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Headline: Richard Werenski Enjoys Strong Showing at U.S. Amateur Championship; Advances to Round of 32 at Chambers Bay Golf Course (WA)

For Immediate Release: August 25, 2010

Richy Werenski advanced to the Round of 32 at the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship, which was being held at Chambers Bay Golf Course in Seattle, Washington.

Norton, MA — Seven Bay State golfers advanced to this year's U.S. Amateur Championship, but only one advanced to Match Play.

Richy Werenski, an 18-year-old freshman at Georgia Tech, used a stellar score of 3-under par 69 on Monday to help him advance to Match Play at Chambers Bay Golf Course in Seattle, Washington.

Following his two rounds of stroke play — he finished with a two-round score of 4-over par 147 to earn one of the 64 Match Play spots — Werenski faced off against Gunner Wiebe (Denver, CO), a standout golfer at the University of San Diego.

While Wiebe entered this year's event with four years of collegiate experience under his belt, Werenski was undeterred. He made birdie on the 542-yard, par 5 1st hole and never looked back en route to a 2 and 1 victory over Wiebe. During the round which lasted 17 holes, Werenski made five birdies including three on the par 5s.

An interesting note about his competitor... Wiebe was a 2010 All-West Coast Conference First Team selection who became just the fourth Torero to take home medalist honors at the WCC Championship.

Next up for Werenski was a Round of 32 match against Morgan Hoffman (Wyckoff, NJ). Considered a favorite to win the title this year, Hoffman was named a first-team All-American by the GCAA following an impressive freshman campaign at the University of Oklahoma. He was also tabbed as the Phil Mickelson Award recipient as the nation's top freshman, is ranked No. 1 in the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking and finished with a 2-0-1 mark for the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup squad.

On Thursday, Werenski, who earlier this year advanced to the Round of 16 at the Massachusetts Amateur Championship and captured low amateur honors at the Massachusetts Open Championship, battled valiantly throughout the match but eventually fell by a score of 6 and 4. On the round, Hoffman was simply stellar as he carded four birdies and zero bogies.

Click here to check out all of the action at the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship.

2010 U.S. Amateur Championship Notables

Other Bay State golfers who competed in Championship Proper but failed to advance to Match Play included Evan Harmeling (North Reading, MA), Frank Vana, Jr. (Shrewsbury, MA), Brandon Parker (Auburn, MA), Brian Higgins (Franklin CC), Antonio Grillo (Vineyard Haven, MA) and Scott Congdon (Foxboro, MA).
A Massachusetts native who now resides in Florida - Peter Uihlein (Orlando, FL) - is also very much still alive as he defeated his collegiate teammate Hoffman in the Quarterfinals. The junior at the University of Oklahoma posted a 4-0 record as a member of the 2009 U.S. Walker Cup Team.
Rhode Island's Robert Leopold (Cranston, RI) was one of thre other New England golfers to advance to Match Play. Leopold, the 2009 Hornblower Invitational champion, finished the stroke-play portion of the event with a score of 6-over par 149 and had to take part in a playoff on Wednesday morning in order to earn a spot in Match Play. During his Round of 64 match, Leopold fell to Justin Thomas (Goshen, KY) by a score of 6 and 5.
Other locals advancing to the Round of 64 were Nick MacDonald (Lebanon, NH) and Tommy McDonagh (Norwalk, CT).