Fred Wedel of Pepperdine and Gunn Yang of San Diego State scored quarterfinal victories in the 114th United States Amateur Championship and will square off in the semifinals Saturday on the Highlands Course at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, Ga.
Wedel (pictured, left), a junior from the Woodlands, Texas, won two of the first three holes and built a 4-up lead through 13 holes en route to a 4-and-3 victory over Nathan Smith of Pittsburgh, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, .
“I didn’t give him many chances; I don’t think I made a bogey,” said Wedel, who helped The Woodlands High win a Texas state championship in 2012. “I played steady and remained patient. The greens are firm and fast, and I took advantage of my putter.
“I haven’t thought much about (reaching the semifinals). I just keep thinking about the next match and that’s all that’s on my mind right now.”
Yang, a native of South Korea who played at Torrey Pines High, beat high school senior Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., 2 up.
In the other quarterfinal matches, Corey Connors of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, downed Zachary Olsen of Cordova, Tenn., 2 and 1, and Denny McCarthy of Rockville, Md., defeated Roman Robledo of Harlingen, Texas 3 and 2.
