Puyat gains US Amateur berth; Cyna exits

MANILA, Philippines - Marcel Puyat fired solid rounds of 70 and 69 to top the US Amateur Sectional Qualifier at the Avila Golf and Country Club in Tampa, Florida Tuesday and clinch a berth in the tournament proper slated Aug. 24-30 in Southern Hills, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The 16-year-old Puyat used a superb backside stint in the second round to outfox local rivals Brad Schneider and Robby Carl and win the medal in one of the sectional elims of US most prestigious amateur championship. He closed out with a 33 spiked with an eagle-3 on the par-5, 510-yard No. 16.

Counting his two-under 70 in the first round of the 36-hole qualifier, Puyat assembled a five-under 139 to beat Chile’s Alan Lee (69-141) and Florida’s Ian Riverview (69-141) for top honors.

“Winning the medalist honors in the US Am qualifier is already an achievement and getting the chance to compete against the world’s best amateurs is a dream come true,” said Puyat, who is set to attend the Champion’s Academy under golf director Tim Sheredy in Sarasota, Florida this school year.

Meanwhile, Cyna Rodriguez nipped Leanne Bowditch of Australia, 1-up, in the Last 32 but bowed to Alexis Thompson of Florida, 2-up, and missed the quarterfinals of the US Women’s Amateur Championship at the Old Warson Golf and Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri Thursday.

Gaining confidence from his round of 16 stint in the recent US Junior Amateur in New Jersey, Puyat rattled off three straight birdies from No. 10 to open his bid. Although he fumbled with two bogeys on his way home at the front, he knocked down another birdie on No. 5 to tie Schneider, a standout of the Univ. of Central Florida, and Carl, another top college player from Univ. of Southern Florida, at the helm.