ARDMORE, Pa.--USC Aiken senior golfer Dane Burkhart won two of the final three holes in his match against John Holmes in the opening round of match play at the 105th United States Amateur at historic Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. With Holmes 1 UP heading to the 16 tee, Burkhart won the next two holes and halved 18 to notch the win and advance to tomorrow’s round of 32. At the end of the Golf Channel’s live coverage on Wednesday, announcers Dan Hicks and Gary Koch labeled Burkhart’s win as “the upset of the day”.

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. Now the field has been cut even farther, down to the final 32.

Historic Merion Golf Club is serving 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.

After two rounds of stroke play, both Burkhart and Holmes stood at four-over-par 144, tying with a host of others for 24th position. After extensive tie-breaking, the two ended up in the dead middle of the 64-player field. Burkhart received the #32 seed while Holmes the 33rd seed.

Burkhart, the reigning Division II Player of the Year and 2005 NCAA D-II Individual Champion, won the par five, 556-yard second hole with a birdie to move to 1 UP. A bogey four on the 219-yard third hole, however, moved the match back to all square.

Holmes proceeded to birdie the par five fourth hole while Burkhart bogeyed number eight to fall to 2 DOWN. Holmes is a former All-American at the University of Kentucky who just closed out a stellar four-year career with the Wildcats including playing on this year’s victorious Walker Cup team. Ten Walker Cup members made the cut of 64, only Burkhart and top-seeded James Lepp knocked one out.

In typical Burkhart fashion, the Aiken native capitalized on the par three ninth with a two on the 206-yard hole, making the turn with Holmes 1 UP. After halving the 10th, Holmes double bogeyed the 11th while Burkhart recorded par to move the match back to all square with seven holes to play.

On the 438-yard, par four 14th, Holmes’ par again gave him a 1 UP advantage. Both golfers notched pars on 15 setting up the drama for the final three holes. Holmes bogeyed 16 and 17 to fall from 1 UP to 1 DOWN. With both registering pars on 18, Burkhart won the match 1 UP.

Thursday’s second round sets up a unique match-up as Burkhart, the 2005 NCAA Division II Individual Champion will face top-seeded and stroke play medalist James Lepp. The rising senior from the University of Washington is the 2005 NCAA Division I Individual Champion. The second round match will get underway at 7:30 AM EDT.

The Golf Channel will continue its live coverage with Thursday’s second and third rounds from 4:00 to 6:00 PM EDT. Second round winners will play their third round matches in the afternoon tomorrow to narrow the field to eight by days’ end.