Bo Jin Enjoys Narrow Advantage

Pennsylvania, United States: China’s Bo Jin holds a slender advantage as he bids to qualify for the Round-of-32 at the 121st US Amateur Championship.

On another day that saw weather disruptions to the second round of stroke play at Oakmont Country Club and Longua Vue Club, Bo was one of only four Asia-Pacific representatives to finish among the leading 64 players and earn a place in the match play segment.

Taking on American Sam Murphy, Bo was one-up through 12 holes when play was called off for the day.

Bo finished the 36 holes of stroke play in equal 20th position with an aggregate of one-under 139. The three other Asia-Pacific qualifiers were Malaysian Khavish Varadan (141) and Australian Louis Dobbelaar and China’s Lin Yuxin (both 142).

Left-handed Lin, a two-time Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship winner, faces American Ryan Gerard while University of Alabama’s Varadan squares off against American Devon Bling. Both matches are scheduled to start on Thursday morning.

Dobbelaar, meanwhile, requires a dramatic late comeback if he is to progress. The 19-year-old’s contest with Ross Steelman was halted after 14 holes with the American two-up.

Due to weather delays, only 18 of the 32 Round-of-64 matches started on Wednesday. Play will resume at 7:30 am local time on Thursday.

Stroke play was delayed for nearly four hours on Tuesday afternoon by storms, and half of the 312-player field was forced to complete the second round on Wednesday morning. Another storm early Wednesday afternoon delayed the start of the Round of 64 for another four hours, and matches finally started at 4:30 pm local time.

A total of 63 players shot two-over-par 142 or better, which left 12 players at three-over-par 143 to battle for the 64th spot in the bracket.

Among them was Japan’s Ren Yonezawa who bounced back from an opening 77 at Oakmont with a four-under 66 at Longue Vue. He was eliminated at the first play-off hole.

But it was 22-year-old Swede David Nyfjall who sank an eight-foot par putt on the third play-off hole (Oakmont’s 18th) to advance after reigning US Junior Amateur champion Nick Dunlap failed to get up and down.

Nyfjall, Dunlap and Joe Alfieri all birdied the first play-off hole (number 15) to advance to 18, the second play-off hole, where Alfieri was eliminated with a bogey.

The cut to get into the play-off for stroke play came at three-over, one stroke higher than last year at Bandon Dunes. The cut to earn a spot in the stroke play play-off in recent years has been consistent: it fell at three-over at Olympia Fields in 2015; two-over at Oakland Hills in 2016; four-over at Riviera in 2017; four-over at Pebble Beach in 2018; and five-over at Pinehurst in 2019.

The 12 competitors in the play-off on Wednesday are the fewest since the 2006 championship.

Like Yonezawa, Japanese duo Kento Yamawaki and Taiga Sugihara both made courageous attempts to qualify, falling narrowly short on 144. Both struggled in tough conditions at Oakmont on Monday but battled to scores of 68 and 69 at Longue Vue on Tuesday.

Other Asia-Pacific representatives who failed to make it through to match play were Japan’s Yuki Moriyama (146), Singapore’s James Leow (147), Korean Sam Choi and Japan’s Keita Okada (both 149), Thai Puwit Anupansuebsai, Australian Lukas Michel and Indonesian Timothius Tamardi (all 150), Japan’s Keita Nakajima (151), Hong Kong’s Leon D’Souza and Australian Tony Chen Kuang-yu (153), Japan’s Kotaro Murata and China’s Kong Lingkun (both 154) and Korean Kim Ho-wan (160).