It is the first time since 1939 that four players have shared medalist honors at the APL, which is in its 89th and final playing.
Meth, 21, of San Diego, made just one bogey in two rounds over the 7,365-yard, par-71 layout designed by Jeff Brauer. On Tuesday, he carded his second consecutive 67, twice making back-to-back birdies (on holes 5-6 and 9-10), before closing his round with eight straight pars.
I played really steady rounds the last two days, said Meth, who hit 13 of 14 fairways on Tuesday. The ultimate goal was just to get into match play, but obviously I’m honored to be the last medalist at the Pub Links.
Meth is playing in his second APL. He qualified for match play in 2012 at Soldier Hollow Golf Course in Midway, Utah, but lost to hometown favorite Zac Blair in the first round. A senior at the University of the Pacific, Meth posted a seven-stroke victory in the West Coast Conference Championships in April and finished tied for sixth at the Sahalee Players Championship two weeks ago.
Thomas, 20, of Las Vegas, Nev., shared the overnight lead after a first-round 66. He backed up that effort with an up-and-down, 3-under 68 that featured six birdies and three bogeys.
I struggled a little bit on my first nine, said Thomas, who estimated that he had been an alternate five times before qualifying for the 2014 APL, his first USGA championship. My driver really kept me in it again. Then I made the turn and got hot with the putter.
Thomas made four birdies in a closing nine of 32, which included a chip-in on the par-5 fourth. In total, the junior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas made 13 birdies over the first 36 holes to lead the field.
Ghim, 18, of Arlington Heights, Ill., had a chance to claim outright medalist honors, but missed a 4-foot par putt on the 18th hole. Even so, the 65 tied the lowest round of his career.
Whenever you get to say that you’re a medalist at a USGA championship it means a lot, especially since this is the last one, said Ghim, who lost in the semifinals of the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur. It definitely is one of the pinnacles of my career so far.
Rico Hoey, 18, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., shot the low round of the championship on Tuesday, birdieing three of his final four holes to card a 7-under 64. While playing at the University of Southern California this past year, Hoey was the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. He was also one of 10 collegiate golfers chosen to represent the United States at the 2014 Palmer Cup two weeks ago in England.
All four of the medalists had afternoon starting times on Tuesday. Sam Horsfield (68-69–137), of England, was the top finisher among those who played on Tuesday morning.
The 2014 APL is Horsfield’s sixth USGA championship. He will play in next week’s U.S. Junior Amateur at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas, and recently qualified for next month’s U.S. Amateur with a blistering 13-under 131 at Orange County National Golf Center and Lodge in Winter Garden, Fla.
A day after shooting 66, 2013 APL medalist Garrett Rank, of Canada, made six bogeys in a round of 75. Despite his struggles on Tuesday, Rank advanced to match play for the fifth consecutive year at the APL.
Jordan Niebrugge, of Mequon, Wis., the defending champion, overcame a slow start to advance to match play as well. He carded three birdies on his last nine holes to post 4-over 146.
With the cut line falling at 5-over 147, 11 competitors played off to determine the final seven spots in the match-play field of 64 players. Starting on the par-5 10th, four players – Aaron Flores, Andrej Bevins, Sean Carlon and Ted Moon – birdied the first hole to advance. On the par-4 11th, Vinnie Murphy made eagle and Paul McClure made birdie to secure their places, and on the par-4 12th, Joshua Lee chipped in for birdie to claim the final spot in the match-play field.
The U.S. Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. First-round matches begin on Wednesday at 8 a.m. CDT, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Saturday.
Michael Trostel is the senior curator/historian for the USGA Museum. Email him at mtrostel@usga.org.
