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8/18/2008 - MEN'S GOLF
A-Sun Golfers tee off at US Amateur
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PINEHURST, N.C. - Six A-Sun golfers, past, present and future will take to the fabled grounds of Pinehurst Resort & Country Club as part of the 312-man field competing for the 108th United States Amateur Championship.
Two UNF golfers - J.C. Horne and Kevin Aylwin earned their spots on August 5 at the Golden Bear Club at Keene's Point in Orlando, Fla.
Horne took medalist honors at the event, opening play with a 70 before shooting 68 in the final round for a two-day score of 138. Aylwin wasn't too far behind. The up-and-coming freshman at UNF began play with a 69, one stroke behind the opening-round pace. He followed that up with a 71 to secure the third and final qualifying spot in the U.S. Amateur.
Aylwin and Horne will join a familiar face in North Carolina, where former Osprey Michael O'Neal, who completed his collegiate playing career in the spring of 2008, will also play. O'Neal qualified for the event after taking home medalist honors at Sawgrass Country Club with a pair of 68s July 28-29 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
ETSU incoming freshman Devin Komline reached the U.S. Amateur championships by finishing tied for second in the sectional qualifier held at the Hickory Ridge Country Club in Amherst, Mass. Komline finished with a 36-hole score of 141, two strokes back of sectional winner C.J. Denmark.
This most recent accomplishment adds to Komline's resume, which includes a 2006 runner-up showing in both the New England Golf Championship and the Vermont States. An impressive left-handed player, Komline has enjoyed strong finishes in several AJGA events and played in the U.S. Junior Amateur a year ago.
Mercer's Matt Tribby continued a strong summer season by qualifying for the US Amateur 10 days after claiming his first Alachua County (Fla.) Amateur.
Tribby (68-76=144), a native of Gainesville, Fla., tied for medalist honors with Florida's Tyson Alexander at Ocala's Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club, to qualify for amateur golf's biggest tournament.
Stetson's Tommy Parker earned one of the 315 qualifying spots in the field by finishing second at a sectional qualifier held at Broken Sound Golf Club in Boca Raton, Fla. He shot 67-69 in the 36-hole event, held August 4-5, and was one of three golfers to automatically advance from that site. Parker placed one stroke behind Georgia Tech graduate Michael Barbosa and one shot better than Florida state amateur champ Judson Eustaquio.
This year's U.S. Amateur will feature two rounds of stroke play on Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4 with the field of 312 eventually cut down to 64. The remaining competitors will square off in match play format until a winner is determined in the Aug. 24 final match at the famed venue that played host to both the 1999 and 2004 U.S. Opens.
The champion receives a gold medal, a replica of the Havemeyer Trophy, and various exemptions for other USGA championships, as well as the British Open and an invitation to compete in the Masters, provided they are still an amateur.
