The only bad part about Chun An Yu playing only 13 holes in Round of 64 Wednesday at the U.S. Amateur is what he could have finished with had he played 18 in stroke play. The junior was on fire defeating Blake Windred of Australia 6-and-5, as Chun birdied seven holes and was 4-up through six. He will play North Florida senior Andrew Alligood at 10 a.m. on Thursday.
Two rounds of match play will be contested on Thursday, beginning at 8 a.m. PDT with the first of 16 Round of 32 matches. The Round of 32 will be streamed live from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT on usga.org. The winners of those matches advance to the Round of 16 on Thursday afternoon, with those matches being shown from 7 to 10 p.m. EDT on FS1 (4-7 PT).
Fourteen of the 32 first-round matches reached the dramatic par-5 18th at Pebble Beach or beyond, with one match going 23 holes, but Chun An Yu's match was over early. The top three in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – No. 1 Braden Thornberry, No. 2 Justin Suh and No. 3 Collin Morikawa – all are eliminated. Thornberry, 21, a member of the 2017 USA Walker Cup Team, dropped a 2-and-1 decision to Jesus Montenegro, 21, of Argentina, who is No. 998 in the world and a sophomore at Jacksonville (Fla.) State.
Freshman to be Cameron Sisk fell 1-up to Mason Overstreet despite shooting 4-under. He fell three behind through nine but birdied three of the next five holes to draw even before bogeying 17.
An Yu, 20, earned this trip as a 2017 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist, a 2018 U.S. Open qualifier and Top 50 ranking in World Amateur Golf Ranking. He has posted six top-10 finishes in his two seasons and earned medalist honors at the 2018 Bandon Dunes Championship and the 2017 National Invitational Tournament in Tucson. He competed in this year's U.S. Open and advanced to the quarterfinals in last year's U.S. Amateur, falling to Theo Humphrey, 1 up. He is playing in his fourth USGA championship, tied for fifth in the NCAA Raleigh Regional and tied for 21st in the NCAA Championship. In 2016-17 he posted the second-best stroke average (71.61) by a freshman in Sun Devil history behind Jon Rahm.
SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN SCORING AVERAGES (1985-2018)
Jon Rahm, 15, 2012-13, 71.37
Chun An Yu, 9, 2016-17, 71.61
Alejandro Canizares, 8, 2002-03, 71.65
Mason Andersen, 13, 2017-18, 71.95
Todd Demsey, 15, 1991-92, 72.10
Alex del Rey, 12, 2016-17, 72.14
Phil Mickelson, 14, 1988-89, 72.14
Jesper Kennegard, 12, 2007-08, 72.16
Chan Kim, 8, 2008-09, 72.20
Paul Casey, 12, 1997-98, 72.30
Two rounds of match play will be contested on Thursday, beginning at 8 a.m. PDT with the first of 16 Round of 32 matches. The Round of 32 will be streamed live from 3 to 5 p.m. EDT on usga.org. The winners of those matches advance to the Round of 16 on Thursday afternoon, with those matches being shown from 7 to 10 p.m. EDT on FS1 (4-7 PT).
"Hi my name is @kevingolfyu and today I really didn't have much time to goof around and had places to go so I birdied like every hole en route to a 6&5 win at the U.S. Amateur." (not an actual quote but could have been) pic.twitter.com/GAPR5akwva
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) August 16, 2018
Fourteen of the 32 first-round matches reached the dramatic par-5 18th at Pebble Beach or beyond, with one match going 23 holes, but Chun An Yu's match was over early. The top three in the World Amateur Golf Ranking – No. 1 Braden Thornberry, No. 2 Justin Suh and No. 3 Collin Morikawa – all are eliminated. Thornberry, 21, a member of the 2017 USA Walker Cup Team, dropped a 2-and-1 decision to Jesus Montenegro, 21, of Argentina, who is No. 998 in the world and a sophomore at Jacksonville (Fla.) State.
Freshman to be Cameron Sisk fell 1-up to Mason Overstreet despite shooting 4-under. He fell three behind through nine but birdied three of the next five holes to draw even before bogeying 17.
Heading to matchplay ??
— Chun An Yu (@kevingolfyu) August 15, 2018
#USAmateur#forksup pic.twitter.com/JNwG4oEQPA
3 @TheSunDevils @USGA U.S. Amateur champs: @MickelsonHat (1990), Billy Mayfair (1987) & @jquinney22 (2000) pic.twitter.com/WPgoiuBkSy
— Sun Devil Men's Golf (@sundevilmgolf) August 17, 2015
An Yu, 20, earned this trip as a 2017 U.S. Amateur quarterfinalist, a 2018 U.S. Open qualifier and Top 50 ranking in World Amateur Golf Ranking. He has posted six top-10 finishes in his two seasons and earned medalist honors at the 2018 Bandon Dunes Championship and the 2017 National Invitational Tournament in Tucson. He competed in this year's U.S. Open and advanced to the quarterfinals in last year's U.S. Amateur, falling to Theo Humphrey, 1 up. He is playing in his fourth USGA championship, tied for fifth in the NCAA Raleigh Regional and tied for 21st in the NCAA Championship. In 2016-17 he posted the second-best stroke average (71.61) by a freshman in Sun Devil history behind Jon Rahm.
Ready for tomorrow! Let's go??
— Chun An Yu (@kevingolfyu) August 13, 2018
#USamateur2018#pebblebeach pic.twitter.com/f1gHPbB8Xo
SUN DEVIL FRESHMAN SCORING AVERAGES (1985-2018)
Jon Rahm, 15, 2012-13, 71.37
Chun An Yu, 9, 2016-17, 71.61
Alejandro Canizares, 8, 2002-03, 71.65
Mason Andersen, 13, 2017-18, 71.95
Todd Demsey, 15, 1991-92, 72.10
Alex del Rey, 12, 2016-17, 72.14
Phil Mickelson, 14, 1988-89, 72.14
Jesper Kennegard, 12, 2007-08, 72.16
Chan Kim, 8, 2008-09, 72.20
Paul Casey, 12, 1997-98, 72.30