Aug. 24, 2011
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State men's golfer Todd Baek (Auckland, New Zealand/Rancho Bernardo HS) advanced to the match play portion of the 2011 U.S. Amateur Championship, which is being contested Aug. 22-28, at Erin Hills and Blue Mound Golf and Country Club in Erin, Wis. Baek tied for 31st place after two rounds of stroke play with a 2-under 140 to make the 64-player cut and will face John Peterson of Ft. Worth, Texas, at 4:03 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
Baek finished the first round on Monday with a 69 to tie for 27th place in the 315-golfer field. He started on the back nine of the Erin Hills Course, posting two bogeys and two birdies on the first four holes. He then carded five consecutive pars before eagling the par-5 first hole. The sophomore finished out the day with three birdies, three pars and two bogeys.
Tuesday's second round of stroke play saw a near four-hour delay due to inclement weather and Baek didn't complete his second round until Wednesday morning, firing a 1-over 71, highlighted by two birdies and 13 pars. His 36-hole score of 140 put him in an 18-way tie for 31st place and set up a first-round meeting with Peterson, who claimed the 2011 NCAA individual title while competing for LSU. With a victory, Baek would advance to Round of 32 against the winner of Blayne Barber and Stephan Jaeger on Thursday at 8:10 a.m. CT.
The other three Aztec golfers to make the field for the 111th U.S. Amateur Championship were unable to finish in the top 64 and advance to the match-play portion. Senior J.J. Spaun (San Dimas, Calif.) tied for 182nd place with a 6-over 148, including a final-round 72. Classmate Alex Kang (Oak Park, Calif.), who was a late addition after earning a spot as an alternate, also tied for 182nd after overcoming a first-round 80 with a 2-under 68, highlighted by an eagle, three birdies and 12 pars. Redshirt junior Evan Emerick (Oceanside, Calif.), meanwhile, came in 309th place with a 166.
Match play will continue at the U.S. Amateur on Thursday, Friday and Saturday before Sunday's finale, which features the remaining two golfers competing in 36 holes. Live results are available on the USGA website, www.usga.org, while the championship will be televised on the Golf Channel (Wed.-Fri.) and NBC (Sat.-Sun.).
San Diego State, under ninth-year head coach Ryan Donovan, returns six letterwinners from last year's record-breaking squad that won seven tournament titles, including the program's first Mountain West and NCAA regional championships.