anyone who has ever come to Bandon Dunes knows that wind is the ultimate defense for the courses here on the southwest Oregon coast.

We'll keep you updated throughout the championship with results and happenings from on and off the course.

You can certainly also e-mail us with questions or comments to dshefter@usga.org or mtrostel@usga.org. Mike Trostel and I are handling the media responsibilities at the APL this year and we'd love to hear from you. It should be a tremendous championship at a wonderful venue. -- David Shefter