They are high school teammates, best friends, fellow club members and residents of the same San Diego-area neighborhood. When asked, Luke Potter and Caden Pinckes estimated that they have played “in the thousands” of rounds together.
No previous match was bigger than the one they played on a breezy Thursday afternoon on the southwest Oregon coast. Potter, 18, of Encinitas, Calif., rolled past his Classical Academy teammate, 7 and 5, in the Round of 16 of the 74th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
A semifinalist in the 2021 championship at The Country Club of North Carolina who has signed to play for Arizona State, Potter advanced to a quarterfinal showdown on Friday against Wenyi Ding, 17, of the People’s Republic of China. Ding, No. 20 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®, defeated left-hander John Broderick, of Wellesley, Mass., 5 and 3.
Broderick, a Vanderbilt signee, had eliminated the medalist and top seed, Keaton Vo, of Austin, Texas, 1 up, in the Round of 32 earlier on Thursday.
Also advancing to the final eight are Eric Lee, 17, of Fullerton, Calif.; Jeffrey Guan, 18, of Australia; Caleb Surratt, 18, of Indian Trail, N.C.; Preston Stout, 18, of Dallas, Texas; Luke Clanton, 18, of Miami Lakes, Fla.; and defending champion Nicholas Dunlap, 18, of Tuscaloosa, Ala.
A day after calm conditions at Bandon Dunes, Thursday saw a return of wind gusts in the 20-mph range and temperatures in the 50s.
This was great news for Potter, who said after his Round-of-64 win on Wednesday that he relishes the challenge that links golf brings. The only player in this U.S. Junior Amateur field who competed in the 2020 U.S. Amateur at Bandon Dunes, Potter also reached the quarterfinals of last year’s U.S. Amateur Four-Ball with partner and 2019 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Preston Summerhays at Chambers Bay, a venue in University Place, Wash., that has similar playing characteristics to Bandon Dunes.
Pinckes, 17, a rising senior, plays plenty of friendly matches with Potter at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, their home course. Potter never let his pal breathe in this one, winning No. 1 with a birdie, then earning wins on Nos. 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 to grab a 7-up advantage at the turn.
“That was tough,” said Pinckes. “I got my teeth kicked in.”
Said Potter, who played 4-under golf on the front nine: “We practice together every day. We're very competitive on and off the course. Anytime you get a chance to tee it up with him at a tournament, it's going to be a good time, but at the same time you've got to stay focused on what you're doing, and it's just another opponent.”
In another matchup of Southern Californians, Lee, a Sunny Hills rising senior who plans to play for the University of California-Berkeley in 2023, knocked out incoming Long Beach State freshman and Servite High grad Jack Cantlay, of Los Alamitos, Calif., 2 and 1. The winner of the 2021 American Junior Golf Association’s Tournament of Champions and runner-up in the 2021 Junior PGA Championship, Lee never trailed in beating the younger brother of reigning PGA Tour Player of the Year Patrick Cantlay.
Surratt, No. 19 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®, continued his impressive play with a 7-and-5 win over Ethan Fang, of Plano, Texas. He has played just 41 holes in three matches. Surratt’s quarterfinal opponent will be Stout, a 3-and-2 winner over Joshua Koo, of Cerritos, Calif. Stout could join an impressive list of seven Texans to have won the U.S. Junior since 1999, a group that includes major champions Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler.
Clanton, a 2021 semifinalist who is headed to Florida State in the fall, twice rallied from 2-down deficits to beat Johnnie Clark, of Mesa, Ariz., 3 and 1. The 2022 North & South Amateur champion next faces University of Alabama incoming freshman Dunlap, the defending champion, in the last of the four quarterfinal matches. Dunlap defeated William Love, of Atlanta, Ga., 1 up. Earlier in the day, Love went 21 holes to defeat Christiaan Maas, of South Africa, in the Round of 32.
What’s Next
The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be contested on Friday on Bandon Dunes, with the first quarterfinal match starting at 7 a.m. PDT. The two semifinal matches are scheduled for 1:08 p.m. and 1:20 p.m. Saturday’s 36-hole final is set for 7:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. Golf Channel will broadcast live from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. EDT on Friday and Saturday. Spectators are encouraged to attend, and admission is free.
Notable
Provided they are still age-eligible, the quarterfinalists are exempt into the 75th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Daniel Island Club in Charleston, S.C., July 24-29, 2023.
John Broderick, of Wellesley, Mass., and fellow Bay Stater Aidan Emmerich, of Swampscott, honored the late Rick Willett, the father of their good friend and 2022 Massachusetts Amateur champion Connor Willett, by wearing a blue ribbon on their hats. The elder Willett died suddenly on July 10 at the age of 52.
Shubham Jaglan, of India, a rising sophomore at the University of South Florida, was the only player in the Round of 32 not to utilize a caddie. He used a pull cart.
Luke Potter’s caddie, John Brellenthin, a Minneapolis native who now splits time between Dallas and his home state of Minnesota, competed in the U.S. Junior Amateur 41 years ago, losing to future PGA Tour player Tom Stankowski in the first round. He also qualified for the 1985 U.S. Amateur and 1994 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Hazeltine National G.C. in Chaska, Minn. Brellenthin, who caddied for Potter in his victory in the 2020 Maridoe Amateur in Carrollton, Texas, and in last year’s U.S. Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, won the 2018 Minnesota Senior Open and 2021 Minnesota Senior Amateur.
The USGA is repeating many of the same hole locations at Bandon Dunes for the final two days of the U.S. Junior Amateur that were used in the quarterfinals, semifinals and 36-hole championship match of the 2020 U.S. Amateur.
