CHASKA, Minn. — It was a good day to be a low seed at the 2024 U.S. Amateur.
Match play began with the Round of 64 on Wednesday at Hazeltine National Golf Club, and higher-seeded opponents didn’t fare so well as the stroke-play score would’ve indicated. More than half of the lower seeds won their matches, and there were also seven matches that went extra holes, including one that went 25 holes.
However, there are plenty of big names moving on to Thursday, when the Round of 32 will be contested in the morning with the Round of 16 following in the afternoon all on what’s expected to be a rainy day at Hazeltine. That comes on the heels of a breezy Wednesday that helped the course show its toughest test of the week.
U.S. Amateur: Photos from Hazeltine National
Here’s everything you need to know from the Round of 64 at the 2024 U.S. Amateur, including best Round of 32 matchups and TV information for Thursday.
Tiger (Christensen) topples Gordon Sargent
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Tiger Christensen plays his second shot on the 11th hole during the round of 64 of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Tiger has had plenty of success in the U.S. Amateur. Tiger Woods, that is.
There’s another Tiger in the field this week hoping to add his name to USGA lore, but his last name is Christensen.
The rising senior at Arizona topped World No. 2 Gordon Sargent 4 and 3 on Wednesday in perhaps the upset of the day. While Christensen is ranked 51st in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, he feels like one of the best amateurs in the world, and he played like it in the Round of 64.
“I just started pretty good,” Christensen said. “Obviously a birdie on 1 feels pretty good to start off with, but then I had a good tee shot on 2 and just kind of kept it going. It was definitely a good start to have, but I think it was just a good match.”
Christensen was 3 up after three holes and won four of the first five. Sargent, who has lost in the round of 64 each of the past four years at the U.S. Amateur, never got the deficit lower than 2 down. Christensen hit his opening approach shot to a foot and never looked back.
Christensen, from Germany, has a tiger head cover on his driver and has a game similar to Sargent: hitting long, straight bombs off the tee box. It’s a recipe for success at Hazeltine, but Christensen can also play well in the wind, which was blowing plenty Wednesday.
“We played a bunch in college, and I played with him at the World Am,” Christensen said of his relationship with Sargent. “I’ve played a major too now. So you see each other week in and week out. It’s not that crazy as it might seem from the outside.
“It definitely was cool. I respect him a lot. I think he’s one of the great players we have as an amateur. Yeah, it was definitely a lot of fun.”
On Wednesday morning, Christensen was in the dining hall when Sargent walked in. Christensen kept his eyes focused on his opponent for some time, seemingly lurking his prey.
A few hours later, Christensen completed his hunt, and he’s into the Round of 32.
“I think I was definitely pretty confident to go,” he said. “As I said, I had a really good range session yesterday, and today warmup felt pretty good. So I felt very confident going into the match.”
Luke Clanton moves on
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Luke Clanton misses a putt on the 15th hole during the round of 64 of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Chris Keane/USGA)
While the World No. 2 is heading home, the new World No. 1 is continuing his crazy marathon another day.
Luke Clanton is up to 90 holes in the same amount of hours, and the rising junior at Florida State was in control all day in his 4-and-3 win against Dylan McDermott in the Round of 64.
How did he look so comfortable even though he didn’t get to Minnesota until late Sunday night?
“The first couple of days was a little bit of a grind,” Clanton said after playing 39 holes Sunday in the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship before taking a private jet to Minneapolis for the U.S. Amateur. “I was kind of hitting it OK, and then today was a lot better. My competitor was playing really well also. It was fun.
“Again, it’s a long week of golf, so I’m not really looking too forward right now. I’m staying in my zone and kind of just keep going and doing.”
Making the Round of 32 is the farthest Clanton has ever gone in the U.S. Amateur, but it shouldn’t be a surprise to see him here, even with his hectic schedule.
Clanton has dominated the pro circuit this year, becoming the first player since Jack Nicklaus in 1961 to place in the top 10 of three PGA Tour events. What else did the Golden Bear do that year? Win the U.S. Amateur at Pebble Beach.
“It was the No. 1 tournament for me all summer,” Clanton said of the U.S. Amateur. “To be here now and playing well and doing what I’m doing, we’ll see how it goes.”
Clanton played in the 3M Open, which is contested in the northern suburbs of Minneapolis, last month. He missed the cut, one of his poor performances on the PGA Tour this summer, and then came to Hazeltine that weekend and played a practice round, so he wasn’t coming into the championship completely blind.
Now, he’s got some time to rest before his Round of 32 match Thursday morning. What’s the plan between now and then?
“I’m just going to get back and probably play some (EA) College Football honestly, just kind of chill out,” Clanton said. “It’s going to be nice to actually get some time off and hang out with a couple of my buddies from home and relax.”
An ace for Fridge
Incoming Tennessee freshman Jackson Herrington did something Wednesday that hasn’t been done in six years at the U.S. Amateur.
Herrington, whose nickname is Fridge, made an ace on the par-3 13th hole. He hit a 4-iron from 238 yards to move 3 up in his match. Herrington said he played the shot about 255 yards into the wind, and it was his fifth ace.
“It’s my first one in about 4 years and my first in a tournament,” Herrington said.
Herrington won 4 and 3 against Sohan Patel after sinking a 12-footer for birdie on the 656-yard par 5 15th, where he hit driver and then 5-iron before getting up and down.
39-year-old medalist goes down
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Jimmy Ellis is awarded medalist honors during the round of 64 of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Jimmy Ellis was the story of the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Amateur.
The 39-year-old Florida Amateur champion shot 61 on Tuesday at co-host Chaska Town Course and took home medalist honors. He came to the championship and had to buy gloves and balls from the pro shop. He works full-time as a landman.
Ellis led 3 up after four holes in his match against Oklahoma State’s Ethan Fang, but Fang fought back. Fang topped Ellis 1 up to knock out the medalist, winning six holes down the stretch to advance to the Round of 32.
Best Round of 32 matchups
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Calum Scott plays his tee shot on the fourth hole during the round of 64 of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. on Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (Chris Keane/USGA)
No. 52 Tommy Morrison vs. No. 20 Jacob Modleski, 9:50 a.m. ET
No. 53 Jackson Buchanan vs. No. 21 Luke Clanton, 10:10 a.m. ET
No. 15 Tiger Christensen vs. No. 47 Jose Luis Ballester, 10:30 a.m. ET
No. 3 Luis Masaveu vs. No. 33 Jackson Herrington, 11 a.m. ET
TV information
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Ethan Evans high fives his caddie Shawn Evans after finishing the second round of stroke play of the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Chaska Town Course in Chaska, Minn. on Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. (Chris Keane/USGA)
Thursday, Aug. 15: 5-6 p.m., Peacock; 6-8 p.m., Golf Channel
Friday, Aug. 16: 5-6 p.m., Peacock; 6-8 p.m., Golf Channel
Saturday, Aug. 17: 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel
Sunday, Aug. 18: 2-5 p.m., Golf Channel