Bill Winter advances to match play at U.S. Senior Amateur

On a very challenging Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn., Portland State University golf coach Bill Winter hung tough during the second round of stroke play to reach the match play portion of the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship.

Winter posted 75-80=155 over two rounds to tie for 39th among 156 senior amateurs competing for the national championship. Winter had a rough start on Sunday with 43 on his opening nine, but made three birdies on the back nine to hang in and advance to match play.

Winter, who has been head coach of the women’s golf team at Portland State since 2021 and prior to that was the head coach of the men’s golf team at the University of Portland, has been a prominent local amateur player for several years. He has twice won the PNGA Master-40 Amateur (2005, 2013). He also qualified for the U.S. Senior Amateur in 2021, qualified for the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur, and made it to Final qualifying for the 2004 and 2005 U.S. Open.

Winter takes the No. 41 seed into match play, and in the round of 64 will face No. 24 seed Patrick Carter of Huntington, West Virginia. They will tee off at 9:20 a.m. ET/6:20 a.m. PT on Monday. Match play will continue through Thursday when the U.S. Senior Amateur champion is crowned.

The scoring average was 79.58 over two rounds making the 6,848-yard course a beast for the senior players. Only four players broke par over two rounds. The cutline was +13, 157. 

Winter, a native of Portland, was the medalist in local qualifying for the U.S. Senior Amateur on July 22. He shot an even-par 72 at the OGA Golf Course in Woodburn, Ore.