HHeadline: Three’s Not a Crowd For Duke Golfers (Especially For Shuman) Ahead of 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship

For Immediate Release: July 19, 2016

Jake Shuman

South Hadley, MA — Playing on the same Donald Ross designed course that hosted the 2004 U.S. Women’s Open – a feat that saw Meg Mallon defeat Sweden’s Annika Sörenstam by two strokes, Jake Shuman (Blue Hills CC) carded a 2-under par 136 in 36 holes of action to earn his first-ever spot at next month’s U.S. Amateur Championship in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

But before the 20-year old could step foot on the grounds of Oakland Hills CC next month, he had to outlast the field of 73 golfers who came out to South Hadley ‘s Orchards Golf Club for one of the country’s 97 U.S. Amateur qualifiers. An additional two sites - one in Canada and one in Mexico - set the stage for the 312 golfers who will compete in the 116th playing of the Championship Proper from August 15-21.

Today though, there were three spots up for grabs for the U.S. Amateur Championship sectional qualifier and another two slots put aside for first and second alternate spots and every last stroke was important in the 36-hole sectional qualifier.

Following the morning round, Shuman, a Needham native, was tied for first after he recorded three birdies and finished at 1-under par 68.

“I hit the ball very well this morning…  I kept giving myself opportunities, especially in the morning, by hitting 15 greens,” said Shuman, who will be a junior at Duke University this coming fall. “Greens are so small here that you can’t be far from the hole.”

Then in the afternoon round, a round in which 19 players failed to make the 10-over par 79 cut to advance to the second round of play, Shuman again shot a 1-under par 68 to bring his two round total to 2-under par 136.

During his second round, Shuman said, “This afternoon, the wind picked up a lot but at the same time, I already had played the course. [As a result], you know where everything is, what the yardage is and what club to hit.”

With that knowledge for another 18 on the same course, Shuman recorded an eagle on Hole No. 3, a hole that he made bogey on the first time around, while making birdie on the 4th hole to finish at 1-under par-68 in round two.

Having fallen short in the Massachusetts Amateur Championship last week at Taconic Golf Club, Shuman said his performance helped serve as an extra push going into Tuesday, in a qualifier he said “always seems to find a way not to play well in.”

After meeting with his coach on Monday, Shuman said, “Coming off last week, even though I lost in the second round [of match play] out at Taconic, I didn’t play badly. I was just trying to use that momentum. Even though I lost in the second round, I don’t see [that loss] as all that it was."

At last week's Massachusetts Amateur Championship, Shuman shot a competitive course-record 64 on the first day of stroke play and advanced to the round of 16 in match play before falling to Jackson Lang (Nashawtuc CC)during the round of 16 by a score of 3 and 2.

Having finished as Tuesday’s low amateur, it’s safe to say that momentum played a hand in his success.

The next step is Bloomfield Hills, Michigan – more than 600 miles away from Tuesday’s qualifier – and the site of Oakland Hills Country Club where some of the nation’s, and the world’s, top amateur golfers will meet for the chance at the top amateur title.

The thought of playing in such a prestigious event, and having come up short in previous qualifiers, means that much more for the former Needham High School graduate.

“It would mean a lot," said Shuman. "It’s almost similar to the Open where you have to qualify. This is the first step in it. It would be a great honor to play in the U.S. Amateur. It’s the best of the best.”

While it will be the first appearance of his career, Shuman won’t be alone. Two of his Duke teammates have also qualified for the U.S. Amateur and he will be facing them next month as well before the trio returns to Durham, N.C. to start their fall seasons.

Shuman’s roommate, Ben Silverman, of Toledo, Ohio qualified last week and another one of his teammates, Alex Smalley of Wake Forest, N.C., qualified two weeks ago.  

He hopes he can play a practice round together with them. And given his performance on Tuesday, it seems that just became a whole lot easier.

In addition to Shuman, Chelso Barrett (Surry, N.H.), who shot an even par 138, and Chris Houston (Gilford, N.H.), who registered a 1-over par 139 mark, captured the two additional qualifier spots.

Fort Worth, Texas native William Osborne garnered the first alternate spot while Weston native Matthew Cowgill (Wayland CC) took the second alternate honors. The two won out in a playoff after both carding 2-over par-140 in their two rounds today.

On July 26, the country’s final U.S. Amateur qualifier will be held at George Wright GC in Boston as competitors take aim at the final three spots for next month’s Championship Proper.