Erin, Wis. – Sixteen-year-old Beau Hossler of Mission Viejo, Calif., and collegiate players Blayne Barber, 21, of Lake City, Fla., and Ben Geyer, 19, of Arbuckle, Calif., posted 7-under-par 36-hole totals of 135 to share the lead for stroke-play medalist honors at Tuesday’s weather-delayed 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship.
Hossler qualified for the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club but missed the cut shooting, 76-77. He is a junior at Santa Margarita High School and played in his first U.S. Amateur in 2009 at age 14. He made seven birdies and three bogeys in shooting 4-under-par 66 at the par-70, 6,622-yard Blue Mound Golf and Country Club.
I really hit the ball well, said Hossler, who was the stroke-play medalist at the 2011 U.S. Junior Amateur. I knew coming in this would be a good tournament for me because it’s difficult and I feel very comfortable under difficult conditions.
Barber, a redshirt sophomore at Auburn University who represented the USA at the 2011 Palmer Cup, shot 67 at Blue Mound. Geyer, a junior at St. Mary’s College in California, posted seven birdies and one bogey at the 7,760-yard, par-72 Erin Hills course for a 6-under-par 66, which tied Mike Ignasiak, 45, of Saline, Mich., for the best score there in stroke play.
The trio was among the 157 players who waited out a three-hour, 40-minute weather delay in the morning and then completed their second stroke-play qualifying rounds Tuesday afternoon.
None of the players in the afternoon wave completed their second rounds, including defending champion Peter Uihlein, 21, of Orlando, Fla., and two of the three first-round leaders: Blake Biddle, 19, of St. Charles, Ill., and Gregor Main, 22, of Danville, Calif.
Biddle had completed 12 holes at Blue Mound and was unofficially three under par for Tuesday’s round and eight under par through 30 holes.
The second round was suspended due to darkness (at 7 p.m. at Erin Hills and 7:15 p.m. at Blue Mound), and will resume at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Following any necessary playoff to reduce the field to 64 players, the first round of match play will begin at a time to be determined.
Hossler, who led his high-school team to a fourth-place finish in the California state tournament, has been using his competitive season as a classroom.
It’s been great, he said. Even though I haven’t had the practice sessions that I normally have because I have been so busy, the tournament experience has made me a lot more comfortable on bigger stages like this one. I was a little intimidated when I played this a couple of years ago but now I feel very comfortable and I know a lot of the guys here. I can learn from those types of guys.
Geyer, who is playing in his first U.S. Amateur but competed earlier this summer at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links, credited his putter for his scoring.
When I was three under after eight with a bogey, that was pretty good, Geyer said. The first five holes I had birdie putts inside 20 feet and only made two of them. I knew I was hitting the ball well. That putt where I lipped out for par on six was a good putt. From there, I started putting well.
Barber admitted to using the stroke-play medal as an incentive to keep playing well after a 68 at Erin Hills on Monday.
I tried to keep focused on that because I didn’t want to get complacent and start playing defensively, Barber said. I don’t know what it’s going to take, but I was thinking, ‘Just go out there and try to be the medalist. But whatever happens, happens.’ At least if I was pushing for that, match play was going to happen, be an end result of that.
The 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Sunday.
The U.S. Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Erin, Wis. -- Results of Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship, played at 7,760-yard, par-72 Erin Hills and 6,622-yard, par-70 Blue Mound Golf and Country Club – EH=Erin Hills; BM=Blue Mound)
(NOTE: Players with afternoon starting times did not complete their rounds. For scoring, visit www.usga.org.)
