Defending champion, underdogs advance to quarterfinals at 123rd PNGA Men’s Amateur
Sunriver, Ore. – The match-play rounds of 32 and 16 during the 123rd PNGA Men’s Amateur were contested all day today, setting up a wide-open quarterfinal round. The matches took place at Sunriver Resort’s Woodlands course, and eight players have advanced to tomorrow’s quarterfinal matches.
Eli McNelly (Olympia, Wash.) emerged as a strong contender and ended the No. 1 seed medalist Dylan Burcham’s (Valencia, Calif.) week early. The 19-hole match was about as close as could be, with both players alternating hole victories over five holes on their second nine, but McNelly snatched the first playoff hole to advance. McNelly, a rising sophomore at Eastern Washington University’s newly revived program, went on to defeat Zachary Miller in the round of 16 to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.
In his matches, defending champion Sam Renner put himself in position to repeat his 2024 title, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since PNGA Hall-of-Famer Jim McLean did so in 1971-1972. In this morning’s round of 32 match against Ashton McArthur, Renner jumped to a 2-up lead through the first seven holes. McArthur reeled him in to tie the match, but Renner never trailed and eventually won the match with a 2&1 advantage. Renner maintained control in his round of 16 match against Taylor Lansford, sitting 2-up at the turn and pulling away to advance to the quarterfinals by way of a 4&3 triumph over Lansford. Renner is a rising senior at Washington State University.
Walker Lamb (Bothell, Wash.) enters the quarterfinals as the second-highest ranked seed (No.12). His round of 32 against Benjamin Borgida never saw Lamb trail, and he eventually won the match 3&2. Lamb’s moxie continued in his ensuing bout with TingWei Chang, where he never lost a hole and punched his ticket to the quarterfinal with a convincing 5&4 result.
Nilay Naik (Lake Oswego, Ore.) also navigated his rounds efficiently en route to the final eight. The rising Pomona-Pitzer sophomore went 2-up on Jake Rodgers in the first five holes in the round of 32, and successfully fended off Rodgers’ comeback efforts to win the 18-hole match 2-up. In the round of 16, Naik found himself 3-down to Dillon Dean after 13 holes, but rallied to win four of the remaining five holes, including the 18th to clinch the match.
Ethan Flynn (Truckee, Calif.) entered the match-play bracket as the No. 63 seed, but his week remains alive. After exchanging a back-and-forth match with Calvin Cakarnis in this morning’s round of 32, Flynn pulled ahead by winning holes 17 and 18 to best Cakarnis 2-up. He then won his round of 16 match against Von Wasson in similar fashion, breaking free from a 14-hole tie to win three of the next four and take the match by the end of No. 17. Flynn is a rising senior at Gonzaga University, and just finished a junior season where he was the Bulldogs’ top individual scorer on five occasions.
Brett Johnson (Vancouver, Wash.) escaped his two-match day without much pressure. In his first, he jumped out to a 3-up lead over Jacob King, and staved off King’s comeback efforts to win 5&4. It then took Johnson only seven holes in his next match to go 4-up over Trevor Garus, an advantage that carried him through to a 4&2 win. Johnson is now eight years removed from his college career at Western Washington University, where he won the GNAC Championships in 2016.
In his two matches, No. 3 seed Matthew Miyamoto (Sacramento, Calif.) only trailed for one hole all day. His first match against Jeff Seong saw him acquire and maintain a steady lead, and eventual 2-up win. His round of 16 match against Lucas Hughes was where he trailed, falling 1-down after the third hole, but he regained control, won four more holes and kept his week alive. Miyamoto is a rising sophomore at the University of California.
Max Thomas (Rocklin, Calif.), the No. 39 seed, continued to hold his own. In a close first match with Calvin Green, Thomas went 2-up on two separate occasions, but Green brought the match back to a tied status both times. Thomas secured the match by besting Green on the 18th hole, and drew 2022 Men’s Am champ Paul Mitzel in the round of 16. Thomas endured another close match, as both he and Mitzel were tied entering their second nine, but wins on holes 13 and 14 allowed Thomas to continue his championship. Thomas is a rising sophomore at Sacramento State University, coming off a season where he played in all 11 of his team’s events.
Championship Links:
The quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be held Saturday, July 19 on the Meadows Course. McNelly and Johnson will face off starting at 7:00 a.m. Naik and Lamb will begin their duel at 7:10, followed by Flynn / Thomas at 7:20, and Miyamoto / Renner at 7:30. The championship match, held over 36 holes, will take place Sunday, July 20.
The PNGA Men’s Amateur Championship is among the 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors, and seniors conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
