Bennett Tops Menante to Reach U.S. Amateur Final – Texas A&M Athletics

PARAMUS, New Jersey – Texas A&M men’s golfer Sam Bennett defeated Dylan Menante 1UP to reach the 122^nd U.S. Amateur final Saturday at The Ridgewood Country Club.
 
Bennett never trailed throughout the day and took a 2UP lead with a par on No. 10 and a birdie on No. 12. Menante battled back to square the match on holes 14 and 15. On hole 17, the Madisonville, Texas, native posted a remarkable birdie after an errant drive and subsequent shot in the bunker to regain the lead before clinching the match with a par on 18.
 
“First, I was trying to hit a draw. There’s a tree off there and I was trying to hit a pretty big draw, a hard one. I’ve been getting stuck all week,” Bennett said. “Club is getting behind me, swinging up, just missing it right, especially the OB lie is kind of scary so that went a little more right. Then on the lay-up shot, I told (Brian) Kortan I just wanted to hit it at the trees and just hopefully it gets through it and I get lucky. What do they say, trees are 90 percent air? So that’s what I was betting on. But he told me I could get it left out of there and I did, and I was able to get that ball turning a little bit.
 
“We were trying to stay short of the bunker but we got in it, which is fine, but the sand is a little wet so it’s not that bad. That pin is on the left and that whole green is tilted right to left, and so I thought if I just hit a good 7-iron, just had to get it turning just a little bit, and I hit it right in the center and was able to make that putt and flip that hole.”
 
With the win, Bennett earns an entry to the 2023 Masters and U.S. Open and will face Ben Carr on Sunday at 7 a.m. for the championship. The 36-hole finale can be seen on the GOLF Channel.
 
“It’s going to be fun,” Bennett added. “We’re going to keep doing the same things we’ve been doing all week and not giving holes away. On 17 we were able to stay in the hole. In match play anything can happen. You’ve just got to stay in it, never be out of it. That’s what we’re going to continue to do tomorrow.”
 
For more information on the U.S. Amateur and for the television schedule, visit www.USGA.org.
 

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