The semifinals are set at the Western Amateur, where Drew Goodman, Christiaan Maas, Kazuma Kobori and Matthew McClean advanced after a grueling day at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Illinois.
Play got underway early Friday morning in the round of 16, and the first match out set the tone for the day. Top-seeded Brendan Valdes was defeated by Carson Bacha, the 16 seed, in 19 holes. Bacha was then toppled by ninth-seeded Kazuma Kobori, 2 up, in the quarters to send Kobori to the semis.
He’ll face McClean with a spot in the finals on the line. McClean, the five seed, started his day with a 2-and-1 victory over Preston Summerhays. He then took down fourth-seeded Gustav Frimodt, 5 and 4, in the quarterfinals. Frimodt defeated 32-year-old Stewart Hagestad in the round of 16. Hagestad has long featured in the game’s prominent amateur events, including three appearances in the Walker Cup.
The other side of the bracket will feature the highest remaining seed, with second-seeded Drew Goodman facing the No. 11 seed, Christiaan Maas.
Goodman, an Oklahoma Sooner who finished solo second just a shot behind Ludvig Aberg at the Norman regional in May, had to face 15th-seeded Michael Thorbjornsen in the round of 16. It took 20 holes, but Goodman was able to knock out the Stanford senior. He then defeated Jimmy Zheng, 5 and 4, in the quarterfinals to set up the match with Maas.
Maas, the 11th-seeded Texas Longhorn, began his day with a 3-and-2 victory over Wenyi Ding before moving on to Alabama’s Nick Dunlap, who was named to the United States Walker Cup team earlier this week. Maas fell behind early, but charged in the middle of the round to upset third-seeded Dunlap with another 3-and-2 triumph.
It’ll be a Red River battle for a spot in the finals.
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