KELLY TO PLAY FOR U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP ON SUNDAY
8/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Aug. 26, 2006
Mizzou senior John Kelly will play for a National Championship on Sunday after he defeated Ryan Yip (2&1) on Saturday in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. The 36-hole championship match will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday. NBC will have coverage of Sunday's Championship match beginning at 3 p.m.
Over 7,000 amateurs entered the tournament and a field of 312 qualified for the play this weekend at Hazeltine. Now, only two remain. Kelly is the first Tiger golfer to ever reach the U.S. Amateur final will take on Richey Ramsay of Scotland on Sunday. Ramsay defeated Webb Simpson 1-up on Saturday.
By advancing to the final match, Kelly has secured a spot in next year's Masters Tournament, U.S. Open and British Open.
In Saturday's semifinal, Kelly lost the second hole to fall 1-down but brought the match to all-square by winning the fifth hole. He then birdied the 10th to go 1-up and went 2-up after winning the 12th hole, then matched Yip's scores the rest of the way to take the win.
Kelly won two matches on Friday to the semifinal round, defeating Jon McLean (2&1) before taking down two-time USA Walker Cup player Trip Kuehne (3&2) on Friday.
The senior from St. Louis qualified for the U.S. Amateur by carding a two-round total of 141 at Sunnyside Country Club in Waterloo, Iowa.
Mizzou Head Coach Mark Leroux, along with several of Kelly's Tiger teammates have made the trip to Minnesota for this weekend's action.
