Karl Vilips and Jed Morgan have advanced to the match play phase of the US Boys’ Junior Amateur Championship.
Even better, both advance on the back of strong showings on the famous Lower Course at Baltusrol, in New Jersey, the host of many great tournaments including the 2016 US PGA Championship.
In fact, barring a stunning closing rally by eventual medallist Kelly Chinn, Vilips stood to be the leading qualifier for parts of his second round after sharing the overnight lead with the young American.
Chinn, of Virginia, amazingly dropped five birdies in the closing six holes to card a three-under-par 67 and finish the 36-hole qualification phase at eight under.
Similarly, Californian Ricky Castillo charged late for a 68 to draw level at six under par with Vilips, who made an uncharacteristic bogey on the long 17th, but was otherwise impressive in a fine 69, despite having issues in his warm-up.
“I hit it awful on the range. I left 30 minutes before my tee time. I skipped all my clubs because I felt so deflated and then I came out and started striping it and was really surprised about that,” said Vilips, who will carry the No.3 seeding into match play.
“I didn’t hit many shots into the greens inside of 20 feet. (But) I made a couple of putts (and had) a really good solid opening nine that let me settle down.
Vilips was excited about his prospects in the match play, with only his driver needing some range scrutiny.
“I’m definitely happy to have played good golf and hopefully I can play the rest of match play as well as I did these past few days.
“I think my putting and everything is good. (My) driving could be a lot more accurate. I could work on my little fades that I like to hit, (but) everything else looks great.”
Morgan, first out on a day of challenging weather, looked in danger when a double-bogey on the 11th put him on the projected cut line at the time. A bogey on the 15th threw him on the wrong side of that line before his own stunning late surge.
The Queenslander made a stunning birdie on the long par-three 16th that sparked two more in the closing holes as he climbed back to a 71 and the safety of a five-over total that eventually yielded him the No.48 seeding for match play.
Sadly, Terry Yoon, of the Gold Coast, couldn’t improve on his opening 77 on the Upper Course, following with the same score on the Lower Course to close his campaign at 13 over.
The knockout match play phase begins tomorrow with all play for the remainder of the week on the Upper Course.
Vilips’ opponent is yet to be determined with an “eight-for-three” playoff to determine the lower seedings after a playoff unable to be completed because of today’s bad weather. Vilips’ match will start at 2am (Melbourne time) overnight.
Morgan will face No.17 Jolo Magcalayo, of the Philippines, at 10.20pm (Brisbane time) tonight.