Lugiano's run in the U.S. Amateur at Merion is halted by Reilly in quarterfinals

 

   HAVERFORD -- Michael Lugiano, a scholastic standout at Lake Lehman who is a junior at Liberty, had already proven that he can play amateur golf at the highest levels when he claimed the individual title in the NCAA Corvallis Regional in Oregon in May.

   His run to the quarterfinals of the 126^th U.S. Amateur Championship at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course was no fluke.

   That run came to a crashing halt Friday as Auburn sophomore Logan Reilly of Lovettsville, Va. cruised into the semifinals with a 6 and 4 victory over Lugiano, but that did absolutely nothing to tarnish the week Lugiano had at Merion.

   It appears Lugiano might have been a major contributor to the largest attendance ever measured at a U.S. Amateur.

   Making the U.S. Amateur a ticketed event is a fairly recent development.

   But half of Scranton – OK, a little bit of hyperbole there -- used to bus to Syracuse to see its favorite son, Gerry McNamara, play hoops at the Carrier Dome. McNamara will take over as the head coach at his alma mater in a few months.

   And a little of that dynamic seemed to be at work Friday. But give credit too, to the Philadelphia area golf fans, who prove over and over again that if you’re staging a big-time event at one of the region’s great golf courses, they’ll come out and watch.

   It happened with the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in May and it happened again Friday at Merion.

   Unfortunately for Lugiano, Reilly, who delivered the clinching point for the Tigers in their 4-1 victory over UCLA in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. in the spring, reveled in the huge gallery that was mostly rooting for Lugiano.

   “It was good, it was fun, that’s for sure,” Reilly told the USGA website. “I actually really enjoyed it. I loved how many people there were out there. Just gave me a little extra motivation, honestly.

   “Thank God, I got a couple of my friends that came out, so they were trying to get loud. It was great. Unbelievable atmosphere.”

   Reilly had five birdies on his scorecard, including a conceded birdie on the final hole of the match after Lugiano yanked his tee shot at the par-4 14^th out of bounds. But, as so often is the case, is was a par saver at the short par-4 seventh hole that might have turned the match in his favor.

   Reilly had taken a 2-up advantage when he dropped in an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-4 sixth hole.

   With the tee box at the seventh hole moved forward, Reilly and Lugiano both found the bunker on the left side of the green. Reilly’s bunker shot skittered off the green into another bunker on the other side of the green while Lugiano blasted it to 12 feet from the hole.

   Now short-sided, Reilly could do no better than hit it 20 feet past the pin. But he buried his par putt and Lugiano’s birdie try slid by and Reilly held his 2-up advantage.

   Lugiano drained a 15-footer for birdie at the short par-4 eighth hole to cut his deficit in half, but it was all Reilly after that.

   Lugiano pulled his tee shot at the par-3 ninth hole into the left greenside bunker and Reilly was able to restore his 2-up advantage with a par.

   Both players drove it into the yawning bunker in front of the green at the short par-4 10^th hole. Reilly nearly holed his bunker shot and had a tap-in for birdie while Lugiano’s seven-footer got a piece of the hole, but wouldn’t fall.

   Lugiano made a bit of a mess of the short par-4 11^th hole, driving it into the rough short of the creek and then chunking his approach, leaving him with an awkward stance alongside a bunker. Reilly’s two-putt par gave him the win and suddenly he was 4-up.

   After the two halved the par-4 12^th hole with pars, Reilly stuck his tee shot at the little par-3 13^th hole 12 feet from the wicker basket-topped stick and converted the birdie try. He was 5-up with five holes to play.

   When Lugiano hit his tee shot at the 14^th hole out of bounds, it was over.

   When Lugiano puts the disappointment behind him, he’ll realize what a positive this week was and, oh yeah, the exemptions. Pretty sure the quarterfinalists are exempt into next year’s U.S. Amateur at another American classic, Oak Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y., outside of Rochester, with the East Course and the West Course the handiwork of the master himself, Donald Ross.

   Pretty sure Lugiano is also exempt into Final Qualifying for next year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Those local qualifiers can be a bear and Lugiano can skip that step.

