Edgar Melik-Stepanyan
Two birdies, 10 pars and six bogeys later, and Keith Kinsel finds
himself tied for 125th with 35 other golfers in the 102nd United
States Amateur Championship at the Oakland Hills Country Club in
Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
The Glendale resident shot a four-over-par on the par-70,
6,988-yard South Course, putting himself nine shots behind leaders
Connor Robbins of Bremerton, Wash., Alan Weant of Germantown, Tenn.
and Zack Atkinson of Coppell, Texas.
Following today's stroke play, the field will be reduced to the
lowest 64 scores. Those athletes will advance to match play. All
matches are 18 holes, except the final match, which is 36 holes.
Twenty-five golfers, 24 from the U.S., are tied in 60th place with
a two over par. Forty golfers, all but three from the U.S., stand one
shot behind.
Kinsel birdied the par-four, 435-yard first hole and parred the
par-five, 523-yard second hole.
He bogeyed the next two holes, before finishing the front nine
with a strong showing.
The 33-year-old Kinsel -- a 1987 Crescenta Valley High graduate
and three-time champion at Oakmont Country Club -- parred three of
the remaining five holes on the front nine, birdied the sixth hole
and bogeyed the ninth hole to finish the front nine with a
one-over-par 36.
Kinsel -- who is paired with Evan Osteen of Kings Mountain, N.C.
and Brian Krusoe of Northfield, Ohio -- parred five of the first six
holes on the back nine, before running into trouble on the par-four,
406-yard 16th hole and the par-three, 199-yard 17th hole. Kinsel
bogeyed both holes. He finished his round by sinking a par on the
par-four, 462-yard 18th hole, ending the back nine with a
three-over-par 38.
Kinsel, a 1991 USC graduate, qualified for the event July 29 after
he shot a 137 at Goose Creek Golf Course in Mira Costa.
The U.S. Amateur, which has been won by the likes of Jack
Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Justin Leonard and
Phil Mickelson, is one of the 13 national championships conducted by
the U.S. Golf Assn., 10 of which are designed for amateurs.
