Men's Golf

Zack Reeves

REEVES FALLS AT U.S. AMATEUR

UTA golfer shines at U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship

July 15, 2004

UTA golfer Zack Reeves rallied from a three-hole deficit in the final 10 holes but watched Dirk Finnie (Greensboro, N.C.) birdie two of the final four holes to advance to the fourth round of the 79th U.S. Amateur Public Links Championships at the Rush Creek Golf Club in Maple Grove, Minn. Thursday.

Finnie advances to the final eight golfers and will face Sunghoon Kang of Korea in Friday's morning round. A win over Kang would propel Finney in the semifinals to face either NCAA champion Ryan Moore (Puyallup, Wash.) or Clay Ogden (West Point, Utah) in the afternoon round. The 36-hole championship is Saturday beginning at 7:30 a.m. (CT).

Finnie went 3-up in the match play contest after Reeves three-putted the par-3, 207-yard seventh hole. But Reeves, a redshirt freshman from Mansfield High School, rallied with a par on the 452-yard ninth hole, an eagle on the par-5 10th hole and a birdie on the par-4, 410-yard 11th hole to draw all square. Reeves birdied the par-4 No. 13 but Fennie countered with bogey to win the 490-yard par-4 14th and back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16 to advance.

Earlier in the day, Reeves hit par on the 196-yard, par-3 third hole, the third extra hole of the match to outlast Barry Schenk of Layton, Utah to advance to the round of 16. Finnie eliminated former Lamar All-American Chris Stroud in the second round, 2 and 1.

Reeves, who advanced after winning a sectional qualifier with a two-round total of 138 at Tierra Verde Golf Club in Arlington, Texas on June 14-15, became the first UTA player to advance to the match-play competition of the U.S. Amateur after finishing tied for 15th with a 36-hole total of three-under-par 141.

The U.S. Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

In other UTA golf news, sophomore-to-be Marc Campbell (Southlake, Texas) competing in the 98th Southern Amateur Championship through Saturday at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn, near Chattanooga. Campbell advanced to the tournament after qualifying at a section tournament at Bridlewood C.C. in Dallas on June 8.

"Our guys have had a great summer so far," said UTA Head Golf Coach Jay Rees. "I am so proud of Zack and the way he battled today. He was down in his first round and was able to come back, take the lead, and then win in extra holes. He qualified for the Texas State Amateur earlier this summer and is playing well at the U.S. Amateur tournament. Marc has been pretty consistent this summer. He normally does well on tough golf courses with fast greens so it doesn't surprise me that he is playing well at the Southern Amateur.

"Zack has had the most consistent summer. He continues to gain confidence through each tournament and I think he is definitely impressed me and I forward to having him play this fall."