Luke Clanton had quite a day on Thursday at The Country Club of North Carolina. In a span of nine hours, the Miami Lakes, Fla., native dispatched the record-tying medalist and the local favorite to reach the quarterfinals of the 73rd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
The 18-year-old rising high school senior who plans to play for Florida State University in the fall of 2022 first eliminated top seed and incoming Duke University freshman Kelly Chinn, of Great Falls, Va., 1 up, in the Round of 32. Clanton carried that momentum over to the afternoon when he ousted Country Club of North Carolina member Jackson Van Paris, of Pinehurst, N.C., 2 and 1, in front of 100-plus spectators.
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Joining Clanton in the final eight are Carson Brewer, 16, of Jacksonville, Fla.; Nicholas Dunlap, 17, of Huntsville, Ala.; Robbie Higgins, 18, of Sarasota, Fla.; Jonathan Griz, 17, of Hilton Head Island, S.C.; Luke Potter, 17, of Encinitas, Calif.; Gordon Sargent, 18, of Birmingham, Ala.; and Cohen Trolio, 18, of West Point, Miss.
Winning all three par-5 holes with birdies proved to be the difference for the long-hitting Clanton in his afternoon encounter against Van Paris, who had 16 pars and a birdie – with the usual concessions.
“We kind of knew the whole day was going to be one-sided with the crowd,” said Clanton, who was the equivalent of 8 under par over his 35 holes on Thursday. “But it was an unbelievable experience with everyone out here. I was looking down at an iron [approach] shot and I saw a bunch of people surrounding the green, so that's kind of cool.
“I mean, people are great here. They're so welcoming every single time I come here. This is probably one of the best golf courses I've ever played in my life.”
Van Paris, the runner-up in the North & South Amateur earlier this month at nearby Pinehurst No. 2, couldn’t get any mojo with his putter.
“Honestly, I didn't feel like I hit that many bad putts, just nothing went in,” said Van Paris. “I just didn't have my best stuff this afternoon.”
Clanton now faces a second incoming Vanderbilt player in Friday’s first quarterfinal match. Sargent, who is staying with future college teammate Van Paris this week, dispatched Carter Loflin, of Duluth, Ga., 2 and 1, in the Round of 16. Sargent erased a late 1-down deficit with birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 and a winning par on 15.
Trolio, a semifinalist in the 2019 U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2, is having a second magical run in the Sandhills. The incoming Louisiana State University freshman and son of Old Waverly Golf Club teaching professional V.J. Trolio outlasted 2019 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup player Conor Gough, of England, in 20 holes. Gough, who redshirted this past season at UNC Charlotte, was bidding to become the first player to win both the British Boys Amateur (2019) and U.S. Junior Amateur. Trolio advanced with a winning par on the par-4 20th after hitting a gorgeous wedge approach on No. 18 to a foot for a birdie. Gough was on the fringe in two on No. 18 and responded by pitching to a foot to set up his own conceded birdie.
Dunlap, the highest remaining seed (3), also needed 20 holes to eliminate Matthew Comegys, of Van Alstyne, Texas. The Alabama native is riding a wave of confidence from his runner-up showing last week in the Junior PGA and a victory in the American Junior Golf Association’s lone match-play event, the Polo Golf Junior Classic at Liberty National Golf Club.
Griz, who Monday-qualified for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship in March, eliminated one of the country’s hottest juniors, No. 5 seed Caleb Surratt, of Indian Trail, N.C., 3 and 2. Surratt came into this week having won the Western Junior and last week’s Junior PGA Championship. One down through 10, Griz won four of the next five holes.
“Playing against Caleb, he's like a brother to me,” said Griz. “He's been playing some unreal golf. He's arguably the No. 1 junior in the world right now, so to be able to take him down, it's unreal. It feels amazing.”
Potter, the lone West Coast competitor remaining, birdied his final two holes to beat incoming University of South Carolina freshman Gene Zeigler, of Florence, S.C., 1 up. Earlier on Thursday, Zeigler produced a dramatic 1-up win over No. 2 seed Andrew Goodman, of Norman, Okla., converting a 12-foot eagle on the par-5 18th after Goodman had just rolled in a long birdie putt.
Brewer, the youngest remaining competitor, won five of the first nine holes in beating No. 7 seed Maxwell Ford, of Peachtree Corners, Ga., 5 and 3.
University of North Florida rising sophomore Robbie Higgins, 18, of Sarasota, Fla., saw an early 3-up lead after three holes evaporate against Arjun Gupta, of the United Arab Emirates. Gupta won four consecutive holes from No. 5 to surge ahead by a hole, but Higgins claimed 11, 12, 14 and 16 to close out his opponent. He is the lone player remaining with college experience.
