Defending Champion Reavie Advances At U.S. Amateur Public Links

Washington, Mich. – Last year's champion, Chez Reavie of Mesa, Ariz., was among the 32 winners Wednesday who advanced to the second round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-72, 7,001-yard Orchards Golf Club.

Reavie, 20, got up and down for par on the final hole to end the hopes John Cassidy, 20, of Yelm, Wash. Reavie defined his round with consistent ball striking and creative shot making in challenging playing conditions.

“I’ve got such great feel right now,” said Reavie, a junior at Arizona State University. “I’m really controlling my yardages well, even in today’s wind. I was able to hit my shots a lot lower today and take the wind out of play. I haven’t been able to do that in a while and it felt great.”

Eric Jorgensen, the runner-up in stroke play qualifying, dispatched opponent Nick Becker, of Boise, Idaho, 3 and 1. Jorgensen, 22, of Grandville, Mich., qualified locally and has attracted a great deal of attention in the past three days of the championship. His recent victory at the North & South Amateur stoked part of the interest.

“Match play determines a lot of character in a player,” said Jorgensen. “If you get down early like I did, it tells you what kind of character you’ve got if you stay in there and hold on.”

Henry Liaw, 16, of Rowland Heights, Calif., posted his seventh consecutive match play victory in a USGA championship, dating back to his victory in the 2001 U.S. Junior Amateur. He beat local qualifier Russ Cunningham of Dewitt, Mich., 4 and 2.

“Russ made a bunch of birdies today and I had to try to keep it together," said Liaw. “Being here before, I knew there would be momentum shifts, and I have to play through that and keep focused.”

The best round of the day belonged to Brett Jones, 20, of Paducah, Ky., who was the equivalent of 7 under par in his 3 and 1 win over last year’s runner-up, Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn.

Play continues Thursday with the second and third rounds of match play. The U.S. Amateur Public Links runs through Saturday’s 36-hole final.

Ryan Moore, 19, of Puyallup, Wash., who qualified for the 2002 U.S. Open, beat opponent Corey Huss, of Woodstock, Ga., 2 and 1.

“I love being in the hunt for another national championship,” said Moore, the 2000 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up. “Coming from the Open at Bethpage it’s nice to see fairways that are decent size and have rough that I can actually hit out of.”

Tele Wightman, the 64th seed, defeated Medalist Isaac Jimison 2 up in the first match of the day. Wightman, 24, from Chicopee, Mass., rallied back from an early deficit to push the match to the 18th hole.

“I played awful out there,” said the visibly shocked Jimison. “I wasn’t thinking. I only made one putt all day. And I didn’t get a break. So there you go.”

Three matches were decided in extra holes, with 1999 U.S. Junior Champion Hunter Mahan falling to Steve Lohmeyer of Dayton, Ohio, in 21 holes in the last of the matches.

Fernando Mechereffe, of Brazil, won his match in 19 holes over Michael Letzig of Richmond, Mo. Mechereffe, 19, is the reigning Brazilian Amateur champion and the first from his country to play in the APL.

The U.S. Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by David Normoyle, USGA.

Pairings

Washington, Mich. – Pairings for Thursday’s second round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-72, 7,001-yard Orchards Golf Club (Times are EDT):

Round of 32

Upper Bracket
7:30 am Tele Wightman, Chicopee, Mass. (146) vs. Luke Stephan, Hoffman Estates, Ill. (143)
7:39 am Billy Zihala, Little Rock, Ark. (140) vs. Matt Anderson, Minneapolis, Minn. (144)
7:48 am Brady Stockton, San Ramon, Calif. (138) vs. Garrett Clegg, Bountiful, Utah (143)
7:57 am Brent Wanner, Mashpee, Mass. (138) vs. Bjorn Widerstedt, Sweden (142)
8:06 am Lee Williamson, Crawfordsville, Ind. (137) vs. Geoff Lound, Australia (142)
8:15 am Kurt Watkins, Chandler, Ariz. (145) vs. Haymes Snedeker, Oxford, Miss. (141)
8:24 am Jake Grodzinsky, Cornville, Ariz. (145) vs. Wren Fowler, Thomson, Ga. (142)
8:33 am Burke Spensky, Huntington, W.Va. (139) vs. Chez Reavie, Phoenix, Ariz. (141)

