SPARTANBURG, S.C. ? Wofford College senior golfer Garrett Medeiros has qualified to play in the 2009 U.S. Amateur Championship August 24-30 at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Medeiros, a native of Rumford, Rhode Island, is one of two qualifiers from the state of Rhode Island. Overall, 312 players qualified to play in this year’s event. Earlier this summer, he finished second in the New England Amateur Championship. Medeiros posted a score of 2-under par for the four day event.
“For the last two years, he has missed qualifying by only one stroke,” said head coach Vic Lipscomb. “He has played outstanding this summer and should do well in the tournament. I look forward to watching him. It is a great accomplishment for him individually and means a lot to the golf program at Wofford.”
This marks the first time in recent history that a current Wofford golfer has participated in the U.S. Amateur Championship. Medeiros has played number one for the Terriers the last two seasons. In 2009, he earned All-Southern Conference honors in addition to being named to the SoCon Academic Honor Roll.
The leading annual golf tournament in the United States for amateur golfers, the U.S. Amateur Championship is organized by the United States Golf Association. The first U.S. Amateur Championship was played at Newport Country Club in 1895, one day prior to the first U.S. Open Championship, making the U.S. Amateur the oldest golf championship in the country. Many of the leading figures in the history of golf have been U.S. Amateur Champion, including Bobby Jones (5 times), Jack Nicklaus (twice), Tiger Woods (3 times, all consecutive and the only player to win three in a row) and Phil Mickelson, to name a few.
The U.S. Amateur will have 10 hours of live national coverage on The Golf Channel and NBC over the last five days of the Championship. The first and second rounds of stroke play are set for Monday and Tuesday (August 24 and 25) at Southern Hills and Cedar Ridge. All match play rounds will be played at Southern Hills. A single round of match play is scheduled on Wednesday (August 26), followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday (August 27), and single rounds again from Friday through Sunday (August 28, 29 and 30). Complete schedules can be found at www.2009usamateur.com.