Seven Tar Heels Competing in U.S. Amateur

Seven current and former Tar Heels will tee off Monday at historic Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in the opening round of the 2019 United States Amateur.

This is the 119^th edition of the U.S. Amateur, the most prestigious amateur championship in the world, bringing players from all over the globe to Carolina's most historic venue. Monday's and Tuesday's stroke play will be contested over Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4. Thirty-six holes of stroke play will cut the 312-player field to 64 for the beginning of match play on Wednesday. The finals are Sunday (Aug. 18).

The Tar Heels are represented in the field by rising senior Austin Hitt, junior Ryan Gerard, sophomore Ryan Burnett and incoming freshman Austin Greaser plus alumni Kevin O'Connell, the 2018 Mid-Am champion, Henry Do and Andy Sajevic.

Gerard, who has Carolina's second-lowest career stroke average at 72.07, will be the first Tar Heel to tee off in round one, beginning play at 8:17 a.m. on the 11^th hole on the No. 2 course.

Do, a 2017 graduate , begins his pursuit of the famed Havemeyer Trophy on the first hole on No. 4 at 8:27 a.m. Gerard and Do are the only Tar Heels to go off in the morning wave.

Greaser starts the afternoon for the Tar Heels when he tees off on the 9^th hole at No. 4 at 12:40 p.m.

Sajevic, a senior in 2014, tees off on the first hole at No. 2 at 1:01 p.m. and is followed in the next group by Burnett at 1:12 p.m. Burnett is playing in the Am for the second straight year; he qualified for the 2018 event at Pebble Beach.

Hitt, who led the Tar Heels in stroke average last season and has played in three NCAA Championships, begins on the 11^th hole at No. 2 at 1:32 p.m. The Longwood, Fla., native played in the U.S. Amateur in 2017 at the Riviera CC in Pacific Palisades, Calif.

O'Connell, who played in the 2019 Masters and U.S. Open and was an automatic qualifier for this year's Amateur, is the final Tar Heel to tee off. He opens on the first hole on No. 2 at 1:43 p.m.

"It's an amazing accomplishment to have seven Tar Heels, especially four current players, earn their way into the field for the US Amateur," says UNC head coach Andrew DiBitetto. "It's even more special considering the US Amateur is so close to home in Pinehurst. Hopefully there will lots of Tar Heel fans walking the grounds at Pinehurst this coming week. Many of our guys have had successful summers and the US Amateur is a great way to conclude the summer before transitioning into our academic year and our college season that starts so soon."

The U.S. Amateur is the final event of what has been another busy summer of play for the Tar Heels.

Hitt won the U.S. Amateur qualifier that was contested at UNC Finley, shooting 7 under over 36 holes to edge Burnett by a single stroke. Hitt had two other impressive finishes this summer, tying for fifth at the Porter Cup outside Buffalo and finishing sixth at the Players Amateur in Hilton Head.

Burnett, who advanced to the fourth round of the 2019 NCAA Championship, reached the round of 16 at North and South Amateur at Pinehurst. The Lafayette, Calif., native tied for 11^th in stroke play.

Gerard tied for seventh in stroke play at the North and South and also advanced to the round of 16, tied for sixth at the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island and placed second in his U.S. Am qualifier. The Raleigh native shot 66 in the second round of the Amateur qualifier, which tied the competitive course record at Shaker Heights Country Club in Ohio.

Greaser tied for second in a U.S. Junior Amateur qualifier, then advanced all the way to the quarterfinals at the Junior Am at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio. Greaser tied for 16^th in stroke play and won three matches before dropping a close match to the eventual champion in the round of eight.

The Vandalia, Ohio, native also tied for third at the Jordan Spieth AJGA event in Dallas in June after shooting a 7-under-209. Greaser qualified for the U.S. Amateur by sharing medalist honors at the Moraine Country Club in Dayton, Ohio, beating the rest of the field by four strokes.

Kenan Poole, another incoming Tar Heel freshman from Raleigh, capped his summer play by defending his title at the Dogwood State Junior Boys Championship at the River Run CC in Davidson. Poole shot a 66 in the second round and finished the 54-hole event at 7 under par. He won by six shots and was one of only two players in the field under par.

Joshua Martin, a senior last season, also defended his Carolinas Amateur title.

The Tar Heels will begin their 2019-20 collegiate schedule at the Turning Stone Intercollegiate in Verona, N.Y.

In addition to the 1962 U.S. Amateur, Pinehurst has hosted numerous prestigious golf tournaments in the past, including U.S. Opens in 1999, 2005 and 2014, U.S. Women's Open in 2014, PGA Championships in 1936, 1991 and 1992, the 1951 Ryder Cup, the 1989 U.S. Women's Amateur and the North and South Amateur since 1901.

Players Mentioned

Ryan Burnett

Ryan Gerard

Austin Hitt

Joshua Martin

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