Hometown Favorites Jorgensen, Lubahn Advance

Washington, Mich. – Michigan State teammates and local qualifiers Eric Jorgensen and Casey Lubahn advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2002 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.

Jorgensen, 22, of Grandville, Mich., and Lubahn, 21, of East Lansing, Mich., easily dispatched their afternoon opponents after a long day of match play, which included an hour-and-a-half suspension of play due to lightning in the area near the 7,001-yard, par-72 Orchards Golf Club.

Jorgensen is still riding high after his recent victory at the North & South Amateur earlier in the month. He beat reigning Brazilian Amateur champion Fernando Mechereffe 6 and 5 in the alternately windy and stifling conditions found on the golf course.

The current Big-10 champion said: “I feel very confident going into tomorrow after the playing this well this afternoon. Putting like I did this afternoon, I got my stroke back that I had in qualifying.”

Jorgensen and Lubahn are in the same pairings bracket, which means they could face each other in Friday afternoon’s semifinal match.

“Casey and I both thought it would be funny if we ever ran into each other in the finals of a big tournament,” said Jorgensen. “If we both win tomorrow we go head to head in the afternoon.”

Jorgensen added: “Casey’s an absolutely awesome match play player. He destroys people out there. It’s going to be tough if we meet.”

Lubahn breezed through both of his opponents today by the largest margins of victory in the championship. He beat Brett Jones, of Paducah, Ky., 7 and 6 in the morning round of 32, and dismissed South African Justin Walters 7 and 5 in the round of 16.

“I just played well and ran into a couple of guys who weren’t on top of their games,” said Lubahn. “I was 11 under through 26 holes. That’ll do it most of the time.”

Though many players are thrilled just to survive the 36-hole test on Thursday, Lubahn said: “I’ve got a lot left in the tank after only 26 holes. My caddie wanted to know if we get our money back.”

Lubahn is well aware that fellow Spartan Jorgensen looms large on the horizon should they both advance through the quarterfinals.

“Jorgensen is a guy who has pushed me to work harder and to be a better player," said Lubahn. "My success here is a result of him and some other guys pushing me along the way.”

Ryan Moore, 19, of Puyallup, Wash., who qualified for the 2002 U.S. Open, battled to a 2 and 1 victory over John Finnin, the 42-year-old owner of a janitorial and carpet cleaning company in Crete, Ill.

“He [Finnin] played a heck of a match today and kept fighting and fighting,” said Moore, the 2000 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up. “It seemed like as the day went on he got better and better.”

Among other players who advanced to Friday’s quarterfinal round was Lee Williamson, 23, of Crawfordsville, Ind., who recently returned from Ireland after competing for the U.S. team in the Palmer Cup. Williamson, a 1st team All-American and 2002 Big-10 Player of the Year for Purdue, beat Haymes Snedeker, of Oxford, Miss, 2 and 1 in the afternoon match.

Play continues Friday at The Orchards Golf Club with quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. The championship concludes on Saturday with a 36-hole final. The winner is crowned national champion and receives an invitation to next year’s Masters tournament.

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 Friday’s quarterfinal 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):

Quarterfinal
7:30 am - Billy Zihala, Little Rock, Ark. (140) vs. Brady Stockton, San Ramon, Calif. (138)
7:40 am - Lee Williamson, Crawfordsville, Ind. (137) vs. Wren Fowler, Thomson, Ga. (142)
7:50 am - Eric Jorgensen, Grandville, Mich. (136) vs. Chris Stroud, Groves, Texas (142)
8:00 am - Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (142) vs. Casey Lubahn, East Lansing, Mich. (141)

Results

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

Round of 16

Upper Bracket
Billy Zihala, Little Rock, Ark. (140) def. Tele Wightman, Chicopee, Mass. (146), 2 and 1
Brady Stockton, San Ramon, Calif. (138) def. Brent Wanner, Mashpee, Mass. (138), 20 Holes
Lee Williamson, Crawfordsville, Ind. (137) def. Haymes Snedeker, Oxford, Miss. (141), 2 and 1
Wren Fowler, Thomson, Ga. (142) def. Burke Spensky, Huntington, W.Va. (139), 3 and 2

Lower Bracket
Eric Jorgensen, Grandville, Mich. (136) def. Fernando Mechereffe, Brazil (144), 6 and 5
Chris Stroud, Groves, Texas (142) def. Jay Choi, Cerritos, Calif. (138), 4 and 2
Ryan Moore, Puyallup, Wash. (142) def. John Finnin, Crete, Ill. (140), 2 and 1
Casey Lubahn, East Lansing, Mich. (141) def. Justin Walters, Raleigh, N.C. (142), 7 and 5