Hodge Wins First Match In U.S. Amateur

CHASKA, Minn.—Jonathan Hodge won the opening hole of his match and never trailed, defeating LSU’s Beck Troutman 6 and 5 in the first round of match play at the U.S. Amateur.

The Tennessee-Chattanooga sophomore went 3-up after birdies on five, seven and eight. A bogey by Troutman on the ninth hole gave Hodge a 4-up lead at the turn. Hodge won the 11th and 12th holes with pars and closed out the match 6 and 5 with a par on the 13th.

Hodge, who is seeded number 56 in the 64 player field, will face no. 41 John Hahn Thursday morning at 7:30 (CDT). The winner will advance to the round of 16 and play again at 1:10 p.m.

Wednesday was a good day for the higher seeds who won 23 of the 32 matches, but the highest seeds struggled with four of the top nine seeds being upset. Hodge’s win over the ninth seeded Beckman was the first upset of the day and was the second largest margin of victory on the day.

The Golf Channel will have two hours of highlights from tomorrow’s matches from 4-6 p.m. (EDT).

After Thursday’s matches the field will be narrowed to eight players, with single matches on Friday and Saturday. Sunday’s final will be 36 holes.