Dalke leads U.S. squad, but Australia opens eight-shot lead in World Amateur Team Championship

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico (22 Sept.) – Australia nearly matched the 36-hole scoring record and vaulted to an eight-stroke lead after the second round in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC). Harrison Endycott and Cameron Davis each fired 5-under 66s at the par-71, 6,771-yard/6,187-meter Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club.

The Australians, who began the day one stroke behind first-round leader Scotland, posted a 10-under 132 at Mayakoba. Australia’s two-round total of 19-under-par 267 is one off the WATC record established by the USA in 2012. Curtis Luck, the 2016 U.S. Amateur champion, added a non-counting even-par 71. The best two scores from each country’s three-man team are used.

“The mindset was to be as competitive as we can,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler, whose team also equaled the lowest second-round score in WATC history. “You talk about having an opportunity to win. If we play well, we have a chance to win, so that has been our focus.”

Endycott, who has won this year’s Porter Cup and was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Amateur, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to cap his team’s performance. He used an 8-iron to set up two of his six birdies at Nos. 9 and 15, but his play was propelled by a run of four consecutive birdies on his inward nine in the first round.

“That was a huge confidence booster,” Endycott said. “Yesterday things weren’t going my way early on. I just wasn’t hitting good shots, and I was struggling to get feels. Making a few good putts from good positions says you can go do this.”

Davis, who finished second in both the Asia-Pacific Amateur and Australian Amateur last year, recorded seven birdies on his scorecard for the second consecutive day. He birdied Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 on his outward nine and has the best 36-hole individual score at 10 under after opening with a 67 at the par-72, 6,888-yard/6,386-meter Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.

“We are full of confidence,” Endycott added. “We all believe in the three of us. As long we keep building that momentum like we are doing at the moment, it is going to be a good week.”

Maverick McNealy, who won the 2016 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked amateur player, reeled off five consecutive birdies on his inward nine at Iberostar to advance the USA into second place at 11-under 275. McNealy, a first-team All-American at Stanford University, and Scottie Scheffler, a junior at the University of Texas, each carded 3-under 69s. Scheffler also closed well with birdies on three of his last five holes.

“We had a nice finish with Maverick making five in a row on the back nine, and we’re very pleased,” said USA captain Paul Caruso. “There was a little bit of weather and wind at the start, but once it calmed down, we played good golf.”

The USA appeared to be fading midway through the round in its quest to win its third consecutive WATC championship. McNealy, who was the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year for a second time, started on No. 10 and bogeyed three of his opening four holes.

“I got off to an atrocious start, so Brad (Dalke) came over and gave me a little pep-talk,” McNealy said.  “I feel like I played really solidly after those first four holes. I’m glad I managed to hold the round together.”

Switzerland moved into third at 10-under 276 with an array of closing birdies and an eagle at Mayakoba. Jeremy Freiburghaus, who shot a 3-under 68, birdied four of the last six holes. Mathias Eggenberger, who helped Team Europe win this year’s Palmer Cup, shot a 69. His round was highlighted by a 32-foot eagle putt at the par-5 seventh.

“We are more than pleased,” said Toni Matti, who is serving as Switzerland’s captain for a sixth time. “Golf is never ending. It’s always until the finish that you can make some birdies and some eagles.”

Poland counted a 2-under 69 from Adrian Meronk and a 1-under 70 from Mateuz Gradecki, positioning them in fourth at 9-under 277. Meronk, who was an All-America selection at East Tennessee State University in 2015-16, took advantage of the par 5s on the inward nine at Mayakoba. He had an easy up-and-down for birdie at No. 13 and made a 15-footer for another birdie at No. 15.

“I am kind of use to it because I was a leader in college as well,” said Meronk about his role as a playing captain. “It’s been always good for me, and I hope we finish strong.”

Scotland was one stroke behind at 8-under 278. The first-round leader struggled to a 2-over 144. Robert MacIntyre, the runner-up at this year’s Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl, had an even-par 71, while Grant Forrest added a 73. Forrest’s topsy-turvy round included a triple-bogey at Mayakoba’s par-4 first hole, his 10th hole, and a 60-foot eagle putt from the fringe at No. 5.

