Matt Bassler, of Baltimore, and Chris Navarro, of Davidsonville, each birdied his 17th hole of the afternoon round and finished in a tie for the medal at 3-over par 147, as a well-groomed Woodholme Country Club took a severe toll on most of the 67 players who returned two scores in U.S. Amateur qualifying program, July 7.
Bassler, 28, the program director for the 1st Tee of Baltimore, posted 75-72–147, and Navarro, 16, the reigning Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association individual titlist from Archbishop Spalding High School, 74-73–147. It will be the second Amateur for Bassler, who previously had gone to Pinehurst, N.C., in 2008, and second USGA event for Navarro, who went to the U.S. Juniors in Truckee, Calif., last year.

It will be the first championship for Bart George, of Arnold, who got by Bennett Buch, of Sykesville, with a par at the second playoff hole (par-par vs. par-bogey) after the two had tied for the one available place at 148 (each had 73-75).

It marked the third successive year Buch, a 16-year-old Marriotts Ridge High School junior, had lost in a playoff to advance to the national site.
Buch became the first alternate and Jonathan Diianni, Kernersville, N.C., the second alternate after winning a playoff on the first extra hole, the 12th. He was one of five at 150.

Brian McCormick, from Kensington, included four birdies in recording the low round of the afternoon, a 1-under-par 71 for the 7,205-yard, par 35-37–72 course. Bassler, with 72, was followed by Diianni, Conner Hayden, Chilhowie, Va., and Alex Church, Timonium, with 74’s.

Steve Delmar, of Gaithersburg, led the morning wave with 71, but dropped off with a second-round 79. Danny Hathway, Arlington, Va., also fell away with 72-80. Navarro was able to recover from an opening 34-40, but Lee Detmer, from Washington, did not fare so well. His 75 included a front nine of six birdies, three bogeys after soaring 6 over on the back, and he added an afternoon 80.

The championship will be held August 11-17, at the Atlanta (Ga.) Athletic Club.

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Buch became the first alternate and Jonathan Diianni, Kernersville, N.C., won a playoff for second alternate with a birdie at the first extra hole, the 493-yard 12th.

Bassler highlighted his second round with an eagle-3 at the 603-yard second hole, helped by a memory lesson from the morning. Then, he hit his third shot into a pond fronting the green. He dropped and hit to the green. In his second round, his second shot wound up near the divot from his morning’s second shot. Knowing what he’d done before, he struck the same type of shot and the ball hit the green and spun back into the hole.

“Overall, the key was putting and the fact I knew the golf course,” Bassler said. Tough hole locations coupled with subtle undulations on the surfaces created plenty of head-shaking among the competitors. As it developed, Bassler birdied from 10 feet and Navarro, from five feet on the penultimate holes to seal their places.

George said he hit it “really solid,” although the front side in the afternoon — his final nine — turned out to be a struggle. He was 1 over par for 27 holes, then slipped back, going 3 over for his final nine holes.

-Reported by John Stewart from Woodholme CC