Jackson Herrington
photo by Tennessee Golf Association
Both Jackson Herrington and Cameron Tankersley earned their way into Wednesday’s match play bracket in the 125th U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, while Payne Denman has a sleepless night ahead of him to find out if he will join them.
The pair of Dickson natives followed opening rounds of 69 with identical scores of 3-over par 73 at the Ocean Course on Tuesday, completing the two days of stroke play qualifying with scores of 2-over 142 to finish in a tie for 33rd as the top 64 advance.
Denman was poised to punch his ticket into match play for the first time in his fourth U.S. Amateur appearance until running into trouble on his last two holes. The two-time defending Tennessee Amateur champion was 1-under for his round until he bogeyed the 8th hole and followed that up with a double-bogey on the 9th.
His round of 2-over 72 left him at 3-over 143 for the tournament, leading to a long afternoon of scoreboard watching while the rest of the field completed their second rounds. After all the scores were posted, Denman’s performance netted him a tie for 48th place, meaning he will show up Wednesday morning at 7:30 PDT to complete in a playoff with 20 golfers for the final 17 spots in the bracket.
Herrington, a sophomore at Tennessee, opened his round Tuesday with a 39 on his front nine that included a double bogey on No. 9. However, he regained his championship form by shooting 34 with a birdie and eight pars on his homeward nine.
Tankersley also struggled on his front nine with a 38, but the Ole Miss senior was able to right the ship with an even par back side.
The other six golfers with Tennessee connections saw their week at The Olympic Club come to an early end. Nashville’s Ryan Terry shot 72 on Tuesday to finish at 5-over 145, and Knoxville’s Lance Simpson posted 8-over 148 after carding a 76 on his second round.
Memphis native Winburne Hughes made an impressive turnaround on Tuesday by shooting even par 70 on the Ocean Course to close at 9-over 149, while Lee University senior and former McCallie School star Bennett McNabb improved to shoot 73 and close his tournament at 11-over 151.
Knoxville’s Kaleb Wilson posted a 78 on the Lake Course to finish at 13-over 153, and Toby Wilt of Nashville recorded a 77 to end up at 15-over 155.
Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout earned medalist honors at 8-under 132 after recording an impressive 5-under 65 on Tuesday.
For complete results and live scoring, go to U.S. Amateur.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com
Cameron Tankersley
photo by USGA