Hopes of a reprisal of the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship final are still alive as both Hugh Foley and Matthew McClean advanced through the round of 64 at Virginia’s Kinloch Golf Club.
Royal Dublin man Foley was the first of the duo to head to the first tee and he faced Wisconsin native Adam Miller. It looked as though they’d be destined for early baths as Foley ripped through the opening stretch making four birdies in a row from the second to hold a 5UP lead after five.
It’s rarely that easy, however, and Miller began to chip away at the lead, winning six, nine, 10 and 13 to reduce the deficit to the bare minimum. And it’s not like Foley had played poorly as he’d only bogeyed one of the holes he’d lost, the birdies had just dried up.
But with the finish line looming and Miller breathing down his neck, he stepped on the gas once more, reeling off back-to-back birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 15th to pull back to 3UP and a par on 16 was enough for him to get the required halve and close out the match 3&2.
McClean’s match played out rather different, though he too made a fast start and immediately hit the front through one and held that lead until the third where Cayman Islander Andrew Jarvis struck back.
It wouldn’t be until the 19th hole that the Malone man would get his nose in front once more. Jarvis took his first lead of the match on five and immediately doubled it on the next, and though McClean would win seven and 11 with pars, they’d trade the next four holes, Jarvis twice edging in front only for McClean to reel him back in on the next.
The final three holes were halved in par, and down the 19th they went. Earlier this year, McClean was on the wrong side of a 19th hole finish at the West of Ireland Championship at County Sligo, but this time it was he who stepped up and sank a crucial birdie putt to keep dreams of another all-Irish final alive.
Foley will now face 29-year-old Colorado Science Teacher Colin Prater, who scored a 4&3 win in his round of 64 tie. Prater qualified for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst earlier this year and is a three-time U.S. Amateur competitor.
McClean will square off against Parker Edens, a former pro who now serves as head coach at South Dakota State University. Edens played on the Korn Ferry Tour and has six professional victories to his name prior to having his amateur status reinstated in 2019.
Other notables include three-time winner and defending champion Stewart Hagestad, who remains on course for a potential round of 16 tie with McClean should they both win their round of 32 matches. Hagestad soundly dispatched of M Tyler McKeever 5&4.
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