   Reilly’s semifinal opponent will be Stanford junior Jay Leng Jr. of San Diego, Calif. and No. 23 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), who pulled away from Florida senior Jack Turner of Orlando, Fla. and No. 19 in the WAGR for a 6 and 5 decision, closing with a devastating burst of four consecutive birdies at the 10^th, 11^th, 12^th and 13^th holes.

   Got a chance to watch a lot of Leng’s 1-up victory over Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala. and No. 3 in the WAGR in Thursday’s round of 16 and Leng is going to be a tough out. Leng is coming off a victory in the Western Amateur at Beverly Country Club in Chicago, Ill.

   On the other side of the bracket, Carter Loflin of Duluth, Ga., who wrapped up his career at Georgia in the spring, reached the semifinals with a 3 and 2 victory over Colorado senior Brandon Knight of Pleasanton, Calif. It was the furthest any of the four quarterfinals got.

   Loflin was 2-down and staring at a bogey on the hardest hole on the golf course, the par-4 fifth, when he chipped in for an unlikely par and a win that cut his deficit to 1-down.

   He would go on to win the seventh, eighth, 10^th and 13^th holes with birdies and build a 3-up advantage that Knight was unable to cut into.

   Loflin’s semifinal opponent will be Englishman Jack Whaley, a senior at Florida State and No. 90 in the WAGR who rolled to a 5 and 4 victory over Moroccan Adam Bresnu, a senior at Texas Tech.

   Whaley picked up wins at the first and second holes with birdies and never looked back. Bresnu never even won a hole off Whaley.

   Whaley won the fourth hole with a par, the eighth with a birdie and the 11^th with a birdie to build a commanding 5-up advantage.

   Whaley is hoping his strong showing at Merion will earn him some consideration for a spot on the Great Britain & Ireland team that will take on the United States in the Walker Cup Match next month at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.

   The Loflin-Whaley match kicks off Saturday’s two semifinals at 2 p.m. The Reilly-Leng match will follow right behind them, teeing off at 2:15 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leng holds off Watts in a battle of heavyweights to reach the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals at Merion

 

   HAVERFORD -- As the round of 32 in the 126^th U.S. Amateur at Merion Golf Club’s historic East Course was nearing completion Thursday morning, it was easy to hone in on a match to follow in the afternoon’s round of 16.

   Tyler Watts of Huntsville, Ala. is headed for Tennessee to begin his college career, but he has already established himself as one of the top amateur players in golf as evidenced by his No.-3 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR).

   Watts’ lofty perch in the WAGR made him an automatic qualifier for the United States team in next month’s Walker Cup Match against Great Britain & Ireland at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland.

   Jay Leng Jr. of San Diego, Calif. is a junior at Stanford and No. 23 in the WAGR. He’s coming off a victory in the Western Amateur, defeating Vanderbilt sophomore Michael Riebe, 5 and 4, in the final at Beverly Country Club in Chicago, among other strong showings in Elite Amateur Series events this summer.

   The Western Am might be an even tougher test than the U.S. Amateur with 72 holes of stroke-play qualifying for match play with only the top 16 advancing to the match-play bracket.

   Leng had rolled to a 6 and 5 victory over Florida junior Zack Swanwick of New Zealand and No. 20 in the WAGR in Thursday morning’s round of 16. Watts had knocked off Anson Munzlinger, a 16-year-old from Columbia, Mo., in the round of 16 to do his part to set up the showdown with Leng.

   The Leng-Watts match was golf entertainment at its best with Leng ultimately holding on for a 1-up decision to earn a spot in Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals.

   It will be another heavyweight showdown in the quarterfinals, where Leng will take on Florida senior Jack Turner of Orlando, Fla and No. 19 in the WAGR. Turner reached the quarterfinals with a 5 and 3 victory over fellow Gator Joshua Bai, like Swanwick, a Kiwi, in another round-of-16 match Thursday afternoon.

   I arrived on the scene just in time to see Watts hole a five-foot putt for birdie at the par-5 fourth hole to take a 2-up lead. Leng was completely aware what he was getting into when he drew Watts in the round of 16.

   “I knew it was going to be a battle out there from the beginning,” Leng told the USGA website (the sketchy reliability of the shuttle buses back to remote parking at nearby Haverford College makes it a risky proposition to hang around for the interview sessions). “I’ve played with Tyler enough to know how good he is and what he’s capable of.”

