Semifinal Saturday in the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship is set, and the pressure might be the highest of any day of the championship.
Both finalists will earn exemptions into the 2022 U.S. Open as well a likely invitation into the 2022 Masters. Let's take a deeper look at this years four semifinalists.
At the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship, more of the game’s top amateur golfers trusted their performance to Titleist than any other brand.
Of the 312 players that competed this week at Oakmont Country Club, Titleist was the top choice across every major equipment category: golf balls, drivers, fairway metals, hybrids, utility irons, iron sets, wedges and putters.
Competing in his third U.S. Amateur Championship, Van Holmgren, 22, of Plymouth, Minn., earned two match-play victories on Thursday at Oakmont Country Club to reach the Round of 16 for the first time. Oakmont is hosting the championship’s 121st edition – its 17th USGA championship overall and record-tying sixth U.S. Amateur.
Holmgren, a recent graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University who earned the No. 7 seed in stroke play, defeated Maxwell Moldovan, 3 and 2, in the Round of 64, then ousted Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira, of Argentina, 4 and 3, on Thursday afternoon. Holmgren, who learned the game at The First Tee program in the Three Rivers Park District in Plymouth, squandered a 3-up lead against Moldovan before rallying to capture three consecutive holes and close out the Ohio State sophomore. In the afternoon, he never lost a hole and closed out de Oliveira, a University of Arkansas junior, on the 15th hole of the match.
As the game of golf continues to surge in popularity around the world, the sport pauses each year on August 13th to commemorate the day the greatest swing in golf was born … #BenHoganDay.
In 2021, to honor the nine-time Major Champion’s iconic swing — on what would have been his 109th birthday — Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company, one of the game’s premier equipment brands that was founded by Ben Hogan in 1953, has launched the “Play Like An Icon” Giveaway, a promotion that will run from August 13th through August 31st and award a lucky golfer with a prize package valued at over $6,800. Interested consumers can enter to win at https://benhogangolf.com/pages/play-like-an-icon.
Topgolf Entertainment Group (TEG), a technology-enabled global sports and entertainment leader, has entered into a 10-year partnership with St Andrews Links. Through this strategic partnership, TEG will become the exclusive golf entertainment partner for the “Home of Golf,” along with Toptracer as the official range technology of St Andrews Links.
World-renowned St Andrews Links is a beacon for global golf travel with scores of avid golfers descending on the grounds every year. Together, TEG and St Andrews Links will collaborate on unique initiatives and activations designed to offer even more ways for golfers everywhere to experience St Andrews Links through TEG’s respective brands Topgolf, World Golf Tour (WGT) online game and Toptracer technology. The partnership will provide players of all ages and ability levels—from all over the world—access to one of the most esteemed venues in golf through virtual gaming, global tournaments and more.
Mark Goetz of nearby Greensburg, Pa., completed 36 holes of stroke play at 8-under-par 132 at Oakmont Country Club and stroke play co-host the Longue Vue Club to earn medalist honors in the rain-delayed 121st U.S. Amateur Championship on Wednesday.
No. 1 seed Goetz opened match play on Wednesday evening and was tied with David Nyfjall, of Sweden, through four holes when play was suspended at 7:50 p.m. EDT. Nyfjall earned the final spot in the Round of 64 in a 12-for-1 playoff late Wednesday afternoon. Ricky Castillo, a 2021 USA Walker Cup Team member and the No. 33 seed, won the lone match to finish on Wednesday evening, bolting to a 4-up lead after five holes on the way to a 5-and-4 victory over fellow Californian and No. 32 seed Donald Kay.
As part of its commitment to stage golf’s greatest championships at the nation’s most iconic venues, the USGA has awarded five more U.S. Open Championships and four U.S. Women’s Open Championships to two of the country’s most storied golf courses, Oakmont Country Club and Merion Golf Club, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As part of the announcement, the USGA has also committed to bring its national championships to the Keystone State with greater frequency, beyond the now 18 championships scheduled to be played in the commonwealth between now and 2050.
The U.S. Amateur, the USGA’s oldest championship, is known as a test of fortitude, and the patience and resilience factors for the 312-player field were ramped up on Tuesday afternoon when play in the championship’s 121st edition was halted for nearly four hours by storms in the area.
The morning wave of players on both Oakmont Country Club – which is hosting the championship for a record-tying sixth time – and stroke-play co-host the Longue Vue Club, in nearby Verona, Pa., were able to complete 36 holes of stroke play. However, the 156 afternoon starters in the field will have to complete Round 2 on Wednesday, starting at 7:30 a.m. EDT, after which the 64-player bracket for match play will be decided, likely in the early afternoon. The Round of 64 will begin after a playoff, if necessary, to decide the final spots in the bracket.
Shot Scope (www.shotscope.com), a leading international manufacturer of GPS-based game tracking and distance measuring smart watches, as well as laser rangefinders, today introduced Lay-Up Points, a feature for the award-winning V3 watch that offers distances from the center of the fairway at 100, 150 and 200 yards to the middle of the green.
The newest enhancement from Shot Scope, which is offered at no additional cost to customers, gives golfers the knowledge to lay up with confidence on long holes or understand what to hit off the tee on shorter par 4s.
Last month I chose one of my followers to get fit at True Spec Golf for a new driver, and I tagged along with the winner to document and report on his day. You saw some of it on twitter and Instagram, and now we're going to dive a little deeper into Rick's fitting.
I'm going to let Rick tell you about his day in his own words below, but first will give you some of my own impressions as I observed the process. And then will wrap it up with some final thoughts, and also let you know how Rick's driver game stacks up now since he received and put his new driver in play.
