Matthew McClean will take on Kazuma Kobori in the semi-final of the 121st Western Amateur today.
McClean breezed through the 72-hole strokeplay qualifier, finishing in third place with the top-16 advancing to the matchplay.
The Malone man edged Preston Summerhays 2&1 in Friday’s last-16 tie before cruising by Gustav Frimodt 5&4 to reach the last four.
McClean was two up after two holes but was pegged back and found himself a hole behind after seven. Wins on 8 and 9 saw him turn 1UP and he made it six holes won in a row as he won the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth on the back nine to make the semi-final.
The Belfast based optometrist was three-down early on in his last-16 match with Summerhays and the semi-finals seemed a long way away at that stage.
“I just reminded myself I haven’t played the first few holes well all week and there was a lot of opportunity left,” McClean said. “I made a 40-foot putt on six, which gave me a lot of confidence and helped me really get going.”
The other semi-final sees South African star Christiaan Maas take on Drew Goodman.
Scoring HERE
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