Intense matches. Breezy conditions on a challenging seaside golf course. Throw in breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean, and Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in southwest Oregon has provide a little bit of everything for the 120th U.S. Amateur Championship. The David McLay Kidd-designed Bandon Dunes course has proven to be a difficult test, especially when the winds are gusting 30-plus miles per hour.
The field has gone from 264 competitors on Monday to the final eight for Friday’s quarterfinals. With the matches slated for the afternoon (starting at 1:15 PDT), winds are once again expected to blow, requiring every ounce of patience and intestinal fortitude for these eight match-play survivors.
Golf Channel and NBCUniversal’s new free streaming service, Peacock, will provide live coverage beginning at 6 p.m. EDT. Here are 3 Things to Watch:
49er Finding Gold
If there is an outlier among the quarterfinalists, it would be Matthew Sharpstene, a 21-year-old from Asheville, N.C., who just transferred from West Virginia to Charlotte. The 49ers don’t have the same golf pedigree as some of the other schools represented in the final eight. The six other collegians play for powers such as Oklahoma State, Louisiana State, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Arizona State and Southern Methodist, all programs that have produced USGA champions.
However, Sharpstene has made some noise this summer on the amateur circuit. His 6-under 64 at Pinehurst’s Course No. 4 during stroke play of the North & South Amateur was a course record. He advanced to the Round of 32 in that event. On Friday, he will take on 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Philip Barbaree.
Sharpstene has already proven he’s unafraid of the big moment. On Wednesday, he ousted last year’s runner-up John Augenstein, a standout at Vanderbilt, in the opening round of match play.
Open Push
Stewart Hagestad not only is trying to end a 27-year victory drought for the mid-amateur (25 and older) contingent, he’s also seeking a spot in next month’s U.S. Open. The 29-year-old from Newport Beach, Calif., has qualified for the last three Opens – missing the cut each time – but with no qualifying in 2020 due to COVID-19, Hagestad’s only shot to play at Winged Foot is to be among the top 7 not otherwise exempt in the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR) next Wednesday.
Hagestad, who in 2017 became the first invited U.S. Mid-Amateur champion to make the 36-hole cut in the Masters, currently sits at No. 15. The farther he advances, the better his chances to leapfrog several players in the WAGR. If he can pull it off, Hagestad would be the first amateur since Ben Crenshaw (1970-73) to play in four consecutive U.S. Opens. Others to have achieved the feat in the last 60 years include William C. Campbell (1962-65) and 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus (1957-61).
Just A Number
Cameron Sisk, of San Diego, Calif., came into this championship at No. 39 in the WAGR. But the Arizona State standout struggled on Monday and Tuesday and wound up in the massive 18-for-3 playoff for the final match-play spots. An early birdie gave him the 62nd seed. But this isn’t the NCAA tournament, where low seeds often get sent packing early. All Sisk needed was a spot in the bracket.
And he’s been impressive through three matches, playing just 45 holes, the fewest among the eight quarterfinalists, starting with his 3-and-2 win over No. 3 seed Ben Shipp. In fact, Sisk has a chance to be the second-lowest seed to win the championship. Stephen Fox also was a playoff survivor in 2012 when he hoisted the Havemeyer Trophy from the No. 63 position. He beat fellow playoff survivor Michael Weaver in 37 holes for the title at Cherry Hills Country Club.
“The birdie on the playoff hole was … probably the most clutch putt I've made all week,” said Sisk of the 9-footer he holed on the par-4 10th in Wednesday morning’s playoff. “Without that I wouldn't be here right now.”
David Shefter is a senior staff writer with the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.
