Houston Trio Ready for U.S. Amateur Championship
8/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
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OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. â€" Three University of Houston Men's Golfers will compete at the nation's most prestigious amateur event when they tee off Monday morning at the U.S. Amateur Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club.
Senior All-American Blair Hamilton, junior Matt Dunn and letterman and All-American Roman Robledo will be part of a field of 312 players. All players will compete in 36 holes of stroke play with 18 holes Monday and 18 holes Tuesday.
With the completion of stroke play, the field will be cut to the low 64 scorers for match play. From there, six rounds of match play begin Wednesday with a 36-hole championship match set for Aug. 23.
Tickets for $25 (single-day grounds) are available by visiting 2015amateur.com. Other passes and packages also are available online.
TEE TIMES
Robledo will start the first round of match play at 7:30.m., Monday off No. 1 on the South Course, while playing in a threesome with Michael Bernard and Dylan Wu.
Dunn will also tee off at 7:30 a.m., Monday off No. 10 on the North Course in a threesome with Robby Shelton and Patrick Moriarty, while Hamilton begins at 12:10 p.m., Monday, off No. 10 on the North Course in a group with Daniel Hudson and Broc Everett.
On Tuesday, all three players will compete in the same groups. Hamilton begins at 7:10 a.m., Tuesday off No. 1 on the South Course , while Robledo and Dunn each tee off at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, off No. 1 with Dunn on the South Course and Robledo on the North Course.
CADDIES
Each Cougar will have someone special serve as their caddy during the U.S. Amateur Championship. Dunn's father, Thomas, will carry the bag for his son, while Hamilton's father, Thom, will do the same.
HOUSTON in the U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
This marks the third straight season that at least one Cougar will compete at the U.S. Amateur Championship. A year ago, Robledo advanced to the Quarterfinals with three straight wins in match play at the Atlanta Athletic Club during his debut at the event.
It was the farthest a Cougar had advanced at the U.S. Amateur Championship since Andy Sanders made it to the Quarterfinals in 1999.
Robledo was joined in Atlanta by then-incoming freshman Michael Perras and outgoing senior Wesley McClain.
Hamilton will be making his second appearance in the last three years. In 2013, he advanced to the Round of 32 with a win over Richy Werenski at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Dunn will make his U.S. Amateur Championship with his appearance this week.
ABOUT HAMILTON
After leading the Cougars during the 2014-15 season, Hamilton received numerous postseason awards. In late June, he was named a PING All-America Honorable Mention, marking the second straight season in which a Cougar received All-America accolades.
Earlier, he was named to the PING All-Central Region Team and was recognized as an All-American Athletic Conference selection in late May.
Hamilton, who is a product of M.M. Robinson High, shared the individual championship with Texas Tech's Clement Sordet at the NCAA Lubbock Regional on May 14-16 at The Rawls Course at Texas Tech, becoming only the third player in school history to win an NCAA Regional individual crown.
He also led the Cougars to the NCAA Championships for the second straight season and qualified for the Final Round of stroke play before finishing in a tie for 27th at 292.
Hamilton led the Cougars with a 72.03 scoring average and finished second with among the Cougars with 18 rounds of par or better. He also became the first player in school history to shoot three straight rounds in the 60s during an NCAA Regional.
He enjoyed three top-5 finishes in 2014-15 and earned the first individual title of his career with a score of 9-under-par 207 at the Border Olympics on March 13-14.
Hamilton finished second in a July 6 qualifier at Seven Oaks Golf Course in Hamilton N.Y., to earn his second berth into the U.S. Amateur Championship.
ABOUT DUNN
Dunn joined the Cougars for the first time in 2014-15 after transferring from Air Force. The Houston native and Cypress Creek High product sat out as a redshirt and will have two years of eligibility remaining with the 2015-16 season.
As a sophomore at Air Force in 2013-14, he competed in five tournaments with a second-place showing at the Gene Miranda Falcon Invitational and followed that with an 8th-place showing at the CU Invitational.
Dunn won a qualifier on July 7 on The Players Course at The Woodlands Country Club in The Woodlands, Texas, to earn his first trip to the U.S. Amateur Championship,
ABOUT ROBLEDO
Robledo wrapped up his award-winning career in 2014-15. A PING All-America honoree as a junior in 2014, he finished his career ranked among Houston Men's Golf top-3 career leaders in rounds played (151) and strokes (10,933) and finished 10th with a 72.40 scoring average.
He won five tournaments during his career, including three straight to open the 2014 spring season. The Harlingen, Texas, native was a three-time All-Conference performer and was named to the PING All-Central Region Team for the third consecutive year in May.
Robledo earned an exemption into the U.S. Amateur Championship after finishing as a quarterfinalist at the 2014 event in Atlanta.
TELEVISION COVERAGE
FOX will air at least six hours of coverage during the semifinal and championship rounds, while FOX Sports 1 will broadcast at least nine hours over the first three days of match play. Joe Buck will anchor the FOX telecasts with Greg Norman in the 18th-hole tower.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive the latest Men's Golf news and notes by following @UHCougarGolf on Twitter. Fans also can discuss the latest Houston Golf news and notes on the team's Facebook page at HoustonCougarGolf.
Players Mentioned
