U.S. Amateur Golf : Gump Wins Medalist Honors by Two Strokes

Scott Gump, a former University of Miami star who barely made his tee time, shot a two-under-par 70 Wednesday to earn medalist honors at the 87th U.S. Amateur golf championship.

Gump, who arrived at the Jupiter Hills Country Club just 15 minutes before starting the second round of medal play, finished with a 36-hole qualifying total of three-under-par 141. The format switches to match play today with 64 players remaining in the chase for the oldest golf title in the United States.

“With 288 guys in the field, I’m just tickled to death,” Gump said after a round that included five birdies and three bogeys on the 6,542-yard Village course.

Nolan Henke, runner-up in this year’s National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament as a senior at Florida State, shot a 69 on the Village course for a two-day total of 143. Miles McConnell, of Brandon, Fla., tied Henke with a 70 on the same course.

They were followed by 1986 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Bob Lewis, of Warren, Ohio; Allen Doyle, of La Grange, Ga., and Kevin Johnson, of Pembroke, Mass., all at 144.

Lewis, a finalist in the 1980 tournament, shot 70 on the Village course, while Doyle carded a 73 on the Hills course. Johnson shot 73 on the Village course.

The Village course is considered the least difficult of the two layouts used for the medal-play portion of the six-day tournament. Each player also played 18 holes on the Hills, the 6,915-yard course where all match-play rounds will be held.

Defending champion Buddy Alexander, Baton Rouge, La., shot a 75 for a 151 total. He was among a record 25 players involved in a playoff Wednesday night for the last nine spots in the field.

The previous record for the number of players involved a qualifying playoff was 16 in 1939.

Eight golfers birdied the par-5, 512-yard first hole on the Hills course before play was suspended because of darkness. Alexander will be among 12 players vying for the final spot this morning.

James McGovern, of Oradell, N.J., bogeyed the playoff hole and missed the cut. He shared the medal-play lead after the first day with Randy Reifers of Dublin, Ohio.

McGovern added a second-day 81 to his opening-round 70. Reifers shot a 79 for a 149 total.

Gump shot an opening-day 71 on the Hills but almost didn’t make it to the first hole in time to stay in the tournament Wednesday.

First, he and his caddy, Dr. Embry Abell, were delayed in traffic on the Florida Turnpike. Then, Abell fell from a golf cart as they headed for the first tee.

At least one player’s scores challenged the contention that the Hills course is more demanding than the Village.

Michael Podolak, of Fargo, N.D., shot an 82 on the Village course on Tuesday but came back to tie a course record Wednesday with a 68 on the Hills course.

Podolak’s round included eight birdies and four bogeys. He was six-under-par through 13 holes, but bogeyed the next three before closing with a 5-foot putt for birdie on No. 9.

Two-time U.S. Amateur winner Jay Sigel (1982, 1983) of Berwyn, Pa., shot a 70 on the Village course for a 148 total that keeps him in the running for his third title.

Among the players missing the cut was Gary Nicklaus, son of Jack Nicklaus. Young Nicklaus followed his first-day 79 with an 82 for a 36-hole score of 161.