Beau Hossler, Mission Viejo, Calif. 69-66--135 BM
Blayne Barber, Lake City, Fla. 68-67--135 BM
Ben Geyer, Arbuckle, Calif. 69-66--135 EH
Sunil Jung, Korea 72-65--137 BM
Cory Whitsett, Houston, Texas 69-68--137 EH
Will McCurdy, Fort Payne, Ala. 69-69--138 BM
Zahkai Brown, Arvada, Colo. 69-69--138 EH
Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. 70-68--138 EH
Denny McCarthy, Rockville, Md. 73-66--139 BM
Daniel Nisbet, Australia 70-69--139 BM
John Peterson, Fort Worth, Texas 68-71--139 EH
John Hahn, Las Vegas, Nev. 65-74--139 EH
Jonathan Randolph, Brandon, Miss. 70-70--140 BM
Charlie Hughes, Canada 73-67--140 BM
Dylan Frittelli, South Africa 74-66--140 BM
Mitch Sutton, Canada 71-69--140 BM
Tim Madigan, Rio Rancho, N.M. 72-68--140 BM
Jack Senior, England 67-73--140 EH
Juan Salcedo, The Woodlands, Texas 68-72--140 EH
Jordan Russell, College Station, Texas 68-72--140 EH
David Kim, Redondo Beach, Calif. 71-70--141 BM
Jade Scott, Daingerfield, Texas 74-67--141 BM
Matt Ewald, Topeka, Kan. 72-69--141 BM
Donald Constable, Deephaven, Minn. 74-67--141 BM
Eugene Wong, Canada 73-68--141 BM
Ryan Peterson, Eagan, Minn. 68-73--141 EH
Kevin Dougherty, Murrieta, Calif. 68-73--141 EH
Stephan Jaeger, Germany 70-72--142 BM
Garrett Rank, Canada 69-73--142 BM
David Denlinger, Lancaster, Pa. 69-73--142 BM
Mike Ignasiak, Saline, Mich. 76-66--142 EH
Zach Primavera, Lynn Haven, Fla. 71-71--142 EH
Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif. 66-76--142 EH
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei 69-73--142 EH
Nick Brothers, Crystal River, Fla. 71-71--142 EH
Matthew Stieger, Australia 69-73--142 EH
Austin Cody, N. Charleston, S.C. 70-72--142 EH
Mike Miller, Brewster, N.Y. 70-72--142 EH
Max Homa, Valencia, Calif. 75-68--143 BM
Julian Suri, St. Augustine, Fla. 72-71--143 BM
Emiliano Grillo, Argentina 74-69--143 BM
Cody Gribble, Dallas, Texas 74-69--143 BM
Brett Patterson, McMinnville, Tenn. 70-73--143 BM
Matthew Broome, Barrington, R.I. 75-68--143 BM
Michael Weaver, Fresno, Calif. 68-75--143 EH
Spencer Fletcher, Los Altos, Calif. 68-75--143 EH
Tripp McAllister, Lake City, S.C. 69-74--143 EH
Michael Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. 71-73--144 BM
Ryan Black, Port St. Lucie, Fla. 71-73--144 BM
Christian Raynor, Kennesaw, Ga. 73-71--144 BM
Kevin Fitzgerald, Riverside, Calif. 73-71--144 EH
C.G. Mercatoris, Brookville, Pa. 71-73--144 EH
Adam Schenk, Vincennes, Ind. 72-72--144 EH
Luke Guthrie, Quincy, Ill. 70-74--144 EH
Bank Vongvanij, Gainesville, Fla. 69-75--144 EH
Ben Kohles, Cary, N.C. 68-76--144 EH
J.D. Tomlinson, Gainesville, Fla. 68-76--144 EH
Justin Bryant, St. Louis, Mo. 72-72--144 EH
Teddy Schrier, Atwater, Calif. 73-72--145 BM
Wes Graham, Port Orange, Fla. 74-71--145 BM
Preston Bartley, Copan, Okla. 72-73--145 BM
Alex Williams, Cornwall On Hudson, N.Y. 73-72--145 BM
Anthony Aloi, Plainsboro, N.J. 73-72--145 BM
Brooks Koepka, Lake Worth, Fla. 74-71--145 EH
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 72-73--145 EH
Steven Kearney, Carlsbad, Calif. 71-74--145 EH
Sebastian Vazquez, Mexico 70-75--145 EH
Ben Juffer, West Des Moines, Iowa 73-73--146 BM
James White, Acworth, Ga. 75-71--146 BM
Tim Sundseth, Corvallis, Ore. 75-71--146 BM
Mike McCoy, West Des Moines, Iowa 74-72--146 BM
Brady Klotz, Nappanee, Ind. 74-72--146 BM
Jack Schultz, Whitefish Bay, Wis. 73-73--146 BM
Andrew Green, Edmond, Okla. 75-71--146 BM
Mike Slaven, Chicago, Ill. 75-71--146 BM
Cory McElyea, Santa Cruz, Calif. 74-72--146 BM
Patrick Carter, Huntington, W.Va. 75-71--146 BM
Ryan McCarthy, Australia 72-74--146 EH
David Denunzio, Jeannette, Pa. 71-75--146 EH
