July 31, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Junior Cody Martin of the University of Kentucky men’s golf team qualified for the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship Monday afternoon after shooting an even-par 142 in two rounds of play at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier at Coldstream Country Club in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Union, Ky., native shot a 1-under-par 70 in the first round of competition, sinking four birdies with 11 pars. Martin nailed one birdie and 15 pars in his second round of action, finishing the final round at 1-over-par 72. Martin’s third-place finish made the cut by two strokes.
“Cody has missed by one shot qualifying for the U.S. Amateur the last two or three years. I am excited for him to get this opportunity to play in the most prestigious amateur event in the world,” said UK head coach Brian Craig. “He has gotten better every year and is ready to make a statement on the elite amateur scene.”
Martin led the Wildcats in his sophomore year with a 73.18 scoring average while competing in all 12 events. Martin’s best finish came at the UK Bluegrass Fall Invitational when he placed second overall while shooting a 1-over-par 214. A 7-under-par 206 at the Marshall Invitational marked the second-lowest score in program history.
Martin becomes the second Wildcat to qualify after UK teammate David Snyder qualified last week at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier at Indian Hills Country Club in Bowling Green, Ky.
The U.S. Amateur begins with every qualified golfer playing 36 holes in stroke play style. From there, the top 64 golfers advance to the “round of 64 matches,” where each golfer is paired up with one other golfer for 18 holes of match play. The tournament proceeds this way until two golfers are left, similar to the NCAA Tournament for college basketball. In the championship match, the final two golfers compete against each other in match play style again, but for 36 holes.
The Golf Channel will air the first round matches Aug. 15 from 4-6 p.m. ET, and Aug. 16 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The Golf Channel will also air the quarterfinal matches Aug. 17 from 8:30-10:30 p.m. NBC will pick up coverage of the championship with the semifinal matches from 4-6 p.m. on Aug. 18. NBC will also cover the championship match Aug. 19 from 4-6 p.m.
The 2012 U.S. Amateur will be the ninth USGA National Championship played at the Denver-area club. It is one of three courses – Winged Foot, Hazeltine National Golf Club being the others – to have hosted the U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Amateur.
Cherry Hills Country Club (7,466 yards, par 71) last hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1990, when Phil Mickelson won the title against his ex-high school teammate Manny Zerman, 5 & 4. Mickelson, who was the first left-handed player to ever win the U.S. Amateur, has gone on to win four major titles and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on May 7.
