Phelan Reaches US Amateur Public Links Semifinals
7/16/2010 2:29:01 PM | Men's Golf
GREENSBORO, N.C. – University of North Florida golfer Kevin Phelan had his run at the U.S. Amateur Public Links Golf Championship come to an end Friday afternoon in a 1-down semifinal loss to Lion Kim at Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center.
Phelan, a rising sophomore at UNF from St. Augustine, Fla., reached the semifinal round following an extra hole victory Friday morning over Wesley Graham.
For the second straight day, Phelan required extra holes to earn a victory in his opening match of the day.
His match with Graham featured 13 status changes with Phelan never down by more than one and never holding a lead until it mattered the most: on the 21st hole.
Phelan was 1-down playing the 18th hole, which he won with a par to extend the match. He then made a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 19th hole keeping the match alive before managing a two-putt par from 45-feet on the par-4 20th hole. On the par-4 21st, Phelan successfully got up-and-down from 20-yards short of the green sinking a 7-foot putt to win the match.
Against Kim, Phelan used a string of three birdies on holes seven, eight and nine to build a 2-up lead. Kim battled back eventually squaring the match with an eagle on 15 and earning a one-hole lead with a par on 16. Phelan birdied each of the final two holes but couldn't even the score as Kim matched his performance.
The Atlantic Sun Conference Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference honoree this season for the Ospreys, Phelan 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.
“I knew no matter how I did at Pebble it was going to be good for me,” said Phelan, who shot 83-75 to miss the cut at the U.S. Open. “I learned how to be patient and just stay in there. Today, if I hadn't learned that I might have tried to press too hard and make birdies, but they weren't coming. So I just hung in there and it made the difference.”
