Clemson’s D.J. Trahan in Quarterfinals Of US Public Links

July 14, 2000

Portland, Ore. – Medalist D.J. Trahan, 19, of Inman, S.C. won two matches and advanced to the quarterfinal round of match play at the 75th U.S. Amateur Public Links championship at the 6,969-yard, par 72 Great Blue Course at Heron Lakes.

In his morning match, Trahan, the 2000 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, defeated Martin Maritz, 22, of Tulsa, Okla., 6 and 5. He then eliminated Adrian Quintela, 22, of El Paso, Texas in his afternoon third-round match.

“I got out on the front nine and my swing was a little tenative, maybe because I was losing a little bit of energy out there,” Trahan said of his match with Quintela. “I hit a couple of errant shots and I really wasn’t playing as well as I have been. It was pretty much a struggle the whole time.”

Trahan led 1-up going into the par-3 15th hole. Each player made par but a violation of Rule 13-2 by Quintela’s caddie (improvement of line of play by fixing a damaged cup) gave Trahan the hole and a 2-up lead. Both players bogeyed No.16 and parred No.17 to give Trahan the 2 and 1 victory.

Play continues Friday with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds and the 36-hole match-play final is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Saturday.

The U.S. Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Defending champion Hunter Haas, 23, of Norman, Okla. was defeated in the second round by Jered Gusso, 21, of Savage, Minn., 2 up. Gusso, who plays for Division III power Methodist College of Fayetteville, N.C., defeated Tim Donovan, 21, of Cincinnati, Ohio, 3 and 2. He now faces Trahan at 7:30 a.m. PDT in the first match of the quarterfinal round.

“As an amateur, you want to play your best against the best players, I know that D.J. is playing hot. I will definitely have to put on my A-game.”

“I just wanted to make the cut,” Gusso said. “That was my goal going into this thing. Once I made the cut, I made smaller goals to advance. My main goal now is to win the whole thing. I want to use my momentum I have now and get off to a good start (Friday).”

Last year’s runner-up Michael Kirk, 23, of South Africa, survived a challenge from Chris Rousseau, 19, of Feeding Hills, Mass. to move on, 1 up, and then won 3 and 1 over Tom Johnson, 18, of Fair Oaks, Calif.

South Africa and South Carolina each have two players in the final eight as Kyle Thompson, 21, of Columbia advanced with a 2-and-1 third-round win over Russell Bloom, 23, of El Cajon, Calif to join Trahan in the upper bracket.

Kirk will meet fellow South African Craig Lile, 23, who plays for Arkansas, in the quarterfinals. Lile, who played in the U.S. Open, defeated Hunter Mahan, 18, of McKinney, Texas, the 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur champion, 2 up in the second round.

Results of Thursday’s second and third rounds of match play at the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,869-yard, par 72 Great Blue Course at Heron Lakes:

UPPER HALFD. J. Trahan, Inman, S.C. (142) def. Martin Maritz (150), 6 and 5Adrian Quintela, El Paso, Texas (152) def. Andy Roberts, Owensboro, Ky.(147), 20 holesTim Donovan, Cincinnati, Ohio (151) def. Erik Compton, Miami, Fla.(144), 6 and 5Jered Gusso, Savage, Minn. (151) def. Hunter Haas, Norman, Okla. (144),2 upKyle Thompson, Columbia, S.C. (143) def. Andrew Sanders, Merritt Island,Fla. (150),  2 and 1Russell Bloom, El Cajon, Calif.  (152) def. Gilbert Rodriquez, SanDiego, Calif. (148), 2 and 1Chris Morris, Tyler, Texas (144) def. Kevin Zuelch, Key West, Fla.(150), 4 and 3J J Wall, San Antonio, Texas (146) def. Billy Harvey, Las Vegas, Nev.(148), 1 up

LOWER HALF Michael Kirk, South Africa (143) vs. Chris Rousseau, Agawam, Mass. (150), 1 up Tom Johnson, Fair Oaks, Calif. (147) def. John Wine, College Station, Texas (152), 4 and 2 Anton Salome, Socorro, N.M. (149) def. Brian Hughes, Portland, Ore. (153), 1 up Craig Lile, South Africa (146) def. Hunter Mahan, McKinney, Texas (151), 2 up Ben Dickerson, Hilliard, Fla. (150) def. James Stewart, Scotland (143), 2 and 1 Ryan King, Fresno, Calif. (152) def. William Link IV, Action, Mass. (152), 4 and 3 Richard Jarrett, St. Louis, Mo. (150) def. Ryan Hybl, Colbert, Ga. (153), 1 up Jimmy Walker, Cibolo, Texas (151) def. Matt Krauss, Dumfries, Va. (146), 3 and 1

THIRD ROUND

UPPER HALF Trahan def. Quintela, 2 and 1 Gusso def. Donovan, 3 and 2 Thompson def. Bloom, 1 up Wall def. Morris, 3 and 2

LOWER HALF Kirk def. Johnson, 3 and 1 Lile def. Salome, 2 up Dickerson def. King, 3 and 1 Walker def. Jarrett. 2 and 1

Pairings for Friday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the 2000 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,869-yard , par 72 Great Blue Course at Heron Lakes:

UPPER HALF

7:30 AM — D.J. Trahan, Inman, S.C. (142) vs. Jered Gusso, Savage, Minn. (151) 7:40 AM – Kyle Thompson, Columbia, S.C. (143) vs. JJ Wall, San Antonio, Texas (146)

LOWER HALF

7:50 AM – Michael Kirk, South Africa (143) vs. Craig Lile, South Africa (146) 8:00 AM – Ben Dickerson, Hilliard, Fla. (150) vs. Jimmy Walker, Cibolo, Texas (151)