   Leng cut his deficit in half with a beautifully executed lag putt from the top of green to the pin near the front left that left him a short par putt. When Watts botched his chip from just off the green, he conceded the par putt to Leng.

   But the match really turned two holes later at the short, par-4 seventh hole. Leng’s layup tee shot found the left bunker near the tee box for the fourth hole. He had 140 yards to negotiate and he lashed a 50-degree wedge that trundled on the front of the green, 45 feet from the hole.

   Watts’ tee shot left him near the out-of-bounds fence on the right side. His punch shot ran through the green.

   Leng, however, dropped his birdie bomb and Watts hit a pretty effective flop shot, but couldn’t find the hole. The match was even.

   At the par-3 ninth hole, Watts couldn’t get a 15-foot birdie try to drop, but Leng’s eight-footer disappeared for a birdie and he was 1-up.

   Leng increased his advantage to 2-up when he drove it just off the green in the rough at the short, par-4 10^th hole and chipped it close for another birdie.

   Watts fought back, his approach at the short, par-4 11^th hole, the Bobby Jones hole, skipping to a stop three feet from the hole. He converted the birdie try to cut his deficit to 1-down.

   Watts holed another birdie putt at the par-4 12^th hole, draining his 12-footer.  Problem was, Leng was on the same line and had no trouble dropping his eight-foot birdie try right on top of Watts’ birdie after seeing the line.

   Leng stuck it to four feet at the little, par-3 13^th hole and easily converted the birdie putt after Watts had been unable to get his 12-footer to fall. Leng had made birdies at the seventh, ninth, 10^th, 12^th and 13^th holes. He was 2-up.

   It looks like kind of a homemade swing that Leng has, but it’s repeatable. He finally opened the door a little with a block off the tee at the par-4 15^th hole. Watts hit in the fairway and knocked it to 10 feet, ultimately getting a conceded birdie that cut Leng’s lead to 1-up with three holes to play.

   Watt’s last best chance to even the match came at the tough, par-3 17^th hole. It has proven to be such a pivotal hole in the matches that have lasted that long.

   Watts was just off the front edge, but 50 feet away and needing to negotiate the 17^th’s mini valley of sin to an impossible pin on the right-front porch. Watts didn’t quite hit it hard enough and left himself eight feet for par.

   Leng was just on the green, pretty much on the same line that Watts had been on. Leng’s first putt didn’t make it up the hill at all and rolled back to him. His second try was better, leaving him three feet for bogey.

   When Watts was unable to make his par putt and Leng holed his bogey putt, Leng took a 1-up advantage to the last.

   Both players left themselves not far from the back left pin (the John Peters hole-out for eagle to win the 2021 Pennsylvania Amateur pin).

   Watts got it up and down from the rough above the left bunker for a par. Leng, putting from the back fringe, lagged it up to three feet. Leng only needed a par and he got it.

   Just a great match between two great players.

   Most of the rest of the significant gallery at Merion Thursday afternoon watched Michael Lugiano, a scholastic standout at Lake Lehman and Liberty teammate of qualifying medalist Josh Ryan, claim his second 1-up victory of the day, this one coming against Drake Harvey, an incoming freshman at Brigham Young from Henderson, Nev.

   Lugiano, who is staying at the Norristown home of his former Liberty teammate Ryan this week, made a huge splash in the spring when he captured the individual title in the NCAA Corvallis Regional and represented the Flames as an individual in the NCAA Championship at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. to cap his sophomore season.

   Lugiano began his day with a 1-up victory over Nevill Ruiter of the Netherlands, who wrapped up his college career at the College of Charleston in the spring.

   Harvey, who had opened the week with a 6-under 64 that matched the competitive course record at the East Course in qualifying for match play, had knocked out three-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion and five-time U.S. Walker Cupper Stewart Hagestad, 2 and 1, in his second-round match. Hagestad is No. 27 in the WAGR.

   Lugiano and Harvey traded wins in the early stages of the round with Harvey taking a 1-up lead with a birdie at the par-4 11^th hole.

   But Lugiano had the answers down the stretch. He drew even by taking the 12^th hole with a birdie and put a nose in front by winning the 14^th with a par.

