Steady Hoey gains US Public Links 2nd round
Filipino-American Rico Hoey needed just 16 holes to oust Paul McClure and march to the second round of the 89th and final staging of the US Amateur Public Links Championship at Sand Creek Station course in Newton, Kansas.
The 18-year-old Hoey, who helped the Philippines snap a 17-year Putra Cup title drought last year at Sherwood in Cavite, never trailed McClure of Mobile, Alabama, for a 4 and 2 win Wednesday.
Hoey’s Putra Cup teammate Jonathan delos Reyes wasn’t as lucky.
After making the match play ranked 17th, Delos Reyes bowed to Indiana’s David Mills in 19 holes.
Zane Thomas, who tied with Hoey and two others for low medal honors after the two-round classification, saw his impressive run come to a halt, losing on the final hole to Joshua Lee.
Thomas lost a 2-up lead after bogeys on 14 and 17.
Doug Ghim and Byron Meth, the other classification topnotchers, posted runaway victories and advanced to the round-of-32.
Defending champion Jordan Niebrugge, the 52nd seed, beat Dou Zecheng of China, 4 and 2, in a rematch of their quarterfinal in 2013. Niebrugge made six birdies and no bogeys over 16 holes. Musong R. Castillo
