PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – A U.S. Amateur Championship that began with 7,463 entries has been whittled down to just four players.
Saturday morning’s semifinals not only will determine the two finalists for the most prestigious title in amateur golf, but also the players who will receive a likely invitation to the 2019 Masters and U.S. Open – the greatest consolation prize in all of sports.
It’s Devon Bling vs. Isaiah Salinda.
And Cole Hammer vs. Viktor Hovland.
Here’s a snapshot of those left competing at Pebble Beach:
DEVON BLING
In Bling’s player profile, he wrote that his mother, Sara, always wanted to see him compete in USGA championships.
Unfortunately, she never got the opportunity – she passed away in 2013, to a mysterious ailment, when Devon was only 13.
“It took us totally by surprise,” he said Friday night. “In an instant, she was there and totally healthy, and the next day she was gone.”
The sense of loss was massive – Sara was always there, shuttling Devon to tournaments, walking with his group, supporting him.
“Losing her was extremely difficult for my family,” he said. “I know she’s still in my heart and looking down on me, and I’m just hoping to make her proud.”
Bling, now a sophomore at UCLA, has blossomed into a solid player who had yet to take his star turn. That’s beginning to change here at Pebble Beach, where his brother and father are whooping for his many great shots.
They had plenty of reason to cheer Friday, after Bling flipped a late deficit and beat Davis Riley, 1 up, to advance to the semifinals.
Bling led at only one point all match – when it mattered most, after the 18th hole.
He took an aggressive line on the par-5 finishing hole, taking driver left of the tree in the middle of the fairway, while Riley, playing conservatively after twice putting driver into the water during practice rounds, flared his long iron into the greenside bunker. Bling rifled his approach into the greenside bunker and splashed out to 3 ½ feet for the decisive birdie.
“I couldn’t be happier,” he said.
VIKTOR HOVLAND
Most golf fans’ only introduction to Hovland came last month. Playing on a sponsor exemption at the European Open, the Oklahoma State junior double-pumped during his backswing, regrouped and then drilled his tee shots.
It was a swing drill that had crept into his full swing.
“That helped for a little while,” Hovland said. “I found the center of the clubface and found the shot that I could hit on almost every hole.”
Aggressive, straight tee balls have been the key to his success this week at Pebble Beach. He’s been able to set the tone and continue to apply pressure on his opponents by consistently finding the fairway.
Paired with a scorching-hot putter, Hovland sure doesn’t have the look of a player who counts only one tournament title outside of his native Norway.
He’s been manhandling his opponents at the U.S. Amateur.
After trouncing Austin Squires, 7 and 6, on Friday – matching the largest margin of victory in a U.S. Amateur quarterfinal – Hovland has now led after 45 of 57 holes.
He led throughout a Round of 16 thumping of Kristoffer Reitan.
He led throughout a quarterfinal dismantling of Squires, too.
In his last two matches, he’s a combined 9 under par and has won 16 of his last 23 holes.
“I think I’ve definitely had the game to win more, but I’ve made a few bad decisions here and there and it adds up to you start being too far behind,” said Hovland, who won a college event last season at the Floridian. “My putter also hasn’t been good enough. My ball-striking hasn’t been super flashy, but it’s been consistent. It’s hard to win tournaments if you’re not putting well.”
He’s swinging freely and making plenty of putts so far.
COLE HAMMER
The hottest player in amateur golf ran his match-play record this year to 17-1 after a 3-and-2 victory over Alex Fitzpatrick.
Playing the younger brother of 2013 U.S. Amateur champion Matt Fitzpatrick, Hammer went 3 under for his first five holes Friday and never gave his opponent a chance. He kept the ball in play, putted for birdie on nearly every hole and scrambled on the rare occasion he was out of position. In a near-impossible spot short and left of the ninth green, he played a soft pitch that landed on the crest of the hill and funneled into the cup for an unlikely birdie.
“It was one of those one-in-a-million shots that just happened to go in,” he said.
They all seem to be dropping recently.
The incoming freshman at Texas won the Azalea Invitational at the start of the year, teamed with Garrett Barber to take the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball, reached the semifinals of the U.S. Junior, went wire to wire at the Western Amateur and now has reached the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur.
“I’ve played a ton of match play this year and come back from deficits,” he said, “and that speaks to the confidence I have and knowing I can get it done.”
ISAIAH SALINDA
After narrowly escaping in his Round of 16 match, Salinda once again dodged a worthy opponent on Friday afternoon.
Salinda built a 4-up lead through five holes but was only one hole clear as he headed to the back nine. On six separate occasions, Gordon hit the lip of the cup on a putt or chip, allowing Salinda to stay in front down the stretch.
On 16, the Stanford senior finally put Gordon away: From 150 yards, he hit a controlled 9-iron that landed in the perfect spot, spun left and came within an inch of dropping for eagle. The conceded birdie gave him a 2-up cushion that he used to eventually win, 2 and 1.
“He’s a really good player,” Salinda said, “and I expected him to fight back.”
Salinda, who recently won the Pacific Coast Amateur, is playing in his first USGA event. Six times he’s been the first or second alternate out of a U.S. Junior or U.S. Amateur qualifier in Northern California. The trick this time was to head to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he qualified after playing the Trans-Miss Amateur.
Salinda won’t need to worry about qualifying next year – he’s already exempt into next year’s event.
He could earn a spot in even bigger events – the 2019 Masters and U.S. Open – with another win Saturday.
