Men's Golf
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State’s Josh
Gregory is headed to his second USGA Championship of the summer,
but he won’t even be the most experienced player there with
ASU connections.
Jaguar sophomore Patrick Reed was exempt from qualifying and will
have a spot in the field as well when the U.S. Amateur begins on
Monday, Aug. 24 in Tulsa, Okla., at Southern Hills Golf Club.
Gregory, entering his eighth year as head coach of the Jaguars,
qualified by finishing second at the Capital City Club’s
Crabapple Course on July 22 in Woodstock, Ga. Gregory fired rounds
of 64-70 for a total of 10-under 134, one stroke back of medalist
Scott Strohmeyer.
Reed was exempt from qualifying after advancing to the semifinals
of the 2008 U.S. Amateur last summer, falling one win shy of a
Masters Tournament berth. He suffered a 3 & 2 loss to eventual
U.S. Amateur Champion Danny Lee – the topranked amateur in
the world at the time -- last August at Pinehurst No. 2.
Taylor Floyd followed Gregory’s route to the U.S. Am on
August 4, earning one of five qualifying spots through sectional
qualifying at The Standard Club in Duluth, Ga. A rising sophomore
like Reed, Floyd posted a three-under 69 and followed with a
one-over 73 in the second round for a two-under 142 and a tie for
fourth. Floyd, along with Gregory and Reed, will be three of 312
players in the field.
For more information on the 2009 U.S. Amateur, visit the
tournament’s official website at www.usamateur.org.
******
Augusta State women’s golf head coach Kevin McPherson will be
more than just another interested observer at next week’s
Solheim Cup at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove, Ill.
McPherson, who already had plans to be in the Chicago area to
recruit at the Junior Solheim Cup, will be on hand to root for his
younger sister, Kristy. After finishing fourth on the Solheim Cup
points list, she will be making her maiden appearance on the United
States’ squad. In her third season on the LPGA Tour,
McPherson is enjoying a breakout year. She tied for second in the
season’s first major, the Kraft Nabisco Championship, and
tied for fifth in the McDonald’s LPGA Championship, the
second major of the year. She ranks 14th on the LPGA money list
with nearly $625,000 and has posted four top-10 finishes in 17
events.
The Solheim Cup is a biennial, trans-Atlantic team match-play
competition featuring the best U.S.-born players from the Ladies
Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour and the best European
members from the Ladies European Tour (LET). The U.S. Team leads
the competition, 7-3, and has never lost The Solheim Cup on home
soil.
For more information on the 2009 Solheim Cup, visit the official
website at www.SolheimCup.com.
******
Former ASU standout Wallace Booth was named to the 2009 Walker Cup
squad for Great Britain & Ireland, according to an announcement
on Monday, August 3 from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St.
Andrews.
The selection marks the third time a former ASU player has been
tabbed to compete in the Walker Cup. Former Jaguar All-American
Jamie Elson played a key role in GB&I’s 15-9 victory over
the United States in 2001 at Ocean Forest Golf Club in Sea Island,
Ga. The victory marked the first time that the GB&I squad had
successfully retained the Walker Cup in the 79- year history of the
event. Former three-time All-American Oliver Wilson was a fixture
on the winning GB&I squad in 2003 when he posted a 2- 0-1
record as GB&I claimed a 12.5 to 11.5 victory at Ganton Golf
Club in North Yorkshire, England. The 2009 Walker Cup is scheduled
for Sept. 11-13 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., just outside
of Philadelphia.
For more information on the 2009 Walker Cup, visit www.2009walkercup.org or
www.usga.org .
******
Former ASU All-American Oliver Wilson made the cut Friday in the
PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
He is tied for 38th place at two-over 146, an improvement of 31
spots after Thursday’s opening round.
Wilson, who tied for 23rd in both last month’s British Open
at Turnberry and in the U.S. Open in June, posted rounds of twoover
74 Thursday and even-par 72 Friday to make the weekend. Wilson
trails 36-hole leader and world No. 1 Tiger Woods (seven-under 137)
by nine shots, but is just five shots out of second place, shared
by five players at three three-under 141. For more information,
visit www.pga.com.pgachampionship/2009/.