Stroke-play medalist Chip Lutz, 58, of Reading, Pa., and two-time U.S. Senior Open low amateur Douglas Hanzel, 56, of Savannah, Ga., were among eight golfers who won a pair of matches on Tuesday to reach the quarterfinals of the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur Championship, being conducted at the 6,842-yard, par-72 Wade Hampton Golf Club.
Lutz, a two-time USGA Senior Amateur semifinalist (2010 and 2011), played the equivalent of 4-under-par golf in winning his two matches – 5 and 4 over Paul Schlachter, of Pittsburgh, and 3 and 2 over Robert Valerio, of Hawthorne, Calif. – while Hanzel, a semifinalist last year, needed only 28 holes to eliminate Mike Poe, of Athens, Tenn., 4 and 3, and Peter Wegmann, of Sea Ranch Lakes, Fla., 7 and 5.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals, which features three Pennsylvanians, are Don Erickson III, 61, of Dubois, Pa.; Buzz Fly, 58, of Memphis, Tenn.; 2012 Senior Amateur quarterfinalist Pat O’Donnell, 59, of Happy Valley, Ore.; David Szewczul, 59, of Farmington, Conn.; 2010 USGA Senior Amateur runner-up Patrick Tallent, 60, of Vienna, Va.; and Ray Thompson, 61, of Drexel Hill, Pa.
All of the quarterfinalists are exempt from qualifying for the 2014 Senior Amateur at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
Lutz has played five rounds at Wade Hampton and has been under par in all of them. Valerio matched him shot for shot over the first 10 holes of their third-round match. The two had matching pars until Valerio bogeyed the 11th hole, leading to four consecutive wins for Lutz.
"That was a pretty exciting match," said Lutz, who claimed the 2011 and 2012 British Senior Open Amateur and Canadian Senior Amateur titles. "No one was budging. I was thinking I just needed to be patient and that things would come through. Fortunately I made a birdie on 12 … and won four holes in a row."
Hanzel had five birdies against just one double bogey in his two matches on Tuesday.
"I didn’t really putt good today," said Hanzel. "I’m excited because I think the putter will light up."
Two third-round matches went extra holes, with Tallent prevailing over No. 2 seed Jack Hall, of Sea Island, Ga., in 19 holes and Ray Thompson, the lowest seed remaining (No. 56) surviving a 20-hole encounter with eighth-seeded Brady Exber, of Las Vegas, Nev. It was Exber’s second extra-hole match; he defeated 2009 champion Vinny Giles in 19 holes on Monday.
Tallent, a former All-American basketball player at George Washington University, birdied the par-5 first hole to close out Hall and reach the quarterfinal round for the second time in three years.
"It was a great match," said Tallent. "It was really tense. Jack is a fine player, I just happened to be the winner.
"I accomplished getting my exemption. Now everything is great. I learned a long time ago that there is nothing you can do until you get up there on that [first] tee and start playing. You can think about it all you want to, but it is not going to do you any good."
Thompson made an up-and-down par from the collection area on the par-4 second hole to beat Exber, who also missed the green with his approach and lipped out an 8-footer for par.
"This is as calm as I have been all year playing golf," said Thompson, who will play Lutz in the quarterfinals. "I was thinking I might never get back here, so I am just enjoying the day the best I can. If I keep the same mindset [against Lutz], I should be OK."
O’Donnell had quite a day at Wade Hampton. In the second round, he eliminated defending champion Paul Simson, of Raleigh, N.C., 3 and 2, and followed it up with a 2-and-1 victory over left-hander Michael Turner in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals for a second consecutive year.
The longest day belonged to Szewczul, who played 39 holes and won three matches. He needed six holes early Tuesday to finish off his suspended first-round match against David Schultz, of Canada, 3 and 2. Nine first-round matches were not completed on Monday due to darkness.
Szewczul, who was the oldest competitor in last month’s U.S. Amateur, then defeated Jim Rollefson, of Franklin, Wis., 4 and 3, in the second round before avenging a 2012 Senior Amateur loss to George Zahringer, of New York, 2 and 1.
A few tips from his longtime pro, John Nowobilski at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron, Conn., have paid off for Szewczul, who had never advanced this far in his previous 23 USGA championship appearances.
