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August 22, 2000
SPRINGFIELD, N.J.- Auburn junior All-American Kevin Haefner shot a two-day 1-over 142 total to qualify for the 64-player match play portion of the 312-member U.S. Amateur field, shooting a 3-over 73 at the par-70, 7116-yard Baltusrol Golf Club Lower Course in Springfield, N.J., Tuesday.
The Pittsford, N.Y., native shot an even par 34 on the front nine with a bogey at the par-4 sixth hole and a birdie at the par-4 seventh. He birdied the par-3 13th hole and made bogeys at the par-4 11th, par-4 15th, par-3 16th and par-5 18th.
Haefner is tied with such notables as 1998 NCAA Champion James McLean of Minnesota and 1999 NCAA Champion Luke Donald of Northwestern as well as All-American, Walker Cup and Palmer Cup team member Jonathan Byrd of Clemson. Jim Salinetti and Jeff Wilson were co-medalists at 4-under 137.
"I am delighted to qualify for the match play portion of the U.S. Amateur," Haefner said. "There are a ton of great golfers here and this is an outstanding accomplishment. However, I am not settled with just qualifying for match play. I want to win the whole thing. My game is in good shape, and we will just see what happens."
Haefner's match play opponent will not be determined until late Tuesday evening. One round of match play in the single-elimination 64-player tournament is slated for Wednesday followed by the second and third rounds on Thursday and single rounds Friday through Sunday. All matches will be played on Baltusrol's Upper Course. Haefner fired a 2-under 69 on the par-71, 6,887-yard track in Monday's first round of qualifying.
The U.S. Amateur will have 13 hours of live national coverage on ESPN and NBC Wednesday through Sunday. ESPN will air from 2-5 pm Central Wednesday, Thursday and Friday while NBC has coverage Saturday and Sunday from 2-4 pm.
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