SAN FRANCISCO — John Daly II and Niall Shiels Donegan every received two matches Thursday at The Olympic Membership to advance to the U.S. Novice quarterfinals as extra top-ranked gamers dropped out.
Daly, the son of two-time main champion John Daly, beat Nate Smith 2 and 1 within the morning within the spherical of 32, then topped Daniel Bennett of South Africa 3 and a pair of within the afternoon within the spherical of 16.
Daly, a senior-to-be at Arkansas, arrange a match with Mason Howell, the 18-year-old from Georgia who certified for the U.S. Open this 12 months with rounds of 63-63 from the Atlanta sectional.
Howell beat second-ranked Virginia senior Ben James 1 up and Max Herendeen 2 and 1. Within the morning, Herendeen eradicated top-ranked Jackson Koivun 3 and a pair of.
Donegan had two 1-up victories, topping ninth-ranked Christiaan Maas of South Africa and fourth-ranked Preston Stout, the Oklahoma State junior who was the stroke-play medalist.
Donegan, who performs beneath the Scottish flag and lives within the Bay Space, pulled even with Stout with a birdie on the par-3 fifteenth and took the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 sixteenth.
“Elated, ecstatic,” stated Donegan, who lately joined the North Carolina golf group after two seasons with Northwestern. “Yeah, it is superb. Simply attempting to benefit from the second proper now and prepare for tomorrow,”
Donegan was amongst 17 gamers who superior from a 20-man playoff Wednesday morning to find out the ultimate 64 for match play. His father, Lawrence, was a longtime golf correspondent for The Guardian.
Donegan, will face Jacob Modleski, a 2-up winner over Paul Chang of China. Modleski, at No. 15, is the highest participant left on the earth beginner rating.
Sixteen-year-old Miles Russell of Jacksonville Seaside, Florida, additionally superior to the quarterfinals, beating Pepperdine’s Mahanth Chirravuri 2 and 1. Russell is No. 16 within the rating.
Russell will face Twenty ninth-ranked Eric Lee, a 2-up winner over Josh Duangmanee when Duangmanee misplaced his ball off the tee on the ultimate gap. Within the different quarterfinal, Jimmy Abdo will play Jackson Herrington.
“Being the underdog, I really feel like there’s method much less strain on me to carry out nicely,” stated Abdo, coming off his freshman season at Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota. “I really feel like I can go on the market and play fairly free. That is what we did for many of the holes on the market.”
