Rose To Meet Snedeker In Amateur Public Links Final
Galloway Township, N.J. - Dayton Rose, 20, of Stillwater, Okla., meets Brant Snedeker, 22, of Nashville, Tenn., in the 36-hole match play final Saturday at the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Blue Heron Pines Golf Club's East Course.
Rose was 3-up after 10 holes and was the equivalent of 6-under-par
without a bogey in defeating Chris Stroud, 21, of Groves, Texas, 4
and 2 in the semifinals. Earlier in the day, the 6-3, 215-pound Rose
knocked off record-tying medalist Jeff Overton, 20, of Evanville,
Ind., 3 and 1 in the quarterfinals.
"It's one of the better days of golf I've ever had," said
Rose. "My ball striking was as close to perfect as I've ever
had it. Finally, I started making some putts in the afternoon."
In a semifinal match of Vanderbilt connections, Snedeker, a first-team
All-American at the Nashville school, built a 4-up lead through eight
holes over 18-year-old Luke List, of Ringgold, Ga., and won, 2 and
1.
List, who will attend Vanderbilt in the fall as a freshman, charged
hard and recorded seven straight second-nine birdies on holes 10 through
16 (with concessions) but could not overcome Snedecker's consistency.
"That was a huge advantage," said Snedeker of his lead.
"That was the whole match. When I got on that roll and won four
in a row, I got a comfort level. I obviously needed it."
Snedeker, a member of Team USA at the 2003 Palmer Cup in South Carolina,
and the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, fought off List's
birdie binge with three birdies and an eagle of his own and was still
2 up with three holes to play.
He
lost the short par-4 16th by driving into the hazard to make bogey
but won the match when he parred the par-3 17th after List drove into
the high fescue off the tee and could not convert his par putt.
Stroud, a 2002 semifinalist and the 2003 North and South Amateur champion,
defeated Matt Every, 19, of Daytona Beach, Fla., 2 up in the quarterfinals.
List, the youngest remaining competitor and a participant in the 2003
U.S. Open, beat Tim Kane, 20, of Simsbury, Conn., 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals.
Snedeker nipped Brady Stockton, 23, of San Ramon, Calif., 1 up, in
the quarterfinals.
The 36-hole final is scheduled for Saturday. The first 18 begins at
7:30 a.m. and the second 18 starts at 12:30 p.m. The winner receives
custody of the James D. Standish Jr Cup for the ensuing year and,
historically, an invitation to play in the next Masters Tournament,
if still an amateur.
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.
All of the quarterfinalists are exempt from qualifying for the 2004
championship at Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove, Minn. The winners
of the semifinals are exempt from qualifying for the 2003 U.S. Amateur
at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club in August.
Results
Galloway, N.J. - Results from Friday's quarterfinal and semifinal
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:
Quarterfinal Round
Dayton Rose, Stillwater, Okla. (143) def. Jeffrey Overton, Evansville,
Ind., (132), 3 and 1
Chris Stroud, Groves, Texas (149) def. Matthew Every, Daytona Beach,
Fla. (145), 2 up.
Brandt Snedeker, Nashville, Tenn. (139) def. Brady Stockton, San Ramon,
Calif. (143), 1 up
Luke List, Ringgold, Ga. (144) def. Timothy Kane, Simsbury, Conn.
(151), 3 and 2
Semifinal Round
Rose def. Stroud, 4 and 2
Snedeker def. List, 2 and 1
Pairing for Saturday's championship round 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 (36 holes):
Championship Final
7:30 a.m. Dayton Rose, Stillwater, Okla. (143) vs. Brandt Snedeker,
Nashville, Tenn. (139)
