ARDMORE, Pa. – The world’s top-ranked amateur won’t make it to Wednesday at the 126th U.S. Amateur.
Oklahoma State senior Preston Stout, who was also the reigning U.S. Amateur medalist, backed up a 5-over 75 Monday at Merion Golf Club with a 1-over 71 Tuesday at nearby Philadelphia Country Club. He didn’t card a birdie until his 28th hole, making three coming in, though it was too late to mount any sort of comeback.
At 6 over and well off the projected cut line of 1 over, Stout will become the first player to start the championship at No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and go on to miss match play since Keita Nakajima at Oakmont in 2021.
Since WAGR was introduced in 2007, world Nos. 1 are now 11 for 18 in making the cut. Just six of those 11 have advanced past the Round of 32 while Peter Uihlein remains the only one to win, when he did so at Chambers Bay in 2010.
The other two players in Stout’s featured group this week, Tyler Watts and Miles Russell, ranked Nos. 3 and 4, respectively, combined to shoot 9 under in 36 holes of stroke play. Watts fired a second-round 65 and was the clubhouse leader at 6 under when he finished his round.
Stout’s next tournament will be the Walker Cup next month at Lahinch. Stout is already on the 10-man U.S. squad after debuting last year at Cypress Point.
Watts and Russell are also already part of that team, with Watts winning the Northeast Amateur earlier this summer and Russell advancing to the final of the U.S. Junior and semifinals of the Western Amateur.
Source link
