Tyler Strafaci is moving to the US Amateur and has to thank his opponent.
Strafaci, a Georgia Tech star, was all right with Argentinian Segundo Oliva Pinto entering hole 18 of their 32-game round at Bandon Dunes in Bandon, Oregon.
Pinto hit his last approach in a bunker on the green, which he entered to check the lie of the ball before exiting to get a better look at the green. As he did so, his caddy entered the bunker, bent down and brushed the sand several times with his hand.
This violated USGA rule 12.2b, which outlines restrictions on sand contact in a bunker and notes that a player may not “deliberately touch the sand in the bunker with their hand, club or rake or any other object. in an effort. to test the surface conditions to get information for the next run. “
Rule 10.3c states that a player is responsible for the actions of his caddy.
The caddy, a local looper named Brant Brewer reportedly denied touching the sand afterwards, but the video clearly showed otherwise.
It all came to the 18th hole.
And then this happened.
The result? Victory of 1 over Tyler Strafaci. #USAmateur pic.twitter.com/JFJcoSKfFQ
– Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 14, 2020
Breaking the rules cost Pinto the hole and therefore the game.
Pinto later said he was shocked when he was called by the rules officer and informed of the incident. Asked if his caddy would explain what happened, Pinto told Golf Channel: “He didn’t say anything. But at this point it doesn’t really matter. What happened, happened. He can say anything, but it won’t change that. what happened.”
A 1 win over Strafaci led him to the quarter-finals, where he will face Stewart Hagestad, the 2016 American Mid-Amateur Champion from Newport Beach, California, who beat Harrison Oct 4 and 3 in the round of 32. -Old Hagestad is looking to move from 15th place to top seven in the World Amateur Golf Ranking to get an exemption from the US Open. He is also pushing to make the third consecutive US Walker Cup team.
In the other quarter-finals of the upper group, Aman Gupta will face Michael Thorbjornsen. In the round of 32, Gupta beat Sam Bennett 5 and 3, and Thorbjornsen beat Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira 3 and 2. At the low end, Philip Barbaree will play Matthew Sharpstene and Cameron Sisk will meet Charles Osborne.
In the round of 32, Barbaree beat William Mouw 3 and 1, Sharpstene beat Davis Chatfield 4 and 3, Sisk beat Davis Lamb 5 and 3 and Osborne beat Carson Lundell 7 and 5.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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