Quotable
“It's fun when it's windy enough to make it hard, but once you're moving around when you're putting, it makes it tough. But that's what I signed up for.” – quarterfinalist Luke Potter
“I am really excited. The target for me this week was to make the top 64 and then focus on every match if I did make it. I did just that today.” – two-time Australian Junior champion Jeffrey Guan on being among the final eight at Bandon Dunes
“It was a fun match today. He started making a comeback [on the second nine], and not going to lie, I got pretty nervous. But I held through. I just knew if I just made the same score as him coming down the stretch, I would end up beating him, so that's what I did.” – Eric Lee on beating Jack Cantlay
“I walked out after he had come off 18 [from his Round-of-32 win], and I said, all right, I'm not your friend for the next five hours, and he kind of smiled and said, ‘OK.’ It's fun to play against somebody that you know. He's a great competitor.” – Cantlay on facing Lee
“You have to learn how to flight the ball and hit it low in Texas. It's a little firmer out here, so you can just hit a lot of low shots and just have them run up on the green. Yeah, it definitely helps a lot.” – quarterfinalist Preston Stout on having experience in windy conditions in the Lone Star State
“It being my first and last U.S. Junior it was a great event. Definitely upset I couldn't pull off this win, but John [Broderick] played great. I had chances coming down the stretch and just didn't convert my putts. I can't be upset with that. Nonetheless, it was a super fun week and great experience.” – medalist Keaton Vo after his loss in the Round of 32
Results from Thursday’s Round of 32 of match play at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at 7,130-yard, par-72 Bandon Dunes Golf Resort's Bandon Dunes course.
Round of 32
(Upper Bracket)
John Broderick, Wellesley, Mass. (141) def. Keaton Vo, Austin, Texas (134), 1 up
Wenyi Ding, People's Republic of China (139) def. Shubham Jaglan, India (139), 5 and 4
Caden Pinckes, La Costa, Calif. (138) def. JeanPhilippe Parr, Canada (140), 2 and 1
Luke Potter, Encinitas, Calif. (138) def. Nicholas Prieto, Miami, Fla. (140), 5 and 3
Jack Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. (137) def. Aidan Emmerich, Swampscott, Mass. (141), 2 up
Eric Lee, Fullerton, Calif. (142) def. Justin Hastings, Cayman Islands (143), 1 up
Jeffrey Guan, Australia (142) def. Nicholas Gross, Downingtown, Pa. (137), 1 up
Charlie Palmer, Phoenix, Ariz. (142) def. Mason Snyder, Las Vegas, Nev. (143), 4 and 2
(Lower Bracket)
Caleb Surratt, Indian Trail, N.C. (141) def. Oscar Bach, Norway (144), 3 and 1
Ethan Fang, Plano, Texas (143) def. Jay Leng Jr., San Diego, Calif. (139), 1 up
Joshua Koo, Cerritos, Calif. (137) def. Ethan Lien, Cupertino, Calif. (142), 3 and 1
Preston Stout, Dallas, Texas (140) def. Zachery Pollo, Rocklin, Calif. (138), 5 and 3
Nicholas Dunlap, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (141) def. Grant Lester, Washington, D.C. (136), 3 and 2
William Love, Atlanta, Ga. (142) def. Christiaan Maas, South Africa (139), 21 holes
Johnnie Clark, Mesa, Ariz. (141) def. Aidan Cohl, Cumming, Ga. (143), 3 and 2
Luke Clanton, Miami Lakes, Fla. (142) def. Akshay Anand, Issaquah, Wash. (139), 5 and 4
Results from Thursday’s Round of 16 of match play at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at 7,115-yard, par-72 Bandon Dunes Golf Resort's Bandon Dunes course.
Round of 16
(Upper Bracket)
Wenyi Ding, People's Republic of China (139) def. John Broderick, Wellesley, Mass. (141), 5 and 3
Luke Potter, Encinitas, Calif. (138) def. Caden Pinckes, La Costa, Calif. (138), 7 and 5
Eric Lee, Fullerton, Calif. (142) def. Jack Cantlay, Los Alamitos, Calif. (137), 2 and 1
Jeffrey Guan, Australia (142) def. Charlie Palmer, Phoenix, Ariz. (142), 5 and 4
(Lower Bracket)
Caleb Surratt, Indian Trail, N.C. (141) def. Ethan Fang, Plano, Texas (143), 7 and 5
Preston Stout, Dallas, Texas (140) def. Joshua Koo, Cerritos, Calif. (137), 3 and 2
Nicholas Dunlap, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (141) def. William Love, Atlanta, Ga. (142), 1 up
Luke Clanton, Miami Lakes, Fla. (142) def. Johnnie Clark, Mesa, Ariz. (141), 3 and 1
Pairings and tee times for Friday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at 7,115-yard, par-72 Bandon Dunes Golf Resort's Bandon Dunes course.
All Times PDT
Quarterfinal Round
(Upper Bracket)
7 a.m. - Wenyi Ding, People's Republic of China (139) vs. Luke Potter, Encinitas, Calif. (138)
7:12 a.m. - Eric Lee, Fullerton, Calif. (142) vs. Jeffrey Guan, Australia (142)
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(Lower Bracket)
7:24 a.m. - Caleb Surratt, Indian Trail, N.C. (141) vs. Preston Stout, Dallas, Texas (140)
7:36 a.m. - Nicholas Dunlap, Tuscaloosa, Ala. (141) vs. Luke Clanton, Miami Lakes, Fla. (142)
*Quarterfinal round winners advance to the semifinal round of match play on Friday, beginning at 1:08 p.m.
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