Lower Bracket

8:42 am Eric Jorgensen, Grandville, Mich. (136) vs. Keith Hendrickson, Syosset, N.Y. (142)
8:51 am Justin Smith, Franklin, Pa. (140) vs. Fernando Mechereffe, Brazil (144)
9:00 am J J Jakovac, Napa, Calif. (138) vs. Chris Stroud, Groves, Texas (142)
9:09 am Jay Choi, Cerritos, Calif. (138) vs. Gabe Alcala, Bastrop, Texas (143)
9:18 am Alan Hill, Spring Branch, Texas (137) vs. Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (142)
9:27 am John Finnin, Crete, Ill. (140) vs. Henry Liaw, Rowland Heights, Calif. (141)
9:36 am Steve Lohmeyer, Dayton, Ohio (145) vs. Justin Walters, Raleigh, N.C. (142)
9:45 am Brett Jones, Paducah, Ky. (145) vs. Casey Lubahn, East Lansing, Mich. (141)

Results

Washington, Mich. – Results from Wednesday’s first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-72, 7,001-yard Orchards Golf Club:

Round of 64

Upper Bracket

Tele Wightman, Chicopee, Mass. (146) def. Isaac Jimison, Orangevale, Calif. (133), 2 up
Luke Stephan, Hoffman Estates, Ill. (143) def. Neal Grusczynski, West Allis, Wis. (143), 1 up
Billy Zihala, Little Rock, Ark. (140) def. Drew Scott, Henderson, Nev. (144), 4 and 2
Matt Anderson, Minneapolis, Minn. (144) def. Jim Spagnolo, Ft Worth, Texas (140), 21 Holes
Brady Stockton, San Ramon, Calif. (138) def. J J Wall, San Antonio, Texas (145), 2 up
Garrett Clegg, Bountiful, Utah (143) def. Jason Harris, Clemmons, N.C. (142), 3 and 1
Brent Wanner, Mashpee, Mass. (138) def. Mike Miller, Knoxville, Tenn. (145), 5 and 4
Bjorn Widerstedt, Sweden (142) def. Kevin Warrick, Valrico, Fla. (143), 2 and 1
Lee Williamson, Crawfordsville, Ind. (137) def. Charlie Smith, Valencia, Calif. (146), 4 and 3
Geoff Lound, Australia (142) def. Timothy Kane, Simsbury, Conn. (143), 1 up
Kurt Watkins, Chandler, Ariz. (145) def. Jon Lindstrom, Denver, Colo. (140), 4 and 2
Haymes Snedeker, Oxford, Miss. (141) def. Greg Uberuaga, San Diego, Calif. (144), 2 and 1
Jake Grodzinsky, Cornville, Ariz. (145) def. Derek Tolan, Highands Ranch, Colo. (137), 2 and 1
Wren Fowler, Thomson, Ga. (142) def. Chase Baldwin, Plant City, Fla. (143), 3 and 2
Burke Spensky, Huntington, W.Va. (139) def. Justin Jennings, Lunenburg, Mass. (145), 5 and 4
Chez Reavie, Phoenix, Ariz. (141) def. John Cassidy, Yelm, Wash. (144), 1 up

Lower Bracket

Eric Jorgensen, Grandville, Mich. (136) def. Nick Becker, Boise, Idaho (146), 3 and 1
Keith Hendrickson, Syosset, N.Y. (142) def. Crispin Fuentes, El Paso, Texas (143), 2 and 1
Justin Smith, Franklin, Pa. (140) def. Brian Atkinson, Buffalo Grove, Ill. (144), 5 and 3
Fernando Mechereffe, Brazil (144) def. Michael Letzig, Richmond, Mo. (140), 19 Holes
J J Jakovac, Napa, Calif. (138) def. Josh Green, Toms River, N.J. (145), 2 and 1
Chris Stroud, Groves, Texas (142) def. Kevin Tassistro, Rosemont, Ill. (143), 5 and 3
Jay Choi, Cerritos, Calif. (138) def. John Schones II, Tucson, Ariz. (145), 3 and 2
Gabe Alcala, Bastrop, Texas (143) def. John Lieber, San Diego, Calif. (142), 2 up
Alan Hill, Spring Branch, Texas (137) def. Ryan McClintock, Monmouth, Ill. (146), 1 up
Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (142) def. Corey Huss, Woodstock, Ga. (143), 2 and 1
John Finnin, Crete, Ill. (140) def. Brian Hughes, Portland, Ore. (145), 5 and 3
Henry Liaw, Rowland Heights, Calif. (141) def. Russ Cunningham, Dewitt, Mich. (144), 4 and 2
Steve Lohmeyer, Dayton, Ohio (145) def. Hunter Mahan, McKinney, Texas (137), 21 Holes
Justin Walters, Raleigh, N.C. (142) def. Greg Kopf, Bay Harbor Island, Fla. (143), 5 and 4
Brett Jones, Paducah, Ky. (145) def. Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. (139), 3 and 1
Casey Lubahn, East Lansing, Mich. (141) def. Richard Dukelow, Chicago, Ill. (144), 2 and 1