CULLOWHEE, N.C. – J.T. Poston, a rising junior on the Western Carolina men’s golf team, earned his spot in the field for the 113th annual United States Amateur Championship to be played Aug. 12-18 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Poston qualified by finishing second in his sectional qualifying tournament held July 16-17 at the par-72, 6,867-yard Verdict Ridge Golf & Country Club in Denver, N.C.
According to available research, Poston is just the fourth Catamount men’s golfer to qualify for the U.S. Amateur joining Ricky Stout in 2010, Matt Cook in the summer of 2008 and Clay Kilgore, who qualified back in 2002.
Poston carded a 5-under par 139 (69-70) over the 36 holes of qualifying, finishing a stroke in arrears of Scott Harvey of Greensboro, N.C., who claimed top individual honors. Harvey, a two-time Carolina Golf Association Men’s Player of the Year, used seven birdies in his final round to shoot 5-under par and pull ahead for the first-place finish.
Poston shared the qualifier lead with three other golfers after shooting a 3-under par 69 on Tuesday. Opening on the back nine, Poston was even through the first eight holes of his round with eight pars before a bogey on the par-5 18th left him at 1-over at the turn. Still at 1-over through 11 holes, Poston carded three straight birdies on holes No. 3 through 5 to move to 2-under with a fourth birdie on the par-3 eighth leaving him atop the leader board.
In Wednesday’s final round, Poston overcame an opening bogey on No. 1 with a birdie on the par-4 fourth to return to even for the round, 3-under for the tournament. He would birdie and bogey consecutive holes on the seventh and eighth, making the turn at even-par for the round and remaining at 3-under for the event.
On his final back nine, Poston was near perfect with seven pars and two birdies to finish the round 2-under and 5-under par for the qualifier to lock in his berth.
All told, Poston recorded 25 pars, eight birdies and just three bogeys over the 36-hole event.
Qualifying for the U.S. Amateur continues a solid summer for the Hickory, N.C., native. Poston, who scored an at-large bid to the NCAA Tallahassee, Fla., regional at the end of the 2012-13 season, brought home top individual honors at the 98th Annual Southwestern Amateur – the longest-running amateur golf tournament in the Southwestern United States – back in late June. He also just finished tied for fourth in the 99th Annual Carolinas Amateur Championship held at the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island, S.C., July 11-14.
The 2013 United States Amateur Championship will be played August 12-18 at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass. Last year’s U.S. Amateur was won by a former Southern Conference competitor as Chattanooga’s Steven Fox claimed the top honors.