BATON ROUGE – Two Tigers are set to represent the LSU men’s golf program at the 112th United States Amateur Championship this summer as rising junior Andrew Presley and incoming freshman Zach Wright have each earned their spot in the field for the nation’s premier amateur event being held Aug. 13-19 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.
Presley qualified with a third-place finish in the sectional qualifier held July 9 at Mira Vista Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, while Wright earned his spot in the field in the sectional qualifier held Tuesday and Wednesday of this week at Wigam Golf Resort in Litchfield Park, Ariz.
A Second-Team All-SEC selection in 2012, Presley will compete at the U.S. Amateur for the second time in his amateur career as he also qualified at Mira Vista as a high school senior in 2010.
Presley fired rounds of 2-under par 68 and 3-over par 73 to grab the third and final qualifying spot at Mira Vista Country Club with a 36-hole score of 1-over par 141. Zach Monson of Texas Wesleyan University fired a 4-under par 136 to win the sectional qualifier at Mira Vista Country Club by three shots over the 1-under par 139 carded by University of Southern California freshman Anthony Paolucci.
While Presley is set to make his second appearance at the U.S. Amateur Championship, Wright will make his debut next month after tying for the top spot in the qualifier held at Wigwam’s Gold Course..
After opening with a 1-under 70 on Tuesday, Wright fired a 3-under par 68 in Wednesday’s second round to tie Martin Salgado of Mexico for the medalist honors with matching 36-hole scores of 4-under par 138. Oklahoma State junior Sean Einhaus posted rounds of even-par 71 and 2-under 69 to finish two stroks off the pace at 2-under par 140 for the final qualifying spot at Wigwam Golf Resort.
A product of Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Ariz., Wright signed with the Tigers as one of the nation’s premier prep prospects as the No. 8-ranked recruit nationally in the prestigious Polo Junior Golf Rankings when signing his National Letter of Intent during the recruiting period in November.