CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – LSU junior and No. 46-seeded Andrew Presley stormed back to square his match with No. 19-seeded Bryson Dechambeau on the 17th hole before capturing a 1-up victory in 19 holes in Wednesday’s opening round of match play to earn his place in the Round of 32 at the 112th United States Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club.
Presley twice found himself 2-down to Dechambeau in the match through four holes and nine holes while facing an uphill climb on the back nine to continue his U.S. Amateur run.
But he cut the deficit in half by winning the par-four 10th hole with a par before taking a 1-down deficit to the 17th tee. That’s when Presley squared the match with a par at the par-five 17th hole while Dechambeau dropped the hole with a bogey. The match went into extra holes after each competitor made par at the par-four 18th before Presley took the match in 19 holes with a birdie at the par-four first.
Presley advances to take on Oklahoma State junior Talor Gooch in the Round of 32 on Thursday morning with their tee time scheduled for 10:40 a.m. CT on the front nine. The winner will then battle either No. 3-seeded Cheng-Tsung Pan or No. 30 seed Gavin Green in a Sweet 16 match Thursday at 3:15 p.m.
Tiger sophomore and No. 7-seeded Curtis Thompson saw his run at the U.S. Amateur title come to an end with a first-round defeat in match play to No. 58-seeded Edouard Espana on Wednesday afternoon.
In a back-and-forth battle throughout the match, Thompson held a 1-up advantage three times following a birdie at the par-four second, a par at the par-three eighth and a birdie at the par-three 12th holes. But after falling back to all square through 16 holes, Thompson faced his first deficit of the match when he posted a bogey at the par-five 17th hole before Espana took the 1-up victory in 18 holes.
Presley Advances to Face OSU Golfer at US Amateur