CHASKA, Minn. (AP) — Illinois senior Jackson Buchanan finally got a breather Friday in the U.S. Amateur, needing only 15 holes and never trailing for a 4-and-3 victory over Jacob Modleski that sent him to the semifinals at Hazeltine National.
The semifinals feature a pair of Americans — Buchanan will face Iowa senior Noah Kent — and two Spaniards after Jose Luis Ballester and Luis Masaveu won their quarterfinal matches.
Buchanan began match play by going the distance for a 2-up win over Preston Summerhays, the No. 6 player in the world amateur ranking. He took down top-ranked Luke Clanton, 1 up, in the next round, and then birdied the 18th hole to beat Tyler Mawhinney.
The quarterfinal match in a strong wind felt like a breeze.
“It feels weird. It doesn’t even feel like I won,” Buchanan said. “I played solid. That’s it, really.”
Buchanan won the first hole with a birdie and never trailed the rest of the way, building a 4-up lead with a long birdie putt on the 12th. He closed out the match over Modleski when both made pars on the par-5 15th.
Next up is Kent, a 3-and-2 winner over Ethan Fang.
Kent, the stepson of golf course architect Dana Fry, also never trailed in his match after winning the second hole with a birdie. He stretched the lead to 3-up at the turn and Fang couldn’t stop him.
“Kind of got in the zone really early, and everything just kind of felt right in the beginning of the round,” Kent said.
Spain is assured of having one amateur in the Masters — the U.S. Amateur champion and the runner-up earn Masters invitations.
Ballester is No. 10 in the world amateur ranking, the only player from the top 10 who reached the round of 16. He fell behind to Bobby Massa at the turn and then seized on a pair of Massa bogeys on the back nine.
Ballester regained the lead with a par at the 14th, and he seized control on the 16th when Massa’s tee shot went left and into the water. That put the Spaniard 2 up with two holes to play, and Massa couldn’t birdie the 119-yard 17th hole to extend the match.
Masaveu, one of four amateurs to make the cut in the British Open this summer at Royal Troon, fell 2 down to Brendan Valdes after four holes and it took until the Spaniard birdied the 10th before he could square the match.
A birdie on the 14th gave Masaveu the lead for good, and then he hit a majestic long iron to a back pin on the par-5 15th to about 10 feet, an eagle putt that was conceded when Valdes failed to get up-and-down for birdie.
The match ended on the 16th when Valdes drove into the creek left of the 16th. Masaveu had to hole a 6-foot par putt for the 3-and-2 victory.
Now he faces good friend Ballester with so much at stake.
The winners of Saturday’s semifinals get invitations to the Masters and the U.S. Open, while the winner on Sunday also gets into the British Open.
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