Results
Newton, Kan. – Results from the second round of stroke-play qualifying at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, being played at 7,365-yard, par-71 Sand Creek Station Golf Course:
Byron Meth, San Diego, Calif. 67-67--134
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. 69-65--134
Rico Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. 70-64--134
Zane Thomas, Las Vegas, Nev. 66-68--134
Sam Saunders, Albuquerque, N.M. 70-66--136
Sam Horsfield, England 68-69--137
Kolton Crawford, Mansfield, Texas 68-70--138
Charlie Danielson, Osceola, Wis. 68-70--138
Thomas Strandemo, Fargo, N.D. 73-65--138
Thomas Lim, Eugene, Ore. 67-73--140
John Oda, Honolulu, Hawaii 69-71--140
Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. 71-69--140
Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China 71-69--140
Robert Geibel, Pembroke Pines, Fla. 68-72--140
Colton Staggs, Tulsa, Okla. 71-69--140
Ben Hogenkamp, Minster, Ohio 73-67--140
Michael Colgate, Sarasota, Fla. 66-75--141
Garrett Rank, Canada 66-75--141
Kevin Reilly, Oviedo, Fla. 71-70--141
Easton Paxton, Riverton, Wyo. 71-70--141
Rigel Fernandes, India 68-74--142
David Mills, Evansville, Ind. 71-71--142
Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. 72-70--142
Gavin Green, Malaysia 73-69--142
Jonathan Woo, Singapore 69-73--142
Issei Tanabe, Japan 71-71--142
Trent Peterson, Eagan, Minn. 68-74--142
Davis Hangyerei Chung, Las Cruces, N.M. 70-72--142
Scott Wolfes, St. Simons Island, Ga. 72-71--143
Brandon Kida, Layton, Utah 71-72--143
Nick Eberhardt, Fort Mill, S.C. 70-73--143
Alexander Dombrowski, Gaylord, Mich. 72-71--143
Cody McManus, Phoenix, Ariz. 70-74--144
Nathan Clark, Charlotte, Mich. 72-72--144
Herbie Aikens, Pembroke, Mass. 73-71--144
Eric Kline, Ponca City, Okla. 72-72--144
Chris Korte, Littleton, Colo. 72-72--144
Michael Gellerman, Sterling, Kan. 74-71--145
Ryan Tetrault, Orange, Calif. 70-75--145
Jonathan De Los Reyes, Sacramento, Calif. 71-74--145
Jon Veneziano, Mount Dora, Fla. 73-72--145
Chase Johnson, Barberton, Ohio 71-74--145
Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. 72-73--145
Joshua Baskins, Redding, Calif. 76-69--145
Steven Delmar, Gaithersburg, Md. 72-73--145
Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa. 72-74--146
Jacob Stockl, Clark, N.J. 73-73--146
Andrew McCain, Tarpon Springs, Fla. 74-72--146
Kyle Henning, Brookfield, Wis. 73-73--146
Jordan Niebrugge, Mequon, Wis. 74-72--146
Jess Bonneau, Houston, Texas 70-76--146
Ryann Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif. 75-71--146
Ben-Marvin Egel, Germany 73-73--146
Matt Record, Scottsdale, Ariz. 71-75--146
Tyler McDaniel, Manchester, Ky. 74-72--146
Patrick Beyhan, Albuquerque, N.M. 73-73--146
Cash Wilkerson, Spring, Texas 74-72--146
Paul McClure, Mobile, Ala. 79-68--147
Joshua Lee, Fleming Island, Fla. 75-72--147
Andrej Bevins, Elk Grove, Calif. 75-72--147
Cameron Harrell, Colorado Springs, Colo. 72-75--147
Sean Carlon, Albuquerque, N.M. 75-72--147
David Pastore, Greenwich, Conn. 73-74--147
Ted Moon, Lilburn, Ga. 76-71--147
Eric Ghim, Glendale, Ariz. 80-67--147
Talon Supak, Washington, Ill. 74-73--147
Vinnie Murphy, Edgewood, Wash. 71-76--147
Aaron Flores, San Antonio, Texas 72-75--147
Nick Tremps, Williamsburg, Va. 74-74--148
Dominic Kieffer, Byron, Minn. 76-72--148
Brian Bullington, Iowa City, Iowa 73-75--148