Two days after joining Tiger Woods, Willie Wood and Jim Liu as the only multiple medalists in championship history, Chinn found himself on the short end of a tough Round-of-32 defeat. In 2018, he suffered a 20-hole defeat in this round as the No. 1 seed. The highest-ranked competitor in the field (No. 39 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®) lipped out a 6-foot birdie putt after reaching the par-5 closing hole in two shots.
What’s Next
The quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be contested on Friday, beginning at 7:15 a.m. EDT. Peacock will live-stream the semifinals from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT with Golf Channel replaying the broadcast from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturday’s 36-hole championship match commences at 9:30 a.m. and resumes at 3:30 p.m. Golf Channel will broadcast the final two hours live from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT.
Notable
- Age-eligible quarterfinalists are exempt into next year’s U.S. Junior Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort July 25-30. Players must be 18 as of the final day of the competition.
- The last medalist to win the U.S. Junior Amateur remains Jordan Spieth in 2009.
- Gene Zeigler, of Florence, S.C., carried the player badge of 1958 U.S. Junior Amateur contestant and fellow Florence resident John Orr in his golf bag for good luck. Buddy Baker, who won the 1958 U.S. Junior Amateur at the University of Minnesota Golf Club, is a CCNC member.
- Robbie Higgins can become the third left-hander to win the U.S. Junior Amateur, following Brian Harman (2003) and Cory Whitsett (2007).
- James Oh, who defeated future PGA Tour winner Aaron Baddeley to win the 1998 U.S. Junior Amateur at Conway Farms in suburban Chicago, is on the grounds of CCNC this week serving as an on-course reporter for Peacock/Golf Channel. Oh, a native of Lakewood, Calif., is now a teaching professional at Hacienda Golf Club.
- Three tees were moved up significantly for the Round of 32 and Round of 16: the par-3 eighth hole (up 94 yards to 130); the par-5 12th hole (up 32 yards to 531) and the par-4 17th hole (up 140 yards to 287).
Quotable
“I kind of wanted to go extra holes because it was too good of a match to end like that. All respect to Kelly Chinn. Unbelievable player, unbelievable guy, great person. I thought I had a great match yesterday (19 holes over Ben Sluzas), and today was even better.” – Luke Clanton after beating medalist Chinn
“It's pretty special knowing that I'm only a couple matches away. All these players are so good. We were making a joke that our whole Wyndham Cup [East] team was playing this week and they all made match play. To be able to say I beat some of these players, it really means a lot.” – Gordon Sargent on reaching the quarters
“Yeah, that was money. I've hit about 4 million of those 110-yard shots. It was kind of just there for me.” – Cohen Trolio on his clutch wedge approach to No. 18 that helped forced extra holes against Conor Gough
“It felt like 20 feet. I was so nervous, my putter was shaking.” – Luke Potter on the 4½-foot birdie putt he made to close out his Round-of-16 match
“It's unbelievable. That kid, he hit some unreal golf shots. He had a really good up-and-down on 16. We both birdied 17 and both birdied 18. I really thought he was going to make it on 1, and it just kind of switched the momentum and it gives you life on [hole] 2. And I hit a perfect putt.” – Nicholas Dunlap on his 20-hole win over Matthew Comegys
“It was a really incredible week. Playing a U.S. Junior on a home course is something that .0001 percent of golfers get to do. I'm just really lucky that I belong to this great club and I'm able to play in such a good event.” – CCNC member Jackson Van Paris after being eliminated in the Round of 16
“Luke played some good golf. I thought I played some good golf, too, but too many mistakes out there. Match play is all about the least amount of mistakes. I missed three putts inside 4 feet and hit one in the water on 16, and that’s four shots. You just can't do that.” – medalist Kelly Chinn after his loss in the Round of 32
David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.
The Social Scene
Ready for Round of 32 match today in the #USJuniorAm. Let’s go @aarongpounds! pic.twitter.com/s6EXGY9CzS
— Blake A. Pounds (@blakelbs) July 22, 2021
What a fun July being the Jackson Van Paris tracker. He’s got a bright future in this game #USJuniorAm pic.twitter.com/B2HmRh8UUF
— Jonathan Bym (@Jonathan_Bym) July 22, 2021
Proud of Jackson Van Paris for a great showing at the #USJuniorAm, and excited to see Gordon Sargent advance. ⚓️⬇️ https://t.co/nRYofasfKF
— Vanderbilt Men's Golf (@VandyMGolf) July 22, 2021
