July 27, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky sophomore golfer David Snyder will be competing against some of the best amateur golfers in the world Aug. 13-19 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., as the Somerset, Ky., native qualified for the 112th U.S. Amateur Championship on Thursday.
Snyder shot an opening round of 4-under-par 67 at the U.S. Amatuer Qualifer at Indian Hills in Bowling Green, Ky. In the second round, Snyder shot a 3-under-par 68 to finish at 7-under-par. Snyder carded 11 birdies and four bogeys in his 36 holes.
“I’m really proud of David for getting into the U.S. Amateur,” UK head coach Brian Craig said. “This will be a great experience for him and it will give him a chance to see where his game stacks up with some of the best amateurs in the world.”
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.
“I feel honored to go out and represent this university and myself at the U.S. Amateur,” Snyder said. “I knew I wanted to do this, so I went out and tried and got it done. It feels great.”
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 and 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.
For all Kentucky men’s golf news and information, go to UKathletics.com, and follow the Cats on Twitter at “UKmensgolf.”