   Harvey drew even again with a win at the par-4 16^th hole with a par. But Lugiano made a par at the tough, par-3 17^th hole, a really good score on that hole with the pin perched precariously on the right-front corner, to take a 1-up lead to the 18^th tee.

   A par at the 18^th hole was good enough for Lugiano to book himself a spot in the quarterfinals.

   Lugiano will face Auburn sophomore Logan Reilly of Lovettesville, Va., who delivered the clinching point for the Tigers in their 4-1 victory over UCLA in the NCAA Championship’s Final Match at La Costa, after Reilly went 20 holes to knock off Oklahoma senior Ryder Cowan, a home boy from Edmond, Okla. and No. 8 in the WAGR, with the sun setting on the East Course in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   There were a couple of tight matches at the top of the bracket in the round of 16.

   Colorado senior Brandon Wright of Pleasanton, Calif. pulled out a 1-up decision over Gaven Lane of Argyle, Texas, a senior on the powerful Oklahoma State team.

   Lane’s quarterfinal opponent will be Carter Loflin of Duluth, Ga., who wrapped up his career at Georgia in the spring.

   Loflin had to go to the 19^th hole, making a birdie on Merion’s short par-4 opener, to pull out a victory over Alabama junior William Jennings of Greenville, S.C., who is No. 5 in the WAGR.

   Jennings was the runnerup in the NCAA Championship’s individual chase at La Costa in the spring. He rallied with wins in the last two holes of regulation to send his match with Loflin to the 19^th hole before falling.

   The final quarterfinal will pit Moroccan Adam Bresnu, a senior at Texas Tech and No. 30 in the WAGR, against England’s Jack Whaley, a senior at Florida State and No. 90 in the WAGR.

   Bresnu cruised to a 5 and 4 decision over Illinois senior Max Herendeen of Champaign, Ill. and No. 26 in the WAGR in his round-of-16 match.

   Whaley, making a pretty good case for his inclusion on the GB&I side for next month’s Waker Cup Match at Lahinch, rolled to a 4 and 3 victory over accomplished mid-am Christian Cavaliere of Katonah, N.Y.

   The 312 players who began the week in hopes of hoisting the Havemeyer Trophy are down to just eight.

   The Knight-Loflin quarterfinal will kick things off at 1:15 p.m. Friday with the Lugiano-Reilly showdown, the last of the four matches, going off at 2 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun sets on Ryan's amateur career with loss on 19th hole to Moto in U.S. Amateur at Merion

 

   HAVERFORD -- As the sun was setting on the historic East Course at Merion Golf Club Wednesday evening, the sun was setting on the amateur career of Norristown’s Josh Ryan.

   Ryan had emerged as an early star of the 126^th U.S. Amateur at Merion, his brilliant 5-under-par 65 at the East Course Tuesday earning him medalist honors by two shots in qualifying for match play.

   But Ryan was never quite able to recapture the magic of Tuesday as he fell on the 19^th hole to Japan’s Taishi Moto, a junior at Arizona.

   This one was all about grit, as match play so often is, and Moto, the last survivor of a bulky playoff early Wednesday morning in which 16 players were vying for the final 11 spots in the match-play bracket, might have had a little more of that in the end.

   The momentum kept shifting back and forth on the incoming nine at the East Course and it looked like it had shifted finally in Moto’s favor when Ryan couldn’t get a four-footer for par to fall at the tough par-3 17^th hole, giving Moto a 1-up lead heading to the 18^th tee.

   But just like that, the momentum shifted once more as Moto, who had snap-hooked his drive on the 16^th hole to help Ryan even the match, did it again, this time so severely that he was out of bounds.

   Ryan had life again as Moto’s mistake enabled Ryan to even the match and send it to extra holes.

   The match had started late in the afternoon with Ryan pull-hooking his tee shot out of bounds. It ended with Ryan pulling his tee shot into the left rough. This time it was Moto who took advantage of his opponent’s mistake, making a par at the East Course’s short opener.

   It will be Moto, who helped Arizona reach the NCAA semifinals at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. as a sophomore in the spring and is No. 57 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), who will take on Gaven Lane, a senior at Oklahoma State who helped the Cowboys reach the semifinals at La Costa and is a notch below Moto at No. 58 in the WAGR, in a second-round match at 7:15 a.m. Thursday.