“It was one of those days where it couldn’t have gone much worse,” Forrest said. “It’s just what happens sometimes, and you have a tough time when the putts don’t go in.”

Austria and Ireland are tied for sixth at 7-under 279. Austria’s Markus Maukner and Michael Ludwig each carded 2-under 70s at Iberostar. Maukner improved from his first-round 80 by making five birdies against three bogeys. Jack Hume, of Ireland, fought back from a two-stroke penalty to post a 2-under 70, and teammate Paul McBride had a 73.

“There is good spirit in the team,” said Austrian captain Tobias Schmied. “You saw that today when a player who didn’t score too well yesterday improved his performance today for the good of the team.”

Spain, which was tied for third after the first round, had difficulties making the transition to the Mayakoba El Camaleon course. The team’s second-round score of 3-over 145 left them at 281 in a tie for 12th. Manuel Elvira, who is a junior at the University of Central Florida, shot a 71 and Ivan Cantero had a 74.

“This is a PGA Tour golf course,” said Elvira about a venue which will host the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November. “It was a real tight golf course, and the greens are more difficult. It’s tougher to score on this course than the other one.”

Joshua Ho, of Singapore, produced the low round of the championship with a 7-under 65 at Iberostar. Ho, who was 11 strokes better than his first-day score, and Gregory Foo’s 70 helped improve their team’s standing 26 places and into a tie for 12th at 281.

The WATC is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 147 national governing bodies in 141 countries and 22 professional members.

The competition, which is being held for the 30th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Europe-Africa. This year’s event is being hosted by the Mexican Golf Federation. The teams play for the Eisenhower Trophy.

The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and conducted the 2016 Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day total (72-hole) is the team’s score for the championship.

The teams in the upper half of the scoring will play Iberostar Playa Paraiso in the third round and the Mayakoba El Camaleon in the fourth round. The teams in the bottom half will play Mayakoba and then Iberostar.

For complete results, visit www.igfgolf.org.

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – Results from Thursday’s second round of the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship played at the par-72, 6,988-yard/6,38-meter Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club (I) and the par-71, 6,771-yard/6,187-meter Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club (M).

1.Australia (AUS) – 135 I-132 M — 267 (-19)

Cameron Davis 67-66–133

Harrison Endycott 68-66–134

Curtis Luck 69-71–140

2.United States of America (USA) – 137 M-138 I — 275 (-11)

Brad Dalke 67-72–139

Maverick McNealy 70-69–139

Scottie Scheffler 73-69–142

3.Switzerland (SUI) – 139 I-137 M — 276 (-10)

Jeremy Freiburghaus 68-68–136

Mathias Eggenberger 71-69–140

Marco Iten 72-76–148

4.Poland (POL) – 138 I-139 M — 277 (-9)

Adrian Meronk 66-69–135

Mateusz Gradecki 72-70–142

Jakub Dymecki 78-80–158

5.Scotland (SCO) – 134 I-144 M — 278 (-8)

Connor Syme 66-73–139

Robert MacIntyre 69-71–140

Grant Forrest 68-73–141

T6.Austria (AUT) – 139 M-140 I — 279 (-7)

Matthias Schwab 67-72–139

Michael Ludwig 72-70–142

Markus Maukner 80-70–150

T6.Ireland (IRL) – 136 M-143 I — 279 (-7)

Paul McBride 66-73–139

Stuart Grehan 70-75–145

Jack Hume 75-70–145

T8.Chinese Taipei (TPE) – 140 M-140 I — 280 (-6)

Chun-An Yu 70-67–137

Yu-Chen Yeh 70-73–143

Wei-Hsiang Wang 76-79–155

T8.Colombia (COL) – 142 I-138 M — 280 (-6)

Mateo Gomez Villegas 70-70–140

Nicolas Echavarria 72-68–140

Santiago Gomez 72-76–148

T8.England (ENG) – 139 M-141 I — 280 (-6)

