Eaton,
Dennis To Meet In U.S. Mid-Amateur Final
St.
Simons Island, Ga. - Austin Eaton III,
35, of New London, N.H., and Josh Dennis, 27, of Birmingham, Ala.,
will square off in the 36-hole final at the 24th U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship
after winning semifinal matches on Wednesday at Sea Island Golf Club.
Eaton,
a quarterfinalist in this championship in 2002, defeated Wright Waddell,
42, of Columbus, Ga., 4 and 3, while Dennis, playing in his first USGA
competition, eliminated 26-year-old William Johnson of San Francisco,
Calif., 2 up, on the 6,967-yard, par-70 Seaside Course.
Earlier
on Wednesday, Eaton
defeated stroke-play co-medalist Jeff
Wilson
of Fairfield,
Calif.,
2 and 1, and Dennis
ousted Richie Taylor
of Snellville,
Ga.,
2 and 1.
 |
| Josh Dennis has advanced to the championship
match in just his first U.S. Mid-Amateur appearance. (Sam Greenwood/USGA) |
In
his semifinal match, Eaton
hit 14 of 15 greens and lost just one hole to Waddell, who was competing
in his fifth Mid-Amateur.
"It's
amazing," said Eaton.
"It's sure nice to come in here and play well. To make the finals, it's
pretty neat."
Eaton
took a 3-up advantage into the
back nine, but lost the par-4 10th hole when he three-putted. But he
quickly made up for the miscue by hitting his approach at the par-4
11th hole to three feet above the hole, which he converted for birdie.
He then hit a brilliant 1-iron tee shot at the 213-yard, par-3 12th
hole and two-putted for a 4-up advantage. The players halved the next
two holes.
"That
was one of the finest rounds of golf that I've ever seen," Waddell said
of Eaton 's
performance. "He just overpowered me. It was wonderful ball-striking
in that wind. That shot he hit on 12 . it was a bullet right at the
hole."
Eaton
is employing his wife, Pamela,
as a caddie this week and said she has been a calming influence on his
game.
"She
doesn't let me get complacent," said Eaton.
"She can read my body language really well. It's just great to be able
to share this with her."
Dennis
has had a penchant for comebacks
this week, having rallied from a three-hole deficit with five to play
to eliminate Mark Thompson
in the third round, 1 up. In fact,
he had to complete that match on Wednesday morning before facing Taylor
in the quarters.
Then
against Johnson,
Dennis
fell behind by as many as two holes on the front nine, only to square
the match at the par-4 ninth. When he missed a 4-footer for par at the
par-5 15th hole, he again trailed by one hole with three to play. Johnson
three-putted the par-4 16th, missing
a 7-footer for par, and then at the par-3 17th, Dennis
stuck his tee shot within 10 feet,
putting the pressure squarely on Johnson.
Johnson 's
shot went dead right into the sand dunes and he eventually conceded
the hole after two more shots.
At
the par-4 18th, Johnson 's
tee shot found the left fairway bunker and Dennis
drove into the left rough. But
Johnson
failed to get his next shot out of the bunker and he eventually conceded
the hole after his putt for par from the fringe rolled well past the
hole.
"It's
overwhelming a little bit," said Dennis,
who had never even tried to qualify for a USGA event until this summer's
U.S. Amateur sectional qualifier. "I didn't expect to be here. I just
thought the Mid-Am was a good fit for me. I got rid of all the college
kids."
As
for his game plan for the 36-hole final, Dennis
is hoping to just play steady
golf.
"I
need to putt better," said Dennis,
an Auburn University
graduate who now runs a software
company. "I just want to play for pars and not leave myself with a lot
of 6-footers."
Eaton
had 13 voice-mail messages after
his quarterfinal match and the cell phone was still ringing as he did
his post-round interview. One call was from his brother.
"Hopefully
not a lot of them are for work," said Eaton,
who is an on-site supervisor for the family's home-building business.
"I know a lot of people at my club are following on the Internet. My
parents are going nuts."
By
reaching the championship match, both players are exempt into the 2005
U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore,
Pa.
The champion generally receives an invitation to the 2005 Masters as
well as a 10-year exemption to the Mid-Amateur and two-year exemption
to the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links, if eligible.
The
36-hole final is scheduled to begin at 8
a.m. EDT,
with the second 18 set for approximately 1
p.m.
The
U.S. Mid-Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually
by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for
amateurs.
St.
Simons
Island
, Ga.
- Results from
Wednesday's quarterfinal round of match play at the 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur
Championship, being played at Sea Island Golf Club's par-70, 6967-yard
Seaside Course.
Quarterfinals
Upper
Bracket
Austin
Eaton III, New London, N.H. (141) def. Jeffrey Wilson , Fairfield ,
Calif. (137), 2 and 1
Wright
Waddell, Columbus,
Ga.,
(147) def. Kevin Marsh,
Las Vegas,
Nev.
(147), 19 holes
Lower
Bracket
William
Johnson, San Francisco, Calif. (146) def. John McClure, Austin, Texas
(148), 2 and 1
Josh
Dennis,
Birmingham,
Ala.
(146) def. Richie
Taylor,
Snellville,
Ga.
(143), 2 and 1
St.
Simons
Island
, Ga.
- Results from
Wednesday's semifinal round of match play at the 2004 U.S. Mid-Amateur
Championship, being played at Sea Island Golf Club's par-70, 6967-yard
Seaside Course.
Semifinals
Eaton
def. Waddell, 4 and 3
Dennis
def. Johnson,
2 up
St.
Simons Island, Ga.
- Pairing for
Thursday's 36-hole championship match at the 2004 U.S.
Mid-Amateur Championship,
being played at Sea
Island
Golf Club's par-70,
6967-yard Seaside
Course.
8:00
a.m. Austin Eaton III, New London, N.H. (141) vs. Josh Dennis, Birmingham,
Ala. (146)
Second
18 scheduled to begin at approximately 1
p.m.
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