AIKEN, S.C.--USC Aiken senior Dane Burkhart and freshman Matt Giftos, both members of the Pacer golf team, will tee it up in next week’s 105th renewal of the United States Amateur. Departing for the greater Philadelphia area today, the duo will make final preparations over the weekend to begin stroke play on Monday, August 22. Out of 7,320 entries to the United States Golf Association (USGA) with a 2.4 handicap or better, only 312 golfers made the cut after 36 holes of sectional qualifying in late July.

Historic Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. will serve as the host for what was once considered one of golf’s major championships. Merion has hosted 16 USGA championships, more than any other club, including four US Opens and five US Amateurs. This year’s event will mark the 75th anniversary of Bobby Jones’ win at the 1930 US Amateur at Merion, capping off his Grand Slam, but it also marked the end of game’s greatest amateur, retiring 52 days later at the age of 28.

Two rounds of stroke play will take place on Monday and Tuesday, weeding the field of 312 down to 64. Stroke play will be contested at both Merion (6,846 yards, par 70) and at the Philadelphia Country Club (6,967 yards, par 70). The final 64 golfers will begin match play with one round on Wednesday, August 24, two rounds on Thursday, and then single rounds Friday through Sunday. All match play rounds will be played at Merion.

Burkhart is coming off a win at the 30th Palmetto Amateur held in Aiken, S.C. last week. In his final round come-from-behind win over teammate Scott Brown, the reigning Division II Player of the Year and 2005 NCAA D-II Individual Champion fired a 12-under-par 59 for the win. Only a handful of players have accomplished such a feat.

Previous to the win at the Palmetto Amateur, Burkhart advanced to the quarterfinal round of the prestigious North-South Amateur held at Pinehurst in which he lost in 20 holes to Eddie Peckels of Delray Beach, Fla. Currently, Burkhart is rated 38th in Golfweek’s listing of the top male amateurs in the country.

Giftos is a native of Nashua, New Hampshire but attended high school at the prestigious International Junior Golf Association’s (IJGA) Heritage Academy in Hilton Head, S.C. The 6-1 incoming freshman is rated 18th in the United States by the Golfweek Junior Rankings.

Burkhart will tee off on Monday at the Philadelphia Country Club at 8:32 AM on #10 tee. He will go off on the first tee at Merion Golf Club on Tuesday at 1:47 PM. Giftos starts Monday’s round at 8:43 AM on Philadelphia CC number one tee. His Tuesday round begins at 1:58 PM at Merion GC.

USC Aiken finished up the most dominating season in the history of Division II men’s golf in 2004-05 winning 11 of 13 tournaments including the program’s second consecutive NCAA Championship. Along the way, the Pacers notched their sixth Peach Belt Conference crown and their fourth-straight NCAA Southeast Region title.