Houstonian Cole Hammer advances to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur.
Kinkaid product wins 13th straight match, next faces Norway’s Hovland
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Houston teen Cole Hammer and Norway’s Viktor Hovland advanced Friday at Pebble Beach Golf Links in the 188th U.S. Amateur to set up a semifinal match.
Hammer, the Kinkaid High product and an incoming freshman at the University
of Texas, topped Alex Fitzpatrick 3 and 2 in the quarterfinals. Hammer missed a chip on No. 15 and needed to convert a difficult lie on the 16th to preserve his lead. But in the end the 18-year-old held on to win for the 13th straight time spanning two tournaments.
“I was 2 up after five holes and I hit the ball better today
than I did yesterday,” Hammer said. “I’m trying not to think any further down the line.”
Hammer put himself in a bad spot on No. 9.
“I didn’t hit a very good drive, kind of toed it, but it stayed in the fairway,” he said. “It’s a big fairway on the 9th, and I had like 246, and it played downhill. So I hit 4-iron and came up just a little short left, just shortsided as can be. He plugged in the bunker, hit it to about
15 feet. So I knew I needed to hit it at least to where I could give myself a putt at par. But I had a good lie. It was downgrain in the rough, and I had a shot if I land it right over this kind of crest, it was going to go in. I was probably 20, 25 yards away from the
hole, and I just kind of sent it straight up, and it hopped and took a great bounce. It was just kind of one of those one-in-a-million shots that happen to go in, and it was pretty cool to see that drop.”
Hovland, a junior at Oklahoma State, had his second straight 7-and-6 victory, routing Austin Squires of Union, Ky.
“I’m just playing really well,” said Hovland, who helped Oklahoma State win the NCAA team title on its
home course in May. “I’m hitting the greens and making the putts. I’m placing the ball in the right spot. I’ve been playing aggressively.”
Hammer will face Hovland in the semifinals at 11:20 A.M. (CDT) on Saturday.
UCLA’s Devon Bling and Stanford’s Isaiah Salinda of South San Francisco will meet in the other semifinal. Bling beat Davis Riley of Hattiesburg, Miss., 1 up, and Salinda edged Will Gordon of Davidson, N.C., 2 and 1.