CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – University of Illinois golfers Jackson Buchanan and Piercen Hunt have punched their tickets through to match play at the 123rd U.S. Amateur, set to continue Wednesday with the Round of 64 at Cherry Hills Country Club.
The Illini duo not only made the cut down from 312 competitors to the top 64, but each posted a top-five score through 36 holes of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday. Buchanan closed stroke play in a three-way tie for first, just one shot ahead of Buchanan in a tie for fourth.
Buchanan played Round 1 at Cherry Hills and shot a 2-under 69 on Monday, before carding a 5-under 67 in Round 2 Tuesday at stroke-play co-host venue Colorado Golf Club. He finished in a tie with Blades Brown and Sampson Zheng at 136 (-7).
Hunt finished with a two-round score of 137 (-6). His week began Monday with a 71 (-1) at CGC, before a 5-under 66 at Cherry Hills on Tuesday.
It marks the second consecutive year that the Illini have produced two of the 64 competitors at the U.S. Amateur match play, after former Illini and current pros Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl each made the cut last year in Paramus, N.J.
Buchanan and Hunt now continue their pursuit of the prestigious Havemeyer Trophy in head-to-head, tournament-style matchups with rounds scheduled over the next five days, culminating in Sunday's 36-hole championship match.
Live television coverage is available Wednesday through Friday on Golf Channel and Peacock. Coverage of Saturday's semifinal and Sunday's championship can be found on Golf Channel and NBC.
The Illini duo not only made the cut down from 312 competitors to the top 64, but each posted a top-five score through 36 holes of stroke play on Monday and Tuesday. Buchanan closed stroke play in a three-way tie for first, just one shot ahead of Buchanan in a tie for fourth.
Buchanan played Round 1 at Cherry Hills and shot a 2-under 69 on Monday, before carding a 5-under 67 in Round 2 Tuesday at stroke-play co-host venue Colorado Golf Club. He finished in a tie with Blades Brown and Sampson Zheng at 136 (-7).
Hunt finished with a two-round score of 137 (-6). His week began Monday with a 71 (-1) at CGC, before a 5-under 66 at Cherry Hills on Tuesday.
It marks the second consecutive year that the Illini have produced two of the 64 competitors at the U.S. Amateur match play, after former Illini and current pros Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl each made the cut last year in Paramus, N.J.
Buchanan and Hunt now continue their pursuit of the prestigious Havemeyer Trophy in head-to-head, tournament-style matchups with rounds scheduled over the next five days, culminating in Sunday's 36-hole championship match.
Live television coverage is available Wednesday through Friday on Golf Channel and Peacock. Coverage of Saturday's semifinal and Sunday's championship can be found on Golf Channel and NBC.
