Plenty of tight matches in the second round of match play today. So far, four of the five completed matches have gone the distance, but none have yet to go overtime. In one of the best finishes of the day, defending champion Marvin "Vinny" Giles drained a 33-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole to defeat Bev Hargraves, 1 up. On Monday, Giles made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole to oust Robin McCool. When he won last year at Beverly Country Club, Giles went at least 17 holes in all six of his matches. He beat John Grace in the final, 1 up, with a birdie at the 18th hole.
Medalist Pat Tallent also survived a 1-up decision over David Szewczul. Tallent will face Giles in the round of 16 this afternoon.
Rick Woulfe, who went 25 holes in his win on Monday, dropped a 2-down decision to past semifinalist Frank Ford III.
The only match so far that hasn't gone the distance was Don Thames' 4-and-3 win over Jim Knoll. It turns out that the two Northern Californians were at San Jose State together in the early 1970s and had not seen each other until this week. The Senior Amateur can often offer up reunions. At the USGA Men's State Team Championship a few weeks ago, South Carolina player Todd White reunited with David Hayes, who is now a member at Mayacama Golf Club, the site of the event. White was a seventh-grader on the Dorman High golf team in Spartanburg, S.C., when Hayes was a senior. The two had not seen each other for 28 years. -- David Shefter