Dubai-born sensation Josh Hill has made it through to the match play phase of the prestigious U.S. Amateur after finishing in a tie fir 30th following two challenging days at the Ridgewood Country Club.
For the second day in a row, The Ridgewood Country Club and co-host Arcola Country Club presented a daunting challenge to the world’s best amateurs.
With a setup evocative of a U.S. Open – 5-inch rough coupled with firm and fast greens rolling as fast as 13 feet on the Stimpmeter – just making par was a challenge. The venues played to stroke averages well over par: 76.8 at par-71, 7,403-yard Ridgewood and 75.2 at par-70, 7,251-yard Arcola.
That explains why only eight players finished under par for 36 holes. Half of those earned co-medalist honors at 3-under-par 138: Michael Thorbjornsen, of Wellesley, Mass.; fellow 2022 U.S. Open qualifier Fred Biondi, of Brazil; Luke Gutschewski, of Elkhorn, Neb., the son of PGA Tour veteran and two-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Scott Gutschewski; and Hugo Townsend, of Sweden.
Stroke-play scores are now forgotten and it’s now head-to-head competition over the next five days to see whose name will be engraved on the Havemeyer Trophy. Hill will find out his opponent in the final 64 today following the culmination of the 15 player play-off for 11 places.