Callaway Golf has announced new JAWS Full Toe wedges, designed to give you control on all types of wedge shots, from chips, pitches, flops, bunker shots, and full shots into the green.
The Jaws Full Toe combines four distinct technologies that make it an absolute spin machine. It all starts with Callaway's JAWS grooves, the most aggressive groove in golf.
Oakmont Country Club has a reputation as one of golf’s sternest tests, and it kept to that unyielding standard in Round 1 of stroke play on Monday in the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship. Just one player of the 156 who played there posted an under-par score, a 1-under 69 by Cole Sherwood, of Austin, Texas.
Jacob Bridgeman of Inman, S.C., a senior at Clemson University, shot the low round of Day 1, a 7-under-par 63 on stroke play co-host course Longue Vue Club. Three players – Joe Highsmith of Lakewood, Wash.; Mark Goetz, of nearby Greensburg, Pa.; and Alex Fitzpatrick, of England – shot 6-under 64s at Longue Vue, which is about 6 miles away from Oakmont in Verona, Pa. Four other players, including 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass., had 5-under 65s at Longue Vue among a parade of under-par scores on the 6,705-yard layout set high above the Allegheny River.
Miura Golf is pleased to congratulate brand ambassador Abraham Ancer on his first PGA Tour victory at the prestigious World Golf Championship – FedEx St. Jude Invitational. On the heels of an impressive showing representing Mexico in the Tokyo Olympic Games, Ancer persevered through strong winds at TPC Southwind in Memphis for a one-stroke playoff win over Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns.
A pinpoint approach shot on the second playoff hole led to a birdie and the victory. Ancer has been playing Miura irons since 2017 and currently has TC-201 irons in his bag. In February 2019, he became the company’s first brand ambassador.
Cleveland Golf is proud to announce three new Launcher XL Woods: Launcher XL HALO Fairway Woods, Launcher XL HALO Hybrid, and the Launcher XL HALO Hy-Wood. These new additions to the Launcher XL family officially launch in North America on Aug. 20, 2021.
“The new Launcher XL HALO Fairway Woods are the most forgiving and confidence inspiring fairway woods Cleveland Golf has ever made,” said Dustin Brekke, Director of Engineering at Cleveland Golf. “With an extreme high MOI design, Gliderail technology and Rebound Frame, the Launcher XL Fairway Woods provide distance and consistency never before seen for game improvement players.”
Jensen Castle completed one of the most improbable runs in U.S. Women’s Amateur history by defeating Yu-Chiang (Vivian) Hou, 2 and 1, in Sunday’s 36-hole championship match at Westchester Country Club.
Castle, 20, of West Columbia, S.C., a University of Kentucky junior who opened the week with a 7-over-par 79 in Monday’s first round of stroke play and then survived a 12-for-2 playoff just to reach match play, became the first No. 63 seed to hoist the Robert Cox Trophy. Castle is the third No. 63 seed in USGA history to win a title since seeding began in the mid-1980s – Clay Ogden (2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links) and Steven Fox (2012 U.S. Amateur) are the others.
Cinderella is still dancing at Westchester Country Club. University of Kentucky junior Jensen Castle, the No. 63 seed who survived a 12-for-2 playoff on Tuesday to advance to match play, eliminated world No. 2 and reigning NCAA champion Rachel Heck in a 19-hole semifinal thriller on Saturday afternoon to earn a spot in Sunday’s 36-hole championship match of the 121st U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
Castle, 20, of West Columbia, S.C., will face another Wildcat, University of Arizona All-American Yu-Chiang (Vivian) Hou, 20, of Chinese Taipei, for the right to add her name to the list of legends on the Robert Cox Trophy.
A field of 302 golfers will tee it up for the 121st U.S. Amateur Championship beginning Monday at Oakmont Country Club and Longue Vue Club.
Oakmont Country Club will be set up at 7,254 yards and will play to a par of 35-35–70. Longue Vue Club, which will serve as the stroke-play co-host course for the two days of stroke play, will be set up at 6,647 yards and play to a par of 36-34–70.
Firestone Country Club – renowned as one of North America’s most historic venues for championship golf – announces it will host both men’s and women’s U.S. Mid-Amateur Team Championships from Aug. 4 – 7, 2022.
The 15th annual U.S. Mid-Amateur Team Championship is comprised of men amateur golfers over the age of 25. According to Executive Director Eric Hjortness, the men’s event will grow from 20 to 40 state teams, and will add a women’s championship for amateur golfers over the age of 23, due to the success of this past year’s championship at Creekmoor Golf Club in Kansas City.
Suthavee Chanachai didn’t know what to expect from her first-ever round in a USGA championship on Monday. The 23-year-old from Thailand, who just graduated in May from New Mexico State, hadn’t even tried to qualify before filing an application earlier this spring for the 121st U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Westchester Country Club.
Chanachai carried the momentum from shooting 69 in her qualifier to Westchester Country Club, firing a 3-under-par 69 on the West Course to grab the first-round lead. Her five-birdie, two-bogey performance left the two-time Western Athletic Conference player of the year one stroke clear of five players.
Cleveland Golf is proud to announce the all-new Launcher XL Driver, Launcher XL Lite Driver, and Launcher XL Lite DRAW Driver. The Launcher XL Drivers officially launch in North America on Aug. 20, 2021.
“The Launcher XL drivers hit the ball long and straight – plain and simple,” said Jeff Brunski, Vice President of Research and Development at Cleveland Golf. “This is the most forgiving driver line we’ve ever made. More than anything, you’re going to see straighter drives more often. We’re introducing a standard model with adjustable loft and lie settings, a lite model that’s longer and faster, and a draw model that corrects for a slice. There’s something for all game improvement players with Launcher XL.”
