OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – That groan you could hear here Wednesday was from two of the top five amateurs in the world who were matched up in the Round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur.
So much for a first-round cakewalk.
Lee McCoy and Hunter Stewart are ranked Nos. 4 and 5 in the world, respectively, but they just so happened to earn the Nos. 4 and 61 seeds out of stroke-play qualifying at Olympia Fields.
It’s believed to be the first time that two top-five amateurs squared off so early in the Amateur.
“The reaction was what you’d expect,” McCoy said with a smile, “and the challenge is to fight letting yourself do that.