Rising Dalton State seniors Ben Rebne and Sport Allmond participated in qualifying for the U.S. Amateur at Willow Creek Golf Club in Knoxville on Monday.
Allmond started out the day with a 72 (+2) on the par 70 course, recording two birdies and four bogeys. The two-time All-SSAC performer's second round was better posting a 68 (-2) to finish the qualifier at even-par overall.
2019 NAIA 1st team All-American Ben Rebne blistered the course on his opening round with a bogey free 64 (-6), and a share of the lead.
He cooled off a bit on his second trip around the course with a 69 (-1), but his score of 133 (-7) was still good enough to finish as the first alternate behind medalist Ryan Hall from the University of South Carolina and Bryce Lewis from the University of Tennessee.
Rebne still has a shot to participate in the U.S. Amateur if either Hall or Lewis withdraw or if his ranking after all the qualifiers have concluded is high enough to award him an open slot should there be one.
The 119th U.S. Amateur will be played Aug. 12-18, 2019 at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C. It will be the first U.S. Amateur to be played on two courses as the USGA will use Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4 for the championship.
Pinehurst, which first hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1962, will be hosting its third U.S. Amateur Championship and 10th USGA championship all-time. Pinehurst has also hosted three U.S. Opens (1999, 2005 and 2014) and will host the 124th U.S. Open in 2024.