Heritage grad Rebne competes in U.S. Amateur
Heritage High School graduate Ben Rebne added another great accomplishment to the list he is racking up in 2020 as the Dalton State senior made the field for last week’s 120th United States Amateur Championship. The tournament began on Aug. 10 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the USGA elected to skip qualifiers and go with an exempt field for the event. Rebne collected an email from the USGA the week before, notifying him he was on a short list as a possible last-minute qualifier.
With the news in hand, Rebne withdrew from the Tennessee Amateur, where he started off well after an opening round 71 (-1) to fly to Oregon for COVID-19 testing. He would not wait long to get the news that he cleared his test and was in the field.
“It means the world to play in such a prestigious event,” said Rebne, who was named the 2020 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year for NAIA. “It’s incredible, but at the end of the day, it’s just another golf tournament that I’m trying to win. It is definitely special and I’m pumped to be in the event.”
The event was played on two courses, Bandon Trails and Bandon Dunes. Rebne teed off in Round 1 at Bandon Trails last Monday. He was 4-over par after 12 holes when play was suspended due to darkness.
He went on to finish on Tuesday morning and carded an 81, but rebounded on the Bandon Dunes course later in the day to shoot a very respectable 3-over par 75, including a birdie on the final hole. However, his tournament would come to an end as he missed the cut.
The U.S. Amateur had two days of stroke-play qualifying to determine seeding for match play, which began on Wednesday, Aug. 12. The championship match was held this past Sunday.