July 17, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. – South Carolina’s Wesley Bryan took top seed Nick Taylor farther than anyone else so far in the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, but fell to the University of Washington All-American in the tournament quarterfinals Friday morning, 2 and 1. Taylor had not had a match go past the 14th hole in any round of the championship; this one was halted after the 17th.

The pair halved the first four holes, but a Taylor birdie at the 5th gave him a lead he would never relinquish. A win at the 7th put him 2-up, then Taylor would go 3-up with another win at the 12th. Bryan would win his first hole with a birdie at 13, but gave it right back with bogey at the 14th. The native of Chapin, S.C., would then win the 15th with a par to cut the deficit to two, but the pair would halve the next two holes to give Taylor the victory.

His showing at the Public Links marks another feather in Bryan’s cap heading into his sophomore season at Carolina. Earlier in the summer, Bryan was the runner up at the North & South Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2. With his quarterfinal appearance this week, he bettered his 2008 showing at the PubLinks championship when he made it to the third round.

Bryan and the rest of the Gamecocks now turn their attention to U.S. Amateur sectional qualifying, which gets underway at multiple sites over the next three weeks.