One of the rising stars in amateur golf is getting a shot to etch his name amongst some of the all-time greats next month.
Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns sophomore Charlie Flynn carded a 6-under-par 138 to finish second overall and qualify on Monday for the 119th United States Amateur Championship, scheduled for August 12-18 at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club.
Flynn survived a sudden-death playoff against Logan Kuehn of Lake Charles and finished one stroke behind Andy Lopez for medalist honors. Flynn, who previously earned a berth in the 113th Southern Amateur that will be held July 17-20, fired an impressive 4-under 68 in Monday’s opening round before carding a 2-under 70 in the final round.
The U.S. Amateur was created in 1895 and is the oldest USGA Championship. Pinehurst, which first hosted the U.S. Amateur in 1962, when Labron Harris claimed the Havemeyer Trophy over Downing Gray, will be hosting its third U.S. Amateur Championship and 10th USGA Championship. Pinehurst has also hosted three U.S. Opens (1999, 2005 and 2014) and will host the 124th U.S. Open in 2024.
Pinehurst’s Course No. 2 and Course No. 4 will host the stroke-play rounds on Aug. 12-13. After 36 holes, the field will be trimmed from 312 players to 64 for match play. The first five rounds of match play – through the semifinals – will be played on Course No. 2 on Aug. 14-17.
The 36-hole championship match will be contested over two courses for the first time. Scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 18, it will open with the morning round on Course No. 4, which was recently redesigned by Gil Hanse. The afternoon round will be played on Course No. 2, the renowned Donald Ross design that was restored by Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw in 2011.
Some of the notable former champions include Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland, who had the low amateur score earlier this year in the US Open and the Masters.
-Clint Domingue
