Alabama’s Davis Riley Advances to Quarterfinals at 2018 U.S. Amateur Championship
Alabama men’s golfer Davis Riley collected a pair of match play victories on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals at the 2018 United States Amateur Championship.
Riley began the day when he upset stroke play champion and No.1-seed Daniel Hillier, 5-and-4, Thursday morning to advance to the round of 16. He followed that by capturing a victory on the 21st hole over Arkansas’ Mason Overstreet.
With the victory, Riley moves on to face UCLA’s Devon Bling for a spot in the semifinals. Should he win, the Hattiesburg, Miss., native would become just the sixth Alabama men’s golfer to earn a spot in the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur and the first since Justin Thomas accomplished the feat in 2012.
The duo will tee off at 4:30 p.m. CT (2:30 p.m. PT) with live television coverage on FS1.
The round of 16 match between Riley and Overstreet went back and forth throughout with each golfer winning three holes on the front nine. Overstreet took the lead with a birdie on the par 4 11th hole, but Riley responded with a birdie of his own on the 15th hole to draw even. Riley did not take a lead until claiming the victory on the 21st hole.
In his first match of the day, Riley jumped out to an early two-hole advantage through two holes and never looked back. After Hillier cut the lead to 1 hole after a birdie on the par 3 fifth hole, Riley took control by winning four of the next nine holes to seal the match.