   Lane of Argyle, Texas had advanced with a 3 and 2 victory over mid-amateur Grady Brame Jr. of Hammond, La., who had teamed with former Southeastern Louisiana teammate Lawrence Allen to capture the title in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship at the Desert Mountain Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. in the spring.

   Ryan never seemed as sharp as he had been in Tuesday’s second round of match play, although when he slam-dunked his chip for eagle at the par-5 fourth hole, he grabbed a 1-up lead.

   But he was unable to build any momentum from that moment.

   Moto managed to make four from up against the collar at the impossible par-4 fifth hole to even the match again.

   It stayed that way until the par-3 ninth hole when Ryan sent his tee shot to the middle of the green with the pin in the front. His three-putt bogey gave Moto a 1-up lead heading to the 10^th tee.

   Once again, though, it seemed Ryan seized the momentum as he drained a tough seven-footer for birdie at the short par-4 10^th hole to even the match and then watched Moto dump his approach at the short 11^th, the Bobby Jones hole, into the creek in front of the green. A par there was good enough for a win for Ryan as he took a 1-up lead.

   Moto made a tough 15-footer for birdie at the par-4 12^th hole to even the match and dropped in an 18-foot birdie putt right on top of Ryan draining a 20-foot birdie try of his own. It was all even going to the East Course’s final five holes.

   Ryan couldn’t get it up and down from a back bunker to an impossible pin at the 14^th hole and now he was 1-down with four holes to play.

   Moto’s snap hook off the tee at the 16^th hole enabled Ryan to even the match heading for the 17^th tee.

   Neither player found the green at the tough par-3 17^th hole, playing all the way back at 246 yards. Moto was in the right rough just short of a greenside bunker and chipped it six feet past the hole. Ryan was in the left greenside bunker and blasted it to four feet.

   Ultimately, it was Moto’s make and Ryan’s miss there that went a long way to deciding the outcome.

   Moto made a mess of the 18^th hole, but his 1-up lead meant only that the match was going to a 19^th hole, where he ultimately prevailed.

   It was a disappointing end to what has been a breathtaking conclusion to Ryan’s amateur career.

   He let it be known that he was planning to turn pro during the Philadelphia Open at Lancaster Country Club, where he lost in a playoff to the Golf Association of Philadelphia’s best player, Drue Nicholas, the former Drexel standout.

   Ryan said he would remain an amateur if got a chance to tee it up in the U.S. Amateur, a home game at Merion and Philadelphia Country Club for Ryan, who represented Norristown High on the golf course while doing his school work via the Commonwealth Connections Academy.

   He got the opportunity with a solid showing in Final Qualifying at Llanerch Country Club and then backed that up with a really impressive three-shot victory in the Pennsylvania Amateur at Oakmont Country Club, the renowned Henry Fownes design in the Pittsburgh suburbs.

   Claiming medalist honors in the U.S. Amateur and that 5-under 65 at the East Course Tuesday will have to serve as the icing on the cake.

   Ryan appeared much more comfortable in stroke play Tuesday than he did during his match with Moto Wednesday. Maybe sometimes in match play you start playing the other guy instead of just playing the golf course.

   But this last month should prove to be a springboard for the 22-year-old Ryan as he embarks on his professional career. The best amateur players in the world were gathered at Merion and Philly Country this week and for two days, Ryan was better than all of them.

   Ryan’s teammate on the Liberty team that lost in a playoff for the final berth to the NCAA Championship at La Costa in the Corvallis Regional, Michael Lugiano, who capped an outstanding scholastic career at Lake Lehman by finishing in a tie for second place in the PIAA Class AA Championship as a senior in 2023, advanced to the second round with a 1-up victory over Oklahoma City, Okla. teen Chase Hughes.

   Lugiano captured the individual crown in the Corvallis Regional and did represent Liberty in the NCAA Championship at La Costa as an individual to cap a really strong sophomore season with the Flames.

   Hughes was coming off a tie for second place in the Texas heat in the Boys Junior PGA Championship at PGA Frisco, the PGA of America headquarters in Frisco, Texas.

