DENVER — University of Colorado junior Dylan McDermott survived two rounds of stroke play and has advanced to the match play portion here in the 123rd U.S. Amateur.
He tied for 26th in the two-day stroke play qualifier, fashioning a 1-over par 72 Monday at Cherry Hills Country Club and carding a 3-under 69 Tuesday at Colorado Golf Club. His gross total of 2-under 141 was one of just 49 players who finished under par out of the 312 attempting to make it to match play, of which the top 64 earned a spot in the bracket. All competition from here through Sunday’s finals will be at Cherry Hills.
He has been seeded 33rd for the match play, and will have his first match on Wednesday against No. 32 seed Jackson Koivun. Koivun is a freshman at Auburn and was the No. 1 recruit as rated by the AJGA (No. 3 by Golf Channel) in the 2023 class. The winner in the second round will face the victor of the No. 1 vs. No. 64 seeds, Blades Brown vs. Benton Weinberg on Thursday.
McDermott’s 69 was one of just 34 recorded Tuesday, and he did it by hitting 12 fairways and 16 greens, with the two he missed he was on the fringe so he was putting all afternoon. This was his second time qualifying for the U.S. Amateur; he did so last year, shaving 11 strokes off his score from the 2022 event held just outside New York City in northern New Jersey.
He had a pretty good idea of what he needed to do to advance. He started his second round at 1-over par, but was tied for 78th at the time so he was fairly confident he’d move up into the 64 spots that would qualify for match play.
“It was good (about his confidence),” he said. “Being able to play there the week before the tournament as well as in the practice round really prepared me for the course. It wasn’t a ‘bombers’ course, it was more of wedge-to- short iron course, which really fits my game. If you were hitting those well, you could control where you placed it and manage the firmness of the greens.”
On to match play, in which he has a 4-1-1 record in college playing in two Wyoming Match Play Championships; that included a 3-0 mark last February. He’s optimistic that he can continue his competitive play.
“I’m feeling pretty good overall, I played well at…
He tied for 26th in the two-day stroke play qualifier, fashioning a 1-over par 72 Monday at Cherry Hills Country Club and carding a 3-under 69 Tuesday at Colorado Golf Club. His gross total of 2-under 141 was one of just 49 players who finished under par out of the 312 attempting to make it to match play, of which the top 64 earned a spot in the bracket. All competition from here through Sunday’s finals will be at Cherry Hills.
He has been seeded 33rd for the match play, and will have his first match on Wednesday against No. 32 seed Jackson Koivun. Koivun is a freshman at Auburn and was the No. 1 recruit as rated by the AJGA (No. 3 by Golf Channel) in the 2023 class. The winner in the second round will face the victor of the No. 1 vs. No. 64 seeds, Blades Brown vs. Benton Weinberg on Thursday.
McDermott’s 69 was one of just 34 recorded Tuesday, and he did it by hitting 12 fairways and 16 greens, with the two he missed he was on the fringe so he was putting all afternoon. This was his second time qualifying for the U.S. Amateur; he did so last year, shaving 11 strokes off his score from the 2022 event held just outside New York City in northern New Jersey.
He had a pretty good idea of what he needed to do to advance. He started his second round at 1-over par, but was tied for 78th at the time so he was fairly confident he’d move up into the 64 spots that would qualify for match play.
“It was good (about his confidence),” he said. “Being able to play there the week before the tournament as well as in the practice round really prepared me for the course. It wasn’t a ‘bombers’ course, it was more of wedge-to- short iron course, which really fits my game. If you were hitting those well, you could control where you placed it and manage the firmness of the greens.”
On to match play, in which he has a 4-1-1 record in college playing in two Wyoming Match Play Championships; that included a 3-0 mark last February. He’s optimistic that he can continue his competitive play.
“I’m feeling pretty good overall, I played well at…
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