GREENSBORO, N.C. – Less than an hour after he found out he had survived 36 holes of stroke play to advance to the field of 64 in the 85th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, Chico State men’s golfer Kyle Souza teed it up Wednesday morning for the opening round of match play at Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C. It was a successful day for the Livermore native, as Souza – the No. 56 seed – defeated ninth-seeded Justin Lower 5 and 3 to move on to Thursday’s match play competition.
Due to a Tuesday lightning storm, 18 players had to finish their second round of stroke play Wednesday morning to determine which 64 golfers would qualify for match play. Despite having to wait to find out his fate, Souza, with a 36-hole total of 4-over par 146, ultimately made the cut, finishing in an 11-way tie for 48th place. Just before 10 a.m. Eastern time he was paired with Malone University (Canton, Ohio) golfer Lower in the match play opener. Lower earned the No. 9 seed by shooting a 3-under par 139 in stroke play.
Souza would never trail, building an early lead and eventually winning seven of the 15 holes played. Souza won the third, fifth and sixth holes to gain the upper hand in the match; then after losing the eighth hole, he won holes 10 through 12 to go 5-up with six to play. After halving the 13th and losing the 14th, Souza birdied the par-5, 492-yard 15th to regain the five-hole advantage and win the match.
Souza’s opponent in the second round of match play Thursday is No. 24 seed Tim Sheppard of East Peoria, Ill. Sheppard advanced with a 4 and 3 victory Wednesday over No. 41 seed Mark Knecht of Paducah, Ky. Souza and Sheppard are scheduled to tee off at 7:30 a.m. Eastern time, with the winner moving on to a second round of match play Thursday afternoon against the winner of the No. 25 Kevin Phelan (University of North Florida) versus No. 57 Griffin Wood (University of Evansville) match.
Click here for the latest results of the 85th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship.
The U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship quarterfinal and semifinal match play will take place Friday, with the two surviving golfers competing Saturday in the 36-hole match play finals. The winner of the tournament will earn an amateur spot in the 2011 Masters.
