Aug. 15, 2014
SAN DIEGO - Fresh off a mammoth upset of the world's No. 1-ranked amateur, San Diego State men's golfer Gunn Yang (Pyeong Chang, South Korea/Torrey Pines HS) continued his unflappable march at the U.S. Amateur Championship with another compelling finish on Friday, defeating prep standout Cameron Young (Scarborough, N.Y.), 2-up, in the quarterfinal round at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Georgia.
With his victory, the Aztec sophomore will now face Pepperdine junior Frederick Wedel (The Woodlands, Texas) in the semifinals on Saturday starting at 8:20 a.m. ET (5:20 a.m. PT) on the 7,428-yard Highlands Course. Wedel captured his quarterfinal match over Nathan Smith (Pittsburgh, Pa.) on Friday, 4 & 3.
Should Yang emerge triumphant over Wedel, he would play the winner of the other semifinal encounter between Virginia senior Denny McCarthy (Rockville, Md.) and Corey Conners (Listowell, Ontario, Canada), a Kent State alumnus, in the 36-hole championship final on Sunday, starting at 8:30 a.m. ET (5:30 a.m. PT).
For the third straight match, Yang was staring down the barrel of an early deficit after Young, a Wake Forest recruit, claimed two of the first three holes on Friday. Unfazed, the Torrey Pines High product fought himself off the ropes to even the match by taking four of the next six holes, highlighted by birdies on the par-5 fifth and the par-3 No. 7.
After halving the 10th and 11th, Young grabbed a 1-up advantage thanks to a birdie at the par-5 No. 12. However, Yang knotted the score once again with consecutive pars on the 13th and 14th, while his opponent went par-bogey. Moments later, Yang took his first lead of the day following a lengthy birdie putt on the par-3, 221-yard No. 15, before Young squared things up for the seventh time in the match with a birdie of his own at par-5, 484-yard 16th.
That set the stage for another strong finish by Yang, who made par and birdie on the final two holes, while Young went bogey-bogey. Yang, who benefited from Young's three-putt on the par-3 17th, also received a fortuitous roll on his tee shot at No. 18, where he birdied to clinch the match.
NBC will provide television coverage of this weekend's action from the U.S. Amateur, starting at 1 p.m. PT on both Saturday and Sunday.
This year marks the 114th installment of the U.S. Amateur, making it the oldest golf championship in the nation, one day older than the U.S. Open. Other than an eight-year period from 1965-1972, when it was contested at stroke play, the Amateur has been a match-play championship.
San Diego State, under the direction of 12th-year head coach Ryan Donovan, will kick off its 2014 fall schedule next month when it participates in the Southwestern Intercollegiate, Sept. 8-9, in Westlake Village, California.