   Lugiano’s second-round opponent Thursday morning is Nevill Ruiter of The Netherlands, who wrapped up his college career at the College of Charleston in the spring. Ruiter advanced with a 3 and 2 victory over William Lisle of Hong Kong.

   The second-round matches are teeing off as I wrap up this post. The winners will square off in the round of 16 Thursday afternoon. Weather permitting – and it seems to be of a mind to permit – only eight quarterfinalists will be left standing when the sun sets on the East Course in the Ardmore section of Haverford Township.

   I’ll figure out some juicy round-of-16 match to follow Thursday afternoon.

   The match of the day Wednesday pitted Florida phenom Miles Russell, No. 4 in the WAGR, against Oklahoma senior Ryder Cowan, an Edmond, Okla. home boy who shared low-amateur honors in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island in June and is No. 8 in the WAGR.

   Russell played the weekend at Shinnecock as well and his Pennsylvania tour began with a runnerup finish in the U.S. Junior Amateur last month at Saucon Valley Country Club.

   Russell’s lofty ranking has already earned him a spot on the United States Walker Cup team that will take on Great Britain & Ireland at Lahinch Golf Club in Ireland next month. Cowan is hoping to be one of the USGA Team Selection Committee’s picks at the conclusion of this U.S. Amateur to join Russell on captain Nathan Smith’s U.S. squad at Lahinch.

   Cowan, who helped the Sooners capture the team title in the Corvallis Regional in the spring, had the early advantage over Russell Wednesday, but the little left-hander caught him with birdies at the 10^th and 12^th holes.

   Russell had some issues at the first of the East Course’s finishing quarry holes, the par-4 16^th, and Cowan took a 1-up lead to the par-3 17^th.

   Cowan’s tee shot at the 17^th hole wasn’t far from the pin, but stuck in the deep rough left of the wicker-basket topped stick. He left his first try in the thick stuff, but then bumped another chip just on the green and watched it roll right in the hole for an unlikely par.

   When Russell missed his par putt, it was over, Cowan claiming a 2 and 1 victory.

   Cowan will take on Canadian Justin Matthews, who wrapped up his college career at Charlotte in the spring, in a second-round match. Matthews reached the second round with a 4 and 3 victory over Caleb Bond of Williamston, Mich., who wrapped up his college career at Michigan State in the spring.

   It’s been 10 years since I got a chance to watch Stewart Hagestad, a mid-am rookie, rally from 4-down with five holes to play to defeat Scott Harvey on the 37^th hole and capture the U.S. Mid-Amateur crown at Stonewall’s Old Course.

   In the ensuing decade, Hagestad has won two more U.S. Mid-Am titles and played on five straight winning U.S. Walker Cup sides. He would like to make the U.S. team for a sixth time.

   Hagestad claimed a 5 and 3 victory over Vanderbilt’s Ryan Downes, a junior from Longmeadow, Mass. in the opening round Wednesday. Downes had helped the Commodores reach the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at La Costa.

   Hagestad will take on Drake Henry, the incoming Brigham Young freshman from Henderson, Nev. who knocked off William Love, an Atlanta, Ga. native who wrapped up his college career at Duke in the spring, 2 and 1.

   Henry had matched the competitive course record at the East Course with his 6-under 64 in the opening round of stroke play, although it was barely noticed since it wasn’t completed until he returned to the course early Tuesday morning and birdied his final two holes, the ninth and 10^th, to finish off the spectacular round.

   There was a little grumbling when Hagestad was picked for the U.S. Walker Cup team that defeated GB&I a year ago at the iconic Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula.

   But not only has Hagestad proven that, at 35, he still has the goods, he has been a tremendous mentor for several cycles of talented U.S. youngsters.

   This promises to be a very young U.S, team at Lahinch and Hagestad may prove to be more valuable than ever to captain Smith when the rabid Irish golf fans come out loud and proud for the home team.

   This post is just the tip of the iceberg from a wild and crazy opening round of match play Wednesday.

   If you’re a golf fan in the Philadelphia area, you would be wise to take the opportunity to watch some ridiculously talented players going head-to-head on the ridiculously challenging canvas that is the Hugh Wilson design (with some finishing touches from “greenkeeper” William Flynn) at Merion.