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Collier-Hudelson team advances to US Amateur 4-Ball semis
PINEHURST, N.C. (AP) The team of Clark Collier and Kyle Hudelson advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Tuesday by beating the 2015 winners.
Collier and Hudelson defeated Nathan Smith and Todd White 1-up in the match play quarterfinals on the Pinehurst No. 2 course that has hosted three U.S. Opens.
They will face the team of Patrick Christovich and Garrett Rank, an NHL referee from Canada who finished second in the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur, in one of two semifinals Wednesday.
The other one matches Shuai Ming Wong and Frankie Capan against Chip Brooke and Marc Dull, the runner-up at the 2015 U.S. Mid-Amateur. The semifinal winners meet in the championship later Wednesday.
Collier, 27, and Hudelson, 29, are both natives of Oklahoma City who were the first alternates after winning a qualifier in Illinois last fall. The USGA contacted them last week to invite them to Pinehurst after the team of Cole Hammer and Philip Barbaree withdrew. Barbaree, who plays at LSU, was playing in the NCAA championship.
''I guess we get another tee time tomorrow,'' Collier said.
The Collier-Hudelson team's quarterfinal win came after they rallied for a second-round victory over Thomas McDonagh and Brendan Borst in 19 holes. It came a day after McDonagh and Borst eliminated the Clark Engle-Will Grimmer pairing that won medalist honors.
Christovich and Rank - who won three Canadian Mid-Amateur titles - earned a 2-up victory over Todd Mitchell and Scott Harvey in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis for the second straight year.
Wong and Capan - the only juniors remaining - beat David Kocher and William Rainey 1-up on Wong's match-ending 10-foot birdie putt.
Dull and Brooke advanced to the semifinals by beating Connor Campbell and Blake Meek 4 and 3.