Matthew Rushton, South Africa 74-74--148
Matt Cote, Palm Harbor, Fla. 71-77--148
Easton Renwick, Dubois, Pa. 77-71--148
Ryan Knapp, Costa Mesa, Calif. 74-74--148
Daniel Chian, Rowland Heights, Calif. 75-74--149
Ryan Sloane, Campbell, Calif. 74-75--149
Ryan Rettberg, Front Royal, Va. 73-76--149
Zachary Bauchou, Forest, Va. 75-74--149
Brandon Matthews, Dupont, Pa. 73-76--149
Jack Maguire, St. Petersburg, Fla. 73-76--149
Jay Lim, Los Angeles, Calif. 72-77--149
Benjamin Skogen, Onalaska, Wis. 71-78--149
Justin Arens, Columbus, Ohio 75-74--149
Stratton Nolen, Austin, Texas 76-74--150
Edward Figueroa, Naples, Fla. 76-74--150
Dylan Crowley, Los Angeles, Calif. 76-74--150
Corey Eddings, Roseville, Calif. 79-71--150
Kyle Weldon, St. Louis, Mo. 71-79--150
Brandon Hortt, Spring Valley, Calif. 76-74--150
Justin Kadin, Corvallis, Ore. 75-75--150
Donald Gabrelcik, Trinity, Fla. 78-72--150
Cj Konkowski, West Chesterfield, N.H. 72-78--150
Ross Miller, Maple Grove, Minn. 78-72--150
Jobim Carlos, Philippines 75-75--150
Rohan Ramnath, Weston, Fla. 77-73--150
Chase Hanna, Leawood, Kan. 78-73--151
Andrew Lawson, Dallas, Texas 77-75--152
John Wright, Aurora, Ill. 76-76--152
Alex McMahon, Tucson, Ariz. 76-76--152
Cole Nygren, Longmont, Colo. 75-77--152
David Cooke, Bolingbrook, Ill. 76-76--152
Jameson Keiley, Haiku, Hawaii 79-74--153
Thomas Halla, Colgate, Wis. 77-76--153
Dalen Yamauchi, Hilo, Hawaii 76-77--153
Michael Greene, Overland Park, Kan. 77-76--153
Richard Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. 76-77--153
Alex Gaugert, Lake Geneva, Wis. 80-73--153
Shane Dobesh, Webster, N.Y. 77-76--153
Erik Olson, Bellevue, Wash. 76-77--153
Ty Travis, Eagle, Idaho 76-78--154
Joseph Alvarez, North Berwick, Maine 78-76--154
Blake Abercrombie, Rocklin, Calif. 80-74--154
Henry Lee, Canada 80-74--154
Colton West, Mesa, Ariz. 73-81--154
Kurt Brey, Farmingdale, N.Y. 80-74--154
Jimmy Jaskoske, Addison, Ill. 76-78--154
David Germann, Clayton, N.C. 78-77--155
Kaz Sakai, Palm Desert, Calif. 80-75--155
Alexander Weare, England 80-75--155
Jeff Wells, Redondo Beach, Calif. 80-75--155
Zachary Bishop, Travelers Rest, S.C. 80-75--155
Brennan Amirkhizi, Encino, Calif. 76-80--156
Michael Sharp, Kendallville, Ind. 81-75--156
Dennis Holub, Reminderville, Ohio 76-80--156
Jacob Henny, Norwalk, Conn. 76-80--156
Steven Souchek, Columbia, Ill. 72-84--156
Dylan Kornberg, Tucson, Ariz. 77-79--156
DeVaughn Robinson, Bahamas 77-79--156
Chris Rossi, Hamilton, Ohio 81-75--156
Kyle Rodes, Plymouth, Mich. 78-78--156
Garren Poirier, Killington, Vt. 79-78--157
Donny Hopoi, Aiea, Hawaii 78-79--157
Nick Krsnak, Fort Worth, Texas 76-81--157
Nicholas Booth, West Jordan, Utah 76-82--158
Michael Lopez, Phoenix, Ariz. 74-84--158
Philip Lee, Nashville, Tenn. 73-86--159
Tyler Thomas, San Marcos, Texas 85-74--159
David Monaco, Westerville, Ohio 77-82--159
Mitchell Homb, Glen Carbon, Ill. 79-81--160
Marc Reyes, Los Angels, Calif. 80-80--160
Michael Miranda, Farmingville, N.Y. 83-77--160
Calvin Pearson, South Africa 77-83--160
Zachary Burry, Quincy, Ill. 80-80--160
Sj Maeng, Honolulu, Hawaii 82-79--161
Jonathan Renza, Cortlandt Manor, N.Y. 88-76--164
Cayman Ratliff, Kingsport, Tenn. 80-84--164
Clayton Amuro, Hilo, Hawaii 79-86--165
Jason Loehrs, Drexel Hill, Pa. 83-83--166
Jin Ho Chung, Brazil 82-84--166
Max Decheco, Stow, Ohio 83-84--167
