SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The son of two-time major champion John Daly was among 32 players who won their matches Wednesday in the first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur, where five of the top 10 amateurs in the world also advanced at The Olympic Club.
John Daly II, a senior-to-be at Arkansas, had a scorecard that looked nothing like the “wild thing” reputation of his famous father. In a 1-up victory over Cooper Claycomb, Daly won the 11th hole with a birdie and the other 17 holes were halved.
Jackson Koivun of Auburn, the No. 1 player in the world amateur ranking, was all square with Ryan Vools until Koivun made par on the 16th for a 1-up lead and closed out his opponent with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th. It was Koivun's only birdie of the match.
Ben James, the No. 2 amateur in the world and a Virginia senior, had a 2-and-1 victory over Parker Claxton, while fourth-ranked Preston Stout won, 4 and 3, over Pennson Badgett.
Two players from the top 10 lost in extra holes. Tommy Morrison of Texas (No. 6) , lost to 18-year-old Mason Howell when Morrison made bogey on the par-5 17th hole with a 1-up lead, and then made double bogey on the 19th hole. Filip Jakubcik (No. 5) lost to Eric Lee in 19 holes.
Other top-10 players from the amateur ranking to advance were Jace Summy (No. 7) and Christiaan Maas (No. 9).
Tim Wiedenmeyer of Germany staged the biggest comeback. He lost five of the opening seven holes to Reed Greyserman and won his final four holes for a 2-and-1 victory.
In one of the most roller-coaster matches of the opening round, the son of a former British golf writer rallied to beat the son of a Ryder Cup stalwart.
Niall Shiels Donegan of Scotland, whose father Lawrence was a longtime golf correspondent for The Guardian, birdied the last two holes for a 1-up victory over Luke Poulter, a junior at Florida and the son of Ian Poulter.
Donegan was among 17 players who advanced from a 20-man playoff Wednesday morning to determine the final 64 for match play.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
The Associated Press
