Hodge, Ledford in Good Shape at Amateur

San Francisco —Jason Kokrak, 22, of Warren, Ohio, played a bogey-free round on his way to a 2-under-par 68 Tuesday for a 36-hole total of 3-under 137 to take the early lead for medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur being played at the Olympic Club.

Two UTC golfers, Jonathan Hodge and Bryce Ledford, seemed to be in good shape to make match play. Junior Jonathan Hodge followed his opening 70 with a 74 that left him tied for 31st a 144. Bryce Ledford, who just finished his senior season, tacked a 71 onto his first-round 75 and is tied for 51st at 146. A third UTC player, Derek Rende, needs to get busy; he shot 77 on Monday and was four over in his second round before play was suspended.

The long-hitting Kokrak, who qualified for the U.S. Open in June, was a stroke better than Alex Prugh, 22, of Spokane, Wash., and David Merkow, 22, of Hartland, Wis. Prugh, a quarterfinalist from last year’s Amateur, tied the low round for the championship with a 66 in his second round. Merkow had 69 each day. The Amateur is being played over the par 6,786-yard Ocean Course and the better-known Lake Course that has hosted four Opens. The Lake Course is set up at par 70 and 6,948 yards.

Fifty-nine golfers will finish their second round on Wednesday morning before a cut to the low 64 scorers will be made for match play. The projected cut stands at seven over par, with 23 golfers still on the course at plus seven or better through 27 holes. The schedule of play was hampered by a four-hour fog delay on Monday morning.

Trevor Murphy, a 22-year-old junior Olympic skier from St. Johnsbury, Vt., tied the low round on the Lake Course Tuesday and was in with a1-under 139 total. Two more were in at even par – Kyle Stanley, 19, of Gig Harbor, Wash., who played in the 2004 Junihjor Amateur at the Olympic Club, and Josh Dupont, 18, of Poway, Calif.

Other top finishers who will safely advance to match play are Drew Weaver (141), 20, of High Point, N.C.; Joseph Bramlett (142), 19, of Saratoga, Calif.; and George Zahringer (142), 54, of New York. Weaver, a student at Virginia Tech who narrowly escaped the tragic shootings on campus in April, won this year’s British Amateur and played in the British Open. Bramlett is a hometown favorite who attends nearby Stanford, and Zahringer, the low amateur in the 2007 U.S. Senior Open, will undoubtedly be the oldest to advance to match play.

Argentina’s Estanislao Goya, 19, who led the field with a 66 Monday, stumbled to a 78 in his second round at the Lake Course, but should still advance to match play.

"I’ve played in four of the last five Amateurs, but I never played that well," said Kokrak, a tall 230-pounder who gained attention by reaching the 607-yard 16th hole at the Lake Course in two shots in a practice round Saturday. "I never came in with the confidence I have now. Making the Open just opened up all the doors for me the rest of the summer."

Another who appears headed for match play is career amateur Gary Wolstenholme of England, who celebrated his 47th birthday Tuesday with a 74 at the Lake Course. Wolstenholme is a two-time British Amateur champion who has played on six Walker Cup teams for Great Britain and Ireland.

The youngest to likely advance to match play will be 15-year-old Cory Whitsett of Dallas, who shot an even-par 70 at the Lake Course Monday. He is the 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur champion.

The first-round matches are scheduled for Wednesday, with matches running through Sunday’s 36-hole final. The winner receives a berth in the 2008 U.S. Open and British Open, and a likely invitation to play in the 2008 Masters Tournament.
The championship is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game’s golfers and golf courses.