"I’ve been keeping it in play and not making any mistakes," said Szewczul. "He helped me with a few swing tips and I remembered those."
Szewczul, who also played 34 holes on Sunday due to Saturday’s weather delay, said stamina isn’t an issue going into Wednesday’s play.
"I try to keep myself fit," he said. "That’s not going to be a problem."
Both the quarterfinal and semifinal matches are scheduled for Wednesday, with the 18-hole championship match set for Thursday morning.
David Shefter is a senior staff writer with the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.
CASHIERS, N.C. – Results from Tuesday’s second and third rounds of match play at the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur, being conducted at the 6,842-yard, par-72 Wade Hampton Golf Club.
Round of 32
Upper Bracket
Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (138) def. Paul Schlachter, Pittsburgh, Pa. (152), 5 and 4
Robert Valerio, Hawthorne, Calif. (150) def. Hill Adams, Katy, Texas (150), 2 and 1
Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev. (147) def. John Long, Centreville, Va. (154), 2 up
Ray Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (155) def. Bev Hargraves, Helena, Ark. (151), 5 and 3
Don Erickson III, Dubois, Pa. (153) def. Rick Cloninger, Fort Mill, S.C. (146), 2 and 1
Mike Booker, The Woodlands, Texas (151) def. Bill Leonard, Dallas, Ga. (149), 2 up
Peter Wegmann, Sea Ranch Lakes, Fla. (153) def. Daniel Arvanitis, Manchester, N.H. (146), 5 and 3
Doug Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (149) def. Mike Poe, Athens, Tenn. (151), 4 and 3
Lower Bracket
Jack Hall, Sea Island, Ga. (145) def. Robert Parmer, Fairhope, Ala. (153), 2 and 1
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (150) def. Curtis Knorr, Dunwoody, Ga. (154), 6 and 5
Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. (147) def. Patrick Duncan, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (152), 19 holes
Edward Steiber, Cincinnati, Ohio (151) def. Allan Small, Florham Park, N.J. (155), 1 up
Pat O’Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. (152) def. Paul Simson, Raleigh, N.C. (146), 3 and 2
Michael Turner, Woodland Hills, Calif. (154) def. David Nelson, Reno, Nev. (150), 4 and 2
David Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. (146) def. Jim Rollefson, Franklin, Wis. (153), 4 and 3
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (154) def. Michael Hughett, Owasso, Okla. (149), 2 up
Round Of 16
Upper Bracket
Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (138) def. Robert Valerio, Hawthorne, Calif. (150), 3 and 2
Ray Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (155) def. Brady Exber, Las Vegas, Nev. (147), 20 holes
Don Erickson III, Dubois, Pa. (153) def. Mike Booker, The Woodlands, Texas (151), 2 up
Douglas Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (149) def. Peter Wegmann, Sea Ranch Lakes, Fla. (153), 7 and 5
Lower Bracket
Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (150) def. Jack Hall, Sea Island, Ga. (145), 19 holes
Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. (147) def. Edward Steiber, Cincinnati, Ohio (151), 3 and 2
Pat O’Donnell, Happy Valley, N.C. (152) def. Michael Turner, Woodland Hills, Calif. (154), 2 and 1
David Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. (146) def. George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (154), 2 and 1
CASHIERS, N.C. – Pairings and starting times for Wednesday’s quarterfinal matches at the 2013 USGA Senior Amateur, being conducted at the 6,842-yard, par-72 Wade Hampton Golf Club. Note: Semifinal matches to be played Wednesday afternoon. (All times EDT)
Quarterfinals
Upper Bracket
8 a.m.: Chip Lutz, Reading, Pa. (138) vs. Ray Thompson, Drexel Hill, Pa. (155)
8:10 a.m.: Don Erickson III, Dubois, Pa. (153) vs. Douglas Hanzel, Savannah, Ga. (149)
Lower Bracket
8:20 a.m.: Patrick Tallent, Vienna, Va. (150) vs. Buzz Fly, Memphis, Tenn. (147)
8:30 a.m.: Pat O’Donnell, Happy Valley, Ore. (152) vs. David Szewczul, Farmington, Conn. (146)