Scott Gregory 70-70–140

Alfie Plant 69-72–141

Jamie Bower 73-71–144

T8.Norway (NOR) – 141 I-139 M — 280 (-6)

Kristoffer Ventura 70-69–139

Viktor Hovland 71-70–141

Knud Krokeide 74-78–152

T12.France (FRA) – 139 I-142 M — 281 (-5)

Ugo Coussaud 70-69–139

Jeremy Gandon 69-74–143

Antoine Rozner 73-73–146

T12.Mexico (MEX) – 141 M-140 I — 281 (-5)

Alvaro Ortiz 74-65–139

Isidro Benitez 70-75–145

Luis Gerardo Garza 71-77–148

T12.New Zealand (NZL) – 143 M-138 I — 281 (-5)

Nick Voke 69-68–137

Luke Toomey 74-70–144

Ryan Chisnall 75-74–149

T12.Singapore (SGP) – 146 M-135 I — 281 (-5)

Gregory Foo 70-70–140

Joshua Ho 76-65–141

Joshua Shou 76-73–149

T12.Spain (ESP) – 136 I-145 M — 281 (-5)

Manuel Elvira 69-71–140

Mario Galiano 67-74–141

Ivan Cantero 71-74–145

T12.Sweden (SWE) – 139 M-142 I — 281 (-5)

Fredrik Nilehn 68-71–139

Robin Petersson 71-71–142

Hannes Ronneblad 71-74–145

T12.Thailand (THA) – 138 I-143 M — 281 (-5)

Kousuke Hamamoto 69-71–140

Sadom Keawkanjana 69-72–141

Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng 76-76–152

19.Denmark (DEN) – 143 M-139 I — 282 (-4)

Marcus Helligkilde 73-67–140

Peter Launer Baek 73-72–145

John Axelsen 70-75–145

T20.Iceland (ISL) – 141 M-142 I — 283 (-3)

Gudmundur Kristjansson 70-72–142

Andri Bjornsson 71-75–146

Haraldur Magnus 76-70–146

T20.Japan (JPN) – 139 I-144 M — 283 (-3)

Kazuki Higa 67-71–138

Takumi Kanaya 72-73–145

Junya Kameshiro 75-73–148

T20.Netherlands (NED) – 145 M-138 I — 283 (-3)

Vince van Veen 71-69–140

Lars van Meijel 74-73–147

Rowin Caron 81-69–150

T23.Argentina (ARG) – 142 I-142 M — 284 (-2)

Alejandro Tosti 71-68–139

Andres Gallegos 71-75–146

Gaston Bertinotti 72-74–146

T23.Canada (CAN) – 144 I-140 M — 284 (-2)

Jared du Toit 71-70–141

Hugo Bernard 73-70–143

Garrett Rank 74-72–146

T23.Germany (GER) – 147 I-137 M — 284 (-2)

Jeremy Paul 72-69–141

Hurly Long 76-68–144

Max Schmitt 75-69–144

T23.Peru (PER) – 142 I-142 M — 284 (-2)

Felipe Strobach 72-70–142

Luis Fernando Barco 73-72–145

Julian Perico 70-77–147

T23.Portugal (POR) – 140 M-144 I — 284 (-2)

Tomas Silva 69-71–140

Pedro Lencart Silva 71-73–144

Vitor Londot Lopes 71-76–147

T23.Republic of Korea (KOR) – 145 M-139 I — 284 (-2)

Sung ho Yun 73-66–139

Je chang Ryu 72-75–147

Seung bo Jang 74-73–147

T29.Brazil (BRA) – 143 M-142 I — 285 (-1)

Herik Machado 70-70–140

Daniel Kenji Ishii 73-72–145

Gustavo Chuang 73-75–148

T29.South Africa (RSA) – 141 M-144 I — 285 (-1)

Jovan Rebula 70-70–140

Marco Steyn 71-74–145

Dylan Naidoo 75-74–149

T31.Italy (ITA) – 141 M-145 I — 286 (Even)

