Medalist Overton Gains Quarterfinal Round

 

Galloway Township , N.J. – Medalist Jeff Overton, 20, of Evansville , Ind. , advanced to the quarterfinal round of match play and Thursday at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Blue Heron Pines Golf Club’s East Course.

 

Overton, a two-time all-Big 10 choice at Indiana University, defeated Alan Hill, 41, of Spring Branch, Texas, and a semifinalist in 2001, 2 and 1, in the second round and Tim Kunick, 20, of Bismarck, N.D., 4 and 3, in the third round.

 

“In match play you have to try to put a lot of pressure on the other guy so that he folds before you do,” Overton said. “I went out and did that.”

 

In fact, Overton never trailed in either match and hasn’t since the 12 th hole of his first round match. His focus remains on playing patiently.

“I’ve shot these numbers lately,” Overton said, without a hint of bravado. “My attitude is let’s have somebody come out and beat me. Let’s go out there and make 18 pars and see if somebody beats me.”

 

Overton has every reason to feel confident. His torrid streak of play over the course of the last six weeks includes a final-round 64 en route to a 12-stroke win at the Indiana State Amateur, a runner-up finish at the North and South Amateur and three birdies in his final five holes in APL qualifying to earn the lone berth at that site.

 

Defending champion Ryan Moore, 20, of Puyallup , Wash. , was eliminated in the second round by Brandt Snedeker , 22, of Nashville, Tenn. , 4 and 3.

 

Moore, who was also the runner-up at the 2000 Junior Amateur and has a USGA match play record of 15-3, held a 2-up edge after eight holes but dropped six of the next

seven holes. Snedecker made four birdies in that stretch.

 

Snedeker, a first-team All-American at Vanderbilt defeated Brendan Steele , 20, of Idylllwild , Calif. , 3 and 2 in the third round. A member of Team USA at the 2003 Palmer Cup in South Carolina , where he compiled a 3-1 match play mark, Snedeker meets Brady Stockton, 23, of San Ramon, Calif., in the quarterfinals.

 

“I really tried to stay focused because it’s easy to become complacent after you beat somebody like Ryan Moore ,” Snedeker said.

 

Overton, who tied USGA standards for low 36-hole score at 132 and low 18 hole score with a 64 in the first round of stroke play, faces Dayton Rose, 20, of Stillwater,

Okla. , who advanced into the quarterfinals with a 1-up win over Nick Desai , 35, of Zambia.

 

Danny Green , of Jackson , Tenn , 1999 Mid-Amateur champion advanced with a 3-and-1 win over Eric Riehle, Hemet , Calif. in the second round but lost in the third by Tim Kane , 20, of Simsbury, Conn. , 5 and 4. Kane plays 18-year-old Luke List , of Ringgold, Ga., in the quarterfinals.

 

The fourth match pits Matt Every, 19, of Daytona Beach , Fla. , against 2002 semifinalist and 2003 North and South champion Chris Stroud, 21, of Groves , Texas .

 

In the second round, Joe Kunz of Webster , N.Y, eliminated Henry Liaw , 17, of Rowland Heights , Calif. , the 2001 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, 1 up.

 

The quarterfinal round and semifinal rounds, 18-hole matches, are set for Friday. The 36-hole final is scheduled for Saturday.

 

The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, for bona fide public course players, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

 

Results

Galloway, N.J. – Results from Thursday’s second and third rounds of match play at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship played at the 7,127-yard, par-71 Blue Heron Pines Golf Club’s East Course:

Second Round

Jeffrey Overton, Evansville , Ind. (132) vs. Alan Hill , Spring Branch, Texas (147), 2 and 1

Tim Kunick , Bismarck , N.D. (150) def. John Limanti , Jacksonville , Fla. (145), 3 and 1

Nick Desai , Zambia (151) def. Lenny Park , Tempe , Ariz. (149), 2 and 1

Dayton Rose , Stillwater , Okla. (143) def. John Larson , Springfield , Minn. (149), 3 and 2

   Joe Kunz , Webster , N.Y. (148) def. Henry Liaw , Rowland Heights , Calif. (140), 1 up

Matthew Every, Daytona Beach , Fla. (145) def. Travis Johnson , Bellflower , Calif. (145), 2 and 1.

Joey Stansberry , Bloomington , Minn. (140) def. Isaac Weintraub , Santa Cruz , Calif. (147), 3 and 2

   Chris Stroud , Groves , Texas (149) def. Jay Reynolds , Austin , Texas (144), 4 and 3

   Brandt Snedeker , Nashville , Tenn. (139) def. Ryan Moore , Puyallup , Wash. (148), 4 and 3

Brendan Steele , Idyllwild , Calif. (145) def. Jay Woodson , Powhatan , Va. (150), 3 and 1

Brady Stockton , San Ramon , Calif. (143) def. Roger Fine , Carrollton , Texas (147), 20 holes

John Cassidy , Yelm , Wash. (151) def. Jon Antunes , Belton , Texas (146), 2 and 1

Timothy Kane , Simsbury , Conn. (151) def. Jeffrey Castle , Hampstead , N.H. (147), 4 and 3

Danny Green , Jackson , Tenn. (150) vs. Eric Riehle , Hemet , Calif. (149), 3 and 1

Jason Harris , Clemmons , N.C. (151) def. Scott Seibert , Chesterfield , Mo. (148), 4 and 2

   Luke List , Ringgold , Ga. (144) def. Jeff Gilchrist , Sacramento , Calif. (146), 5 and 4

 

Third Round

Overton def Kunick, 4 and 3

Rose def. Desai, 1 up

Every def. Kunz, 4 and 2

Stroud def. Stansberry, 4 and 2

Snedecker def. Steele , 3 and 2

Stockton def. Cassidy, 19 holes

Kane def. Green, 5 and 4

List def. Harris , 1 up