Stiggy Hodgson, England 73-73--146 EH
Jace Long, Dixon, Mo. 70-76--146 EH
Jonathan Fly, Memphis, Tenn. 71-75--146 EH
Clinton Shepard, West Monroe, La. 71-75--146 EH
David Lang, Canada 79-68--147 BM
Blaine Woodruff, Acworth, Ga. 77-70--147 BM
Spencer Lawson, Raleigh, N.C. 78-69--147 BM
Trevor Simsby, Carlsbad, Calif. 75-72--147 BM
Brad Benjamin, Rockford, Ill. 72-75--147 EH
Tae Wan Lee, Korea 70-77--147 EH
Bryce Chalkley, Richmond, Va. 71-76--147 EH
Sean Keating, Cincinnati, Ohio 70-77--147 EH
Andrew McCain, Australia 73-74--147 EH
Marcelo Huarte, Miami, Fla. 74-73--147 EH
Tze Huang Choo, Singapore 75-73--148 BM
Herbie Aikens, Pembroke, Mass. 75-73--148 BM
Doug Kleeschulte, Kingston, N.Y. 77-71--148 BM
J.J. Spaun, Los Angeles, Calif. 76-72--148 BM
Bill O'Connor, Birmingham, Mich. 70-78--148 EH
Jim Knous, Golden, Colo. 73-75--148 EH
Kyle Kopsick, Highland Park, Ill. 71-77--148 EH
Alex Rowland, Houston, Miss. 72-76--148 EH
Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. 72-76--148 EH
Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. 73-75--148 EH
Blake Kennedy, Spartanburg, S.C. 76-73--149 BM
Taylor Pendrith, Canada 74-75--149 BM
Matt Nagy, Buena Vista, Ga. 79-70--149 BM
Bruce Woodall, Yanceyville, N.C. 76-73--149 BM
Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. 77-72--149 EH
Jordan Weir, El Dorado Hills, Calif. 70-79--149 EH
Adam Hofmann, Pittsburgh, Pa. 76-73--149 EH
Greg Etimos, East Islip, N.Y. 78-72--150 BM
Chelso Barrett, Keene, N.H. 79-71--150 BM
Anders Albertson, Woodstock, Ga. 79-71--150 BM
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas 73-77--150 BM
Ryan Leahey, Orange, Conn. 76-74--150 BM
Donny Hopoi, Aiea, Hawaii 78-72--150 BM
Matthew Seramin, San Geronimo, Calif. 74-76--150 EH
Nick Austin, Midlothian, Va. 74-76--150 EH
Mason Jacobs, Metropolis, Ill. 74-76--150 EH
Colin Chapman, Franklin, N.C. 70-80--150 EH
Drew Evans, Dallas, Texas 76-74--150 EH
Andres Pumariega, Miami, Fla. 70-80--150 EH
Ian Vandersee, West Des Moines, Iowa 78-73--151 BM
Gene Elliott, West Des Moines, Iowa 78-73--151 BM
Edward Figueroa, Naples, Fla. 78-73--151 EH
Kramer Hickok, Plano, Texas 71-80--151 EH
John Darden, Frisco, Texas 79-72--151 EH
Sejun Yoon, Korea 71-80--151 EH
Michael Decker, Pebble Beach, Calif. 78-74--152 BM
Michael Coriasso, Grand Blanc, Mich. 75-77--152 BM
Cory Williamson, Collins, Miss. 75-77--152 EH
Max Gilbert, Canada 74-78--152 EH
Jeff Osberg, West Chester, Pa. 77-75--152 EH
Jack Perry, Santa Barbara, Calif. 74-79--153 EH
Joey Petronio, Orlando, Fla. 74-79--153 EH
Scott Stiles, Canada 77-76--153 EH
Skip Berkmeyer, St. Louis, Mo. 74-79--153 EH
Mitch Evanecz, Canada 77-77--154 BM
James Back, Korea 79-75--154 EH
Lewis Chong, Canada 79-76--155 BM
Danny Lewis, Morrow, Ohio 75-80--155 EH
Arnold Yoon, Buena Park, Calif. 72-83--155 EH
David Freeman, Canada 81-75--156 BM
Zhong Yang Fu, People's Republic of China 76-80--156 BM
Vince India, Deerfield, Ill. 75-81--156 EH
David Brown, Pittsburgh, Pa. 81-76--157 BM
Richard Maddox, Panama City, Fla. 85-72--157 BM
Scott Davenport, Marietta, Ga. 76-82--158 EH
Jordan Burgess, Windsor, Colo. 76-82--158 EH
Tyler Falk, Springfield, Ore. 82-77--159 BM
Tom Halla, Colgate, Wis. 85-75--160 BM
Joey Nichols, Little Rock, Ark. 79-81--160 BM
Chris Crawford, Bensalem, Pa. 78-82--160 BM
Ryan Card, Temecula, Calif. 83-77--160 BM
William Coe, San Diego, Calif. 73-87--160 EH
Brian Donohoe, Rochester, Mich. 77-84--161 EH
Evan Emerick, Oceanside, Calif. 82-84--166 EH
David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C. 69-WD EH
Gabe Plaza, Somerton, Ariz. 83-WD BM
Chris Biuso, Temple Terrace, Fla. 84-WD BM