Bai and Swanwick bow out of US Amateur Championship
Josh Bai during his Round of 16 match – image USGA Ishika Samant
The US Amateur Championship journey at the Merion Golf Club in Philadelphia has ended for New Zealanders Josh Bai and Zackary Swanwick following day two of Matchplay, with Swanwick defeated in the morning round of 32 and Bai advancing to the Round of 16 before being eliminated.
Both players have done well to make it as far as they did given that 312 of the world’s best amateur golfers teed it up on Monday in an attempt to make the leading 64 qualifiers for the Matchplay phase of the event, but will no doubt be disappointed not to have advanced to the latter stages.
Swanwick was up against American Jay Leng, who is in the middle of a very impressive summer of amateur golf in the US, having recently won the Western Amateur and finished runner-up at the North East Amateur. After sharing honours at the first hole, Swanwick fell behind with a bogey at the 2nd, and things got progressively worse from there, although a birdie at the 9th would mean just a three-hole deficit at the turn.
The hope was only brief, however, as the American birdied three of the next four holes to win 6&5.
Bai, on the other hand, won his morning match against Frenchman Rudy Sautron, recovering from being 1 down at the turn to win four of the next six holes and eventually win 2&1.
Bai then took on Florida’s Jack Turner in the Round of 16, and although he won the first, Bai was 3 down by the turn, and when he lost the 10th and 12th to slip 4 holes behind, his task looked all but impossible. It would end at the 15th hole with Turner taking the match 5&3.
Both Bai and Swanwick will now return to the University of Florida, where they have just completed their sophomore years.
