Two Past Champions Advance To Third Round

Bandon, Ore. – Two past champions, Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Kevin Marsh of Las Vegas, Nev., highlight the 16 early winners Tuesday in the second round of match play at the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.

Smith, who won the 2003 Mid-Amateur, defeated Packard Dewitt of Germantown, Tenn., 1 up.

Smith held a 3-up lead through 12 holes but Dewitt won three straight holes to square the match. Dewitt double bogeyed the par-4 17th for the difference in the match.

Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, Pa., the 2003 champion, qualified for match play as the 64th seed. He has won two matches thus far. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)

"I knew I had my work cut out for me after getting the 64th seed,” Smith said.

Marsh, the 2005 champion, defeated Nathan Tyler of Tucson, Ariz., 4 and 3.

"Just because I’ve won this thing doesn’t mean people are going to lie down,” Marsh said. “They don’t care. They want to win their match as bad as I do.”

Also advancing to the third round, which is being played Tuesday afternoon, were 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion Tim Hogarth of Northridge, Calif., and three-time USA Walker Cup team member Trip Kuehne of Irving, Texas.

Prominent among those who were eliminated are Danny Green of Jackson, Tenn., the 1999 champion, who lost to Dan Whitaker of Cle Elum, Wash., in 19 holes, and Buddy Marucci, two-time USA Walker Cup player, who was defeated by Michael Pearson of Alpharetta, Ga., 3 and 2.

Jordan Byrd of Clemson, S.C. defeated Brandon Kearney of Bend, the only remaining player from Oregon, in the second round, 3 and 2.

The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play will be conducted Wednesday and the 36-hole championship final is set for Thursday. The match play portion of the championship is being played on the par-72, 6,966-yard Bandon Dunes Course.

The Mid-Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by Pete Kowalski, USGA Media Relations. E-mail him with questions or comments at pkowalski@usga.org.

Bandon, Ore. Results of the first and second rounds of match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, at the par 72, 6,966-yard Bandon Dunes course (the final seven matches were completed Tuesday morning):

First Round

Upper Bracket  

Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. def. George Zahringer III, New York, N.Y., 1 up

Packard Dewitt, Germantown, Tenn. def. Michael McCoy, West Des Moines, Iowa, 5 and 3.

Arnold Cutrell, Greensburg, Pa. def. Blake Johnson, Winnetka, Ill., 3 and 2.

Tim Mickelson, San Diego, Calif. def. Dan Horner, Salt Lake City, Utah, 4 and 3.

Dan Whitaker, Cle Elum, Wash. def. Tim Tucker, Coos Bay, Ore., 20 holes.

Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn. def. Stan Payne, Little Rock, Ark., 20 holes.

Michael Pearson, Alpharetta, Ga. def. John Adams, San Clemente, Calif., 4 and 3.

George Marucci Jr, Villanova, Pa. def. Donnie Cooper, Knoxville, Tenn., 2 and 1.

Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif. def. Steve Kline, Cincinnati, Ohio, 19 holes.

Eric Spencer, Bloomfield Hills, Mich. def. Thomas Gocke, Sammamish, Wash., 2 and 1.

Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. def. John Ehrgott, Peoria, Ill., 1 up.

Ty Cox, Fort Worth, Texas def. Tevis Upton, Douglasville, Ga., 4 and 3.

Jarrett Grimes, Columbia, S.C. def. Austin Eaton III, North Sutton, N.H., 3 and 2.

Tripp Davis, Norman, Okla. def. Jeffrey Hedden, Quaker Hill, Conn., 2 and 1.

Nathan Tyler, Tucson, Ariz. def. Douglas Clapp, Walpole, Mass., 3 and 2.

Kevin Marsh, Las Vegas, Nev. def. Doug Stiles, Athens, Ga., 6 and 5.

Lower Bracket

Richard Berkmeyer, St Louis, Mo. def. Bert Atkinson, Charleston, S.C., 5 and 4.

Glenn Przybylski, Frankfort, Ill. def. Bill Brown, Dublin, Ga., 2 up.

Scott Hardy, Pleasant Hill, Calif. def. Roger Newsom, Virginia Beach, Va., 7 and 5.

Gene Elliott, West Des Moines, Iowa def. Matt Adcock, Tempe, Ariz., 3 and 1.

Jordan Byrd, Clemson, S.C. def. Thomas McGraw, Montgomery, Texas, 4 and 2.

Brandon Kearney, Bend, Ore. def. Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa., 3 and 2.

David Schnider, Vista, Calif. def. Ryan Parnell, Atlanta, Ga., 3 and 2.

Jason Rudquist, Peyton, Colo. def. Jay Blumenfeld, Parsippany, N.J., 5 and 3.

Stephen Sear, Washoe Valley, Nev. def. Steve White, Jackson, Wyo., 5 and 4.

Ryan Abbate, Weston, Fla. def. Culley Barragan, Dallas, Texas, 1 up.

John O'Donnell, Los Angeles, Calif. def. Jeffrey Scohy, Mt. Gilead, Ohio, 1 up

Alan Bratton, Stillwater, Okla. def. Doug Manor, Dallas, Texas, 3 and 2.

Trip Kuehne, Dallas, Texas def. Ken Kellaney, Phoenix, Ariz., 1up.

Michael Cooper, Austin, Texas def. Alan Hill, Spring Branch, Texas, 2 and 1.

Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill. def. Jason Bittick, Coto De Caza, Calif., 3 and 2.

James Lehman, Minneapolis, Minn. def. Jeff Daniels, Harrisburg, Pa., 19 holes

Second Round

Upper Bracket

Nathan Smith, Pittsburgh, Pa. def. Packard Dewitt, Germantown, Tenn., 1 up

Tim Mickelson, San Diego, Calif. def. Arnold Cutrell, Greensburg, Pa., 19 holes

Dan Whitaker, Cle Elum, Wash. def. Danny Green, Jackson, Tenn., 1 up

Michael Pearson, Alpharetta, Ga. def. George Marucci, Villanova, Pa., 3 and 2

Tim Hogarth, Northridge, Calif. def. Eric Spencer, Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 20 holes

Ty Cox, Fort Worth, Texas def. Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va., 4 and 3

Jarrett Grimes, Columbia, S.C. def. Tripp Davis, Norman, Okla., 2 up

Kevin Marsh, Las Vegas, Nev. def. Nathan Tyler, Tucson, Ariz., 4 and 3

Lower Bracket

Richard Berkmeyer, St. Louis, Mo. def. Glenn Przybylski, Frankfort, Ill., 4 and 3

Scott Hardy, Pleasant Hill, Calif. def. Gene Elliott, West Des Moines, Iowa, 20 holes

Jordan Byrd, Clemson, S.C. def. Brandon Kearney, Bend, Ore., 3 and 2

Jason Rudquist, Peyton, Colo  def. David Schnider, Vista, Calif., 1 up

Stephen Sear, Washoe Valley, Nev.def. Ryan Abbate, Weston, Fla., 1 up

John O’Donnell, Los Angeles, Calif.  def. Alan Bratton, Stillwater, Okla., 20 holes

Trip Kuehne, Irving, Texas def. Michael Cooper, Austin, Texas, 2 and 1

Jim Lehman, Minneapolis, Minn. def. Todd Mitchell, Bloomington, Ill., 2 and 1.