Tuesday at the U.S. Amateur Championship is always one of those good news/bad news days. The good news: 64 players will march on to match play and Wednesday’s Round of 64. The bad news: 200 players will be packing their bags and heading home, or possibly trying out one of Bandon Dunes Resort’s other three golf courses, including the Sheep Ranch, which just opened in June.

For some players, the second round of stroke play will be a grind as they try to right the ship and keep their dream of a deep U.S. Amateur run alive. Others have some wiggle room after going low in Round 1 on Monday at either Bandon Dunes or stroke-play co-host Bandon Trails.

Here are three things to keep an eye on Tuesday:

Top Dog

Some players love the thought of being the stroke-play medalist, an accomplishment that comes from playing well for two days in championship conditions. It also guarantees you the No. 1 seed, which can be a blessing or a curse. Being medalist can bring extra pressure or expectations. In fact, the last medalist to win the U.S. Amateur was Ryan Moore in 2004.

Oklahoma State University’s Aman Gupta and Southern Methodist University rising senior McClure Meissner each shot 64s on Monday at Bandon Trails and Bandon Dunes, respectively. They’ll have the  challenge of playing in the afternoon on Tuesday. Baylor’s Travis McInroe, Hunter Wolcott from the University of Tennessee and University of Arkansas standout Julian Perico are also lurking. But don’t be surprised if someone from farther down the leader board makes a charge, especially a player with a morning tee time. Philip Barbaree, the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and Louisiana State standout, could be that candidate after an afternoon 68 at Trails on Monday.

Windy City

And you thought the country’s third-largest city was breezy? This week, Bandon Dunes Golf Resort has been draped in sunshine, which has allowed the winds off the Pacific Ocean to kick into high gear. While the mornings have been relatively calm, once the clock reaches noon and beyond, Mother Nature has been unleashing her fury in the way of wind gusts of 20 to 30 miles per hour. The more-exposed areas have created challenges for the best players, but some are accustomed to these conditions. It’s not a surprise that several Texans are faring well. Besides Meissner and McInroe, Travis Vick and Andy Lopez each bettered par while playing in the afternoon on Monday.

The difference between the morning and afternoon wave was 3.53 strokes (73.83-77.36), all due to the increase in wind speed as the day progressed. In terms of relation to par, the late wave (132 players) was +583 worse than those who went off in the morning.

“It’s fun hitting shots that a lot of people don't see,” said Meissner, who is from San Antonio, plays his college golf in Dallas and plays a lot of golf in breezy conditions. “I just like to go out there and just make it work.”

Here Comes the Peacock

Peacock, NBCUniversal’s new free streaming service, will make its USGA debut on Wednesday as part of the 15 hours of uninterrupted television coverage presented by Rolex. Beginning on Wednesday at 6 p.m. EDT and continuing through Friday’s quarterfinals, Peacock will provide one hour of live coverage before Golf Channel takes over the final two-hour window. Golf Channel then has three hours of live coverage on Saturday and Sunday, including the afternoon round of the 36-hole championship match.

Justin Leonard, the 1992 U.S. Amateur champion, is part of the broadcast team along with 1995 USA Walker Cup member Notah Begay III. Steve Burkowski and Jim “Bones” Mackay will also be reporting from Bandon, with Dan Hicks handling the play-by-play duties.   

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.