Stefano Mazzoli 67-71–138

Luca Cianchetti 75-74–149

Guido Migliozzi 74-76–150

T31.Venezuela (VEN) – 143 M-143 I — 286 (Even)

Jorge Garcia 69-68–137

Manuel Torres 76-75–151

George Trujillo 74-77–151

33.Wales (WAL) – 144 M-143 I — 287 (+1)

David Boote 69-73–142

Owen Edwards 76-70–146

Josh Davies 75-79–154

34.Morocco (MAR) – 140 M-148 I — 288 (+2)

Yassine Touhami 68-76–144

Ayoub Id-Omar 72-72–144

Ayoub Lguirati 77-83–160

T35.Guatemala (GUA) – 146 M-145 I — 291 (+5)

Alejandro Villavicencio 72-74–146

Sebastian Barnoya 79-71–150

Pablo Castellanos 74-82–156

T35.India (IND) – 147 M-144 I — 291 (+5)

Arjun Prasad 74-71–145

Aalaap Indira Lakshminarayana 73-75–148

Kshitij Naveed Kaul 76-73–149

T37.Finland (FIN) – 141 M-151 I — 292 (+6)

Juuso Kahlos 70-74–144

Kim Koivu 71-77–148

Ilari Saulo 75-77–152

T37.Hong Kong, China (HKG) – 148 M-144 I — 292 (+6)

Matthew Cheung 74-71–145

Terrence Ng 75-73–148

Leon Philip D’Souza 74-77–151

T37.Zimbabwe (ZIM) – 144 M-148 I — 292 (+6)

Kieran Vincent 69-71–140

Benjamin Follett-Smith 76-77–153

David Amm 75-79–154

40.Peoples Republic of China (CHN) – 146 I-147 M — 293 (+7)

Junbin Zhang 79-71–150

Yilong Chen 75-76–151

Zihong Zhang 71-84–155

T41.Czech Republic (CZE) – 142 M-152 I — 294 (+8)

Simon Zach 69-77–146

Matyas Zapletal 73-77–150

Vitek Novak 76-75–151

T41.Dominican Republic (DOM) – 139 M-155 I — 294 (+8)

Juan Guerra 68-79–147

Rhadames Pena 71-79–150

Enrique Valverde 78-76–154

T41.Puerto Rico (PUR) – 146 I-148 M — 294 (+8)

Daniel Caban 71-74–145

Erick Juan Morales 75-74–149

Max Alverio 81-74–155

44.Chile (CHI) – 149 M-146 I — 295 (+9)

Joaquin Niemann 71-73–144

Claudio Correa 78-73–151

Carlos Bustos 83-81–164

T45.Slovakia (SVK) – 149 M-148 I — 297 (+11)

Adam Puchmelter 73-74–147

Michal Brezovsky 76-74–150

Jakub Hrinda 87-WD–WD

T45.Uruguay (URU) – 145 I-152 M — 297 (+11)

Juan Alvarez 68-72–140

Nicholas Teuten 77-80–157

Agustin Tarigo 77-82–159

T47.Bermuda (BER) – 152 I-146 M — 298 (+12)

Mark Phillips 75-74–149

Jarryd Dillas 77-74–151

Eric West 80-72–152

T47.Guam (GUM) – 146 M-152 I — 298 (+12)

Devin Hua 71-74–145

Redge Camacho 75-78–153

Nalapon Vongjalorn 82-80–162

T49.Croatia (CRO) – 156 I-143 M — 299 (+13)

Ivan Vucemil 75-71–146

Luka Karaula 81-80–161

Adam Brnic 93-72–165

T49.Ecuador (ECU) – 150 M-149 I — 299 (+13)

Rafael Miranda 75-74–149

Juan Miguel Heredia 75-75–150

Jose Miranda 77-75–152

51.Turkey (TUR) – 151 I-150 M — 301 (+15)

