Osprey Linkster Continues Run at US Public Links
7/15/2010 1:28:38 PM | Men's Golf
GREENSBORO, N.C. – With a pair of match victories Thursday, University of North Florida golfer Kevin Phelan advanced to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Public Links Championship at Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center.
Phelan, a native of St. Augustine, Fla., next faces Wesley Graham of Port Orange, Fla., Friday at 7 a.m. The winner of that match advances to a semifinal match slated for a 12:30 p.m. tee time.
In his opening match of the day, Phelan defeated Griffin Wood of Boonville, Ind., with a birdie on the 19th hole of play. He collected five birdies in the match, including the match-deciding one on the first extra hole.
Wood built an early 2-up lead through seven holes, before Phelan battled back to square the match with a birdie on hole 10. He then grabbed his first lead of the day with a par on the 14th and earned the match with a birdie on the final hole.
Phelan never trailed en route to a 2 & 1 victory over Kyle Souza of Livermore, Calif., in his second match of the day. After a tightly contested front nine, Phelan pushed his lead to four up with six holes remaining, but Souza rallied with a late surge to cut into the lead. However, the charge was too little, too late as the Osprey standout closed out the match with a par on the 17th.
Phelan, a rising sophomore at UNF, garnered Atlantic Sun Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference accolades this season for the Ospreys. He recorded 18 sub-par rounds and tallied eight top-10 finishes including a second-place showing at the NCAA South Central Regional, where he helped UNF qualify for the NCAA Championship Tournament.
In addition, Phelan played in the recently completed 2010 U.S. Open held at the historic Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 17-20 in Pebble Beach, Calif.
