Francoeur through to match play at U.S. Amateur in first-ever appearance
Aug. 17—Chris Francoeur has passed the initial test at the grueling and ever-competitive 122nd U.S. Amateur.
The St. John's Prep graduate didn't have his best outing in Tuesday's final round of stroke play — he managed a 7-over par 77 — but thanks to a brilliant opener the day before, he still comfortably made the 64-player match play cut line.
Francoeur had earned a share of the early lead after firing an impressive 3-under par 68 at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. on Monday, but fellow host club Arcola Country Club proved to be a bit more challenging in his second round.
With a double-bogey 6 on the par-4 fourth hole, as well as bogeys on Nos. 2 and 9, Francoeur made the turn at 4-over par 39 on Tuesday. He would rip off four straight pars to open his back nine, but a trio of bogeys down the home stretch ultimately dropped him down the leaderboard into a tie for 39th place. His cumulative two-day total of 145 (4-over par) was one stroke better than the cut line of +5, as he narrowly avoided a playoff for one of the final spots.
Now, for the first time in his young career, Francoeur will return to the course on Wednesday for the opening round of the do-or-die match play format. His first opponent will be Utah's David Timmins, who shot 71-72-143 (2-over par) in his two stroke play rounds, with that match slated for a 9:40 a.m. tee off.
Brazil's Fred Biondi, Nebraska's Luke Gutschewski, Sweden's Hugo Townsend and Wellesley, MA's Michael Thorbjornsen shared stroke play medalist honors at 3-under par and will be the top four seeds in match play.
Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.
Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.
