 GALLOWAY,
NJ--Former USC Aiken golfer Aaron Black saw his miraculous run
in the 78th United States Amateur Public Links Championship come to
an end on Wednesday afternoon in the match play round of 64. Black
lost 1 UP to John Cassidy of Yelm, Washington. This year’s championship
is being held at the 7,127 yard, par 71 Blue Heron Pines Golf Club
in Galloway, NJ.
Black completed stroke play tied for seventh in the 156-player field at one-over-par
for 36 holes and looked poised to make a deep run in the tournament. Some late
problems, however, cost the Gold Coast, Australia native in his match with Cassidy,
ranked 55th after stroke play.
All square through three holes, Black grabbed the lead at the par five, 562-yard
fourth. Black recorded an eagle three while Cassidy registered a bogey six and
Black took the lead 1 UP. Both players pared the fifth hole, but Black again
took control on the 451-yard, par four sixth. With both players in trouble, Black’s
bogey beat Cassidy’s double, moving to 2 UP through six holes.
Cassidy got the hole back quickly, however, by paring the seventh and slicing
the deficit to 1 UP. The count remained that way until Black pushed the lead
back to 2 UP on the 534-yard, par five 12th. Having had success on the par fives
all tournament, Black recorded yet another birdie to extend his lead. But costly
bogeys on 13 and 16 made the match all square with two holes to play. Both golfers
pared the par three 17 but a bogey five on 18 gave the match to Cassidy.
Black’s three-over-par 74 actually outscored Cassidy’s 75, but in
match play, that becomes just a footnote.
Of the 32 first round matches on Wednesday, 13 saw the higher seeded
golfer come out on top. Aside from Black, three other top 10 seeds fell
highlighted by #3 Chris Wheeler of Allen, TX. Wheeler lost 2 and 1 to
#61 Timothy Kane of Simsbury, CT. Nathan Colson, seeded sixth, fell 2
and 1 to #59 Jason Harris while #8 John Ellis also lost 2 and 1 to Nick
Desai of Zambia.
The winner of the US Amateur Public Links Championship has historically been
extended an invitation to play in the next Masters (if still an amateur).
NOTE: Black transferred to USC Aiken prior to the 2001-02 season and played
two years for head coach Michael Carlisle. Black is the program’s all-time
career scoring leader with a 73.34 stroke average. His 2001-02 season average
of 73.16 ranks second on the all-time list.
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