THE FLATS, ATLANTA, G.A. – Two top Georgia Tech golf returnees – Vincent Whaley and Chris Petefish – and incoming freshman Tye Waller have qualified over the past two weeks for the 2015 U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, which will be played Aug, 17-23 in Olympia Fields, Il.
Waller (Griffin, Ga.) became the latest to advance on Wednesday, firing rounds of 65-72 to tie for second place, securing one of four available qualifying spots at Horseshoe Bend Country Club in Roswell, Ga. Petefish, a sophomore from Danville, Calif., shot 71-68 (-5) at Bayonet Golf Course in Seaside, Calif., to tie for third place and won a playoff for the last qualifying spot there. Whaley, a junior from McKinney, Texas, posted a 6-under-par 134 and finished fourth, gaining a spot at Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course on July 16.
Whaley has posted a pair of top-10 finishes this summer at the Monroe Invitational and the Southeastern Amateur after pacing the Yellow Jackets with a tie for 33rdfinish at the NCAA Championship. Whaley also was a co-medalist earlier in the spring at the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate. Petefish had a solid freshman campaign for Tech, earning a pair of top-20 finishes and never placing below a tie for 32nd in nine regular-season events. Waller comes to Tech as the No. 2-ranked player in the state of Georgia and No. 55 in his class nationally.
The 115th U.S. Amateur Championship will be held at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill\., Aug. 17-23, 2015. Entries are open to male amateur golfers who have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. The U.S. Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association.
CLARK WINS EASTERN AMATEUR
Sophomore James Clark survived a two-hole playoff and won the Eastern Amateur, which concluded July 13 in Portsmouth, Va. The Columbus, Ga., native went 51 holes before his first bogey on the 16th hole of the final round, but he bounced back with birdie on 18 to tie Danny Yustin at 12-under and force a playoff. Yustin had shot a 62 on the final day and had the clubhouse lead before Clark tied him on the final hole. On the second hole of the playoff, Clark hit his approach from the rough to seven feet and rolled in the putt for par while Yustin came up short of the green on his second shot and was unable to get up and down.
Clark played nine events for Tech as a freshman, tying for ninth at the Seminole Collegiate for his best finish.