Matthew McClean, the sole Irish representative in the field at the U.S. Amateur Championship at San Francisco’s The Olympic Club, will not feature in the matchplay section after missing out by a shot.
The Malone man opened with a four-over 74 on the Lakes Course, but went four strokes lower on day two at the Olympic Course to finish on +4 overall.
McClean opened his second round with a bogey, but birdied the eighth to turn at level-par of the day. Further bogeys on 14 and 17 were recovered with birdies on 15 and 18, but it turned out to be one stroke too many as he missed out on what will be a 20-for-17 playoff on Wednesday morning to complete the 64-man lineup that will advance to the knockout stages.
American Preston Stout, the fourth-ranked player in the WAGR Rankings, takes medallist honours after following his three-under on The Olympic Course with a five-under on the Lakes, and the player who is set to make his maiden Walker Cup appearance at Cypress Point next month will take the number one seed into matchplay.
“I love match play,” Stout said. “I think it’s the best form of golf, and it’s super fun, yeah, I’m excited. I think one hole at time is big in match play, so just trying to just take that mentally into it.”
Other notable players to advance are second generation superstars in Luke Poulter, son of Ryder Cup legend Ian, and John Daly II, son of the two-time major winner nicknamed ‘Wild Thing’.
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