Schmitz Leads Minnesotans at 114th U.S. Amateur Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club

  JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – After the opening round of the 114th U.S. Amateur Championship, Sammy Schmitz leads the pack of Minnesotans as he carded a 1-under par 71 Monday, sitting tied for 24th at Atlanta Athletic Club.

A field of 311 golfers will play two rounds of stroke play before the top 64 players will make the cut to advance to the match play portion of the tournament beginning Wednesday, with the final match scheduled for Sunday.

Schmitz, three-time Minnesota Golf Association Men’s Player of the Year, had a pair of birdies with one bogey to open the championship on the front nine of the Highlands Course to make the turn at 1-under.

On the back, Schmitz rolled in back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes, before making consecutive bogeys on the 14th and 15th to fall back to 1-under.

Schmitz, River Falls, Wis., finished his day with three straight pars to card a 1-under par 71, leaving him tied for 24th after the opening round.

Cody Seal, Victoria, Minn., and Brandon Sletmoen, Dilworth, Minn., are tied for 145th after Monday’s opening round after both carded rounds of 4-over par 75 on the Highlands Course.

Seal struggled on the front nine with four bogeys before finding consistency on the final nine holes with a birdie and a bogey to finish at 4-over par 75.

Sletmoen, opened with two bogeys on his front nine to make the turn at 2-over, but rallied back to even with birdies on the 10th and 12th holes.

With a quadruple-bogey on the 14th, Sletmoen would fall back to 4-over and finished his round with four straight pars to shoot 75.

Minnesota Gopher and 2013 Minnesota State Open champion, Jon DuToit, finished his opening round tied for 186th Monday after carding a 5-over par 77 at the Riverside Course.

DuToit, Chaska, Minn., made three bogeys on the front nine Monday and made two more on the back to shoot 77 and sit tied for 185th.

Sam Matthew, 2013 MGA Amateur Champion, carded a 1-over par 72 Monday on the Highlands Course, before shooting 6-over par 78 Tuesday during the second round and sits tied for 225th at 150.

Matthew, Roseville, Minn., made the turn Tuesday at 1-over after two bogeys and one birdie before struggling over the final nine holes, carding five bogeys to finish the round at 78.

Andrew McCain, Minneapolis, Minn., fired a 1-over par 73 Tuesday at the Riverside Course and sits tied for 246th at 151 after two rounds.

Despite two double-bogeys during his round Tuesday, McCain rolled in five birdies and one bogey to improve on his round of 78 the previous day.

Hudson Carpenter, Stillwater, Minn., carded a 4-over par 75 on the Highlands Course during the opening round while Colton Buege, Rogers, Minn., carded a 3-over par 75 Monday during his opening round on the Riverside Course.

The second round of the 114th U.S. Amateur Championship is currently underway at Atlantic Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga.


For complete tournament results go to: http://www.usga.org/ChampEventScoreDetail.aspxid=17179869326&year=2014&type=alllb