Semifinal Saturday at the U.S. Amateur Championship just may be the most pressure-filled round of the championship. Certainly, there are many intense days leading up to this moment – 36 holes of stroke play followed by matches against four difficult opponents, for starters – but with all of the exemptions at stake for today’s winners, this might be the toughest hurdle to clear.

The players are keenly aware of all that is on the line, and if they need a reminder, the U.S. Open Trophy is typically on display at the first tee. Both finalists will earn exemptions to the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Calif., as well as a likely invitation to the 2021 Masters Tournament.

So today’s matches at Bandon Dunes take on significant meaning, not to mention that advancing to Sunday’s 36-hole final gives two players the chance to have their name engraved on the Havemeyer Trophy. Pressure? Just a wee bit.

Here are 3 Things to Know going into the penultimate round of the competition:

Familiar Foes

Earlier this year, Georgia Tech senior Tyler Strafaci and Oklahoma State sophomore Aman Gupta dueled for individual honors at the Amer Ari Invitational, a strong college event in Hawaii where Strafaci tied for sixth and Gupta shared third, his best finish of the season. When the two reunited this week in Oregon, they met up for a practice round.

But that’s where the similarities end. Gupta struggled in his sophomore campaign and said that’s the reason his World Amateur Golf Ranking® slipped to 500. He wasn’t in the U.S. Amateur until world No. 2 Ricky Castillo withdrew on Friday, giving him ample time to play two practice rounds and prepare for the nuances of Bandon Dunes.

Strafaci, on the other hand, intended to turn professional this summer until COVID-19 prematurely shut down the college season. With little options, the 22-year-old decided to remain an amateur, a move that looks awfully smart.

Now both can continue their duel that started near the Pacific Ocean in our 50th state and will end alongside that same body of water in southwest Oregon.

From the Ranks

It’s a familiar adage that the golf ball doesn’t know your age. It also can’t decipher rankings or seedings either. Gupta is the highest seed (5) to reach the semifinals, but he also has the lowest WAGR number (500). Matthew Sharpstene barely sneaked into the draw at 1-over 144, earning the 58 seed. Charles “Ollie” Osborne covered the gamut in stroke play, shooting 77 on Day 1 at Bandon Dunes before coming back with a 7-under 64 at stroke-play co-host Bandon Trails to nab the 28th seed. And Tyler Strafaci possesses the best world ranking of the four at 56 in the WAGR. This is also the first semifinal where none of the four competitors are inside the top 50 of the WAGR.

Since 2007, U.S. Amateur champions have represented a wide swath of the WAGR. Danny Lee, then an 18-year-old phenom from New Zealand, was No. 1 in 2008 when he surpassed Tiger Woods as the youngest champion. A year later, Byeong Hun An, then 386 in the WAGR, broke Lee’s age mark. Gunn Yang, at 776, remains the lowest-ranked player to win the U.S. Amateur (2014). Last year, Andy Ogletree was No. 120. The year before, Viktor Hovland was fifth.

The bottom line: the U.S. Amateur champion is never remembered for his seeding or place in the WAGR. The goal is to win and have your name etched onto the Havemeyer Trophy.

Odds and Ends

Aman Gupta is a big fan of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes and even laced up his skates in the sport as a youth. His father, Kapil, was born in Canada and now is a mental-performance coach who has worked with the likes of Mike Weir and four-time Canadian hockey Olympic gold medalist Hayley Wickenheiser… Charles “Ollie” Osborne Monday-qualified for the 2019 Barracuda Championship on the PGA Tour, which was played at his home course, Montreaux Golf & Country Club in Reno, Nev… Matthew Sharpstene would be the first player from UNC-Charlotte to ever win the U.S. Amateur… Tyler Strafaci has a chance to make some family history as the first grandfather/grandson combination to win a USGA championship. His grandfather, Frank Strafaci, won the 1935 U.S. Amateur Public Links and later lost a tough opening-round match to eventual champion Arnold Palmer in the 1954 U.S. Amateur.

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