Ali Altuntas 71-75–146

Alihan Afsar 85-75–160

Leon Acikalin 80-80–160

52.Belgium (BEL) – 152 M-152 I — 304 (+18)

Adrien Dumont de Chassart 75-76–151

Alan De Bondt 77-76–153

Kristof Ulenaers 80-80–160

53.Slovenia (SLO) – 149 M-156 I — 305 (+19)

Zan Luka Stirn 74-75–149

Luka Naglic 78-81–159

Mark Trnovec 75-85–160

54.Egypt (EGY) – 151 I-156 M — 307 (+21)

Issa Abouelela 71-74–145

Dean Naime 80-84–164

Gougou Abdeltawab 91-82–173

T55.Cayman Islands (CAY) – 156 I-153 M — 309 (+23)

Michael Wight 74-80–154

Payten Wight 82-78–160

Andrew Jarvis 87-75–162

T55.Costa Rica (CRC) – 157 M-152 I — 309 (+23)

Jose Mendez 79-74–153

Paul Chaplet 79-78–157

Manuel Jimenez 78-88–166

T55.Panama (PAN) – 155 I-154 M — 309 (+23)

Luis Cargiulo 83-72–155

Jose Guillermo Lewis 77-83–160

Paolo Cargiulo 78-82–160

T58.Jamaica (JAM) – 162 M-150 I — 312 (+26)

Sean Morris 78-73–151

Jonathan Newnham 84-77–161

Ian Facey 86-85–171

T58.Qatar (QAT) – 153 M-159 I — 312 (+26)

Saleh Al Kaabi 71-79–150

Ali Al Shahrani 82-81–163

Abdulrahman Al Shahrani 90-80–170

T58.Serbia (SRB) – 150 I-162 M — 312 (+26)

Branimir Gudelj 73-79–152

Mihailo Dimitrijevic 77-84–161

Ranko Helc 80-83–163

61.Kenya (KEN) – 158 I-155 M — 313 (+27)

Sujan Shah 80-75–155

Neer Chandaria 81-80–161

Bo Gatundu 78-83–161

T62.Mauritius (MRI) – 160 I-158 M — 318 (+32)

Rakesh Channoo 79-79–158

Phil Minkley 86-79–165

Ian Espitalier Noel 81-89–170

T62.United Arab Emirates (UAE) – 158 I-160 M — 318 (+32)

Ahmad Skaik 78-82–160

Saif Thabet 86-78–164

Rashid Hamood 80-89–169

64.Greece (GRE) – 162 I-158 M — 320 (+34)

Panagiotis Pantazopoulos 83-77–160

Dimitrios Rokadakis 79-81–160

Panagiotis Samakovlis 89-84–173

65.El Salvador (ESA) – 156 I-167 M — 323 (+37)

Rodrigo Sol 78-81–159

Bobby Moore 78-88–166

Tino Flores 82-86–168

66.Republic of Moldova (MDA) – 165 I-162 M — 327 (+41)

Aleksei Koika 79-77–156

Dennis Volostnykh 86-86–172

Artiom Podgainii 95-85–180

T67.Bulgaria (BUL) – 161 I-170 M — 331 (+45)

Asen Mihaylov 77-87–164

Vladi Marinov 85-84–169

Ryan Staykov 84-86–170

T67.Malta (MLT) – 165 I-166 M — 331 (+45)

Jay Jay Micallef 80-81–161

Andy Borg 85-85–170

Christian Brown 85-86–171

69.Haiti (HAI) – 176 I-167 M — 343 (+57)

Jean-Philippe Mehu 81-77–158

Maurice Pasha Brandt 99-90–189

Pierre-Antoine Donte 95-100–195

70.Kazakhstan (KAZ) – 189 I-172 M — 361 (+75)

Baurzhan Sarkytbayev 92-85–177

Yerbolat Ospanov 97-87–184

Yerbol Bukharbayev 103-94–197

71.Armenia (ARM) – 206 I-221 M — 427 (+141)

Levon Karakhanyan 86-94–180

Karen Hovhannisyan 120-127–247