Derek Bayley, Rathdrum, Idaho 87-81--168
Andrew Collins, Cincinnati, Ohio 87-84--171
Austin Zopfi, Worden, Mont. 90-82--172
William Arnold, Anchorage, Alaska 86-89--175
Brett Furutani, Hilo, Hawaii 89-87—176
Newton, Kan. – Pairings and starting times for the first round of match play at the 2014 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship being played at 7,365-yard, par-71 Sand Creek Station Golf Course. (All times CDT):
8:00 am - Zane Thomas, Las Vegas, Nev. (134) vs. Joshua Lee, Fleming Island, Fla. (147)
8:10 am - Alexander Dombrowski, Gaylord, Mich. (143) vs. Cody McManus, Phoenix, Ariz. (144)
8:20 am - Robert Geibel, Pembroke Pines, Fla. (140) vs. Andrew McCain, Tarpon Springs, Fla. (146)
8:30 am - Michael Colgate, Sarasota, Fla. (141) vs. Ben-Marvin Egel, Germany (146)
8:40 am - Thomas Strandemo, Fargo, N.D. (138) vs. Cash Wilkerson, Spring, Texas (146)
8:50 am - Rigel Fernandes, India (142) vs. Jon Veneziano, Mount Dora, Fla. (145)
9:00 am - Kolton Crawford, Mansfield, Texas (138) vs. Patrick Beyhan, Albuquerque, N.M. (146)
9:10 am - Trent Peterson, Eagan, Minn. (142) vs. Michael Gellerman, Sterling, Kan. (145)
9:20 am - Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. (134) vs. Ted Moon, Lilburn, Ga. (147)
9:30 am - Brandon Kida, Layton, Utah (143) vs. Chris Korte, Littleton, Colo. (144)
9:40 am - Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China (140) vs. Jordan Niebrugge, Mequon, Wis. (146)
9:50 am - Easton Paxton, Riverton, Wyo. (141) vs. Steven Delmar, Gaithersburg, Md. (145)
10:00 am - Sam Saunders, Albuquerque, N.M. (136) vs. Sean Carlon, Albuquerque, N.M. (147)
10:10 am - Gavin Green, Malaysia (142) vs. Herbie Aikens, Pembroke, Mass. (144)
10:20 am - John Oda, Honolulu, Hawaii (140) vs. Jacob Stockl, Clark, N.J. (146)
10:30 am - Jonathan Woo, Singapore (142) vs. Chelso Barrett, Surry, N.H. (145)
10:40 am - Rico Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (134) vs. Paul McClure, Mobile, Ala. (147)
10:50 am - Scott Wolfes, St. Simons Island, Ga. (143) vs. Nathan Clark, Charlotte, Mich. (144)
11:00 am - Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. (140) vs. Matt Record, Scottsdale, Ariz. (146)
11:10 am - Kevin Reilly, Oviedo, Fla. (141) vs. Ryann Ree, Redondo Beach, Calif. (146)
11:20 am - Charlie Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (138) vs. Aaron Flores, San Antonio, Texas (147)
11:30 am - Davis Hangyerei Chung, Las Cruces, N.M. (142) vs. Joshua Baskins, Redding, Calif. (145)
11:40 am - Thomas Lim, Eugene, Ore. (140) vs. Jess Bonneau, Houston, Texas (146)
11:50 am - Issei Tanabe, Japan (142) vs. Ryan Tetrault, Orange, Calif. (145)
12:00 pm - Byron Meth, San Diego, Calif. (134) vs. Vinnie Murphy, Edgewood, Wash. (147)
12:10 pm - Nick Eberhardt, Fort Mill, S.C. (143) vs. Eric Kline, Ponca City, Okla. (144)
12:20 pm - Ben Hogenkamp, Minster, Ohio (140) vs. Sean Knapp, Oakmont, Pa. (146)
12:30 pm - Garrett Rank, Canada (141) vs. Kyle Henning, Brookfield, Wis. (146)
12:40 pm - Sam Horsfield, England (137) vs. Andrej Bevins, Elk Grove, Calif. (147)
12:50 pm - Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. (142) vs. Chase Johnson, Barberton, Ohio (145)
1:00 pm - Colton Staggs, Tulsa, Okla. (140) vs. Tyler McDaniel, Manchester, Ky. (146)
1:10 pm - David Mills, Evansville, Ind. (142) vs. Jonathan De Los Reyes, Sacramento, Calif. (145)