Aug. 23, 2009

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Three current South Carolina golfers and one recent graduate will wrap up their summer this week at the U.S. Amateur Championship in Tulsa, Okla. Seniors Patrick Rada and Paul Woodbury, sophomore Wesley Bryan and 2008 graduate Mark Anderson will compete in the USGA’s amateur national championship at Southern Hills Country Club.

Bryan will be making his second U.S. Amateur appearance after advancing to the second round of match play at last year’s event at Pinehurst No. 2. He was the runner-up in stroke-play qualifying at last year’s event, and defeated Jason Bittick in the first round, 4 and 3. Ranked 19th in the latest World Amateur Golf Rankings, the Chapin, S.C., native qualified for this year’s event by tying for second place in sectional qualifying at The Standard Club in Duluth, Ga. Bryan has fared well in match play events this summer, finishing as the runner-up at the North and South Amateur and advancing to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Public Links.

It will also be the second U.S. Amateur appearance for Rada, a native of Anderson, S.C. He competed in the 2006 event, but did not advance to match play. He was the medalist in the Duluth qualifier to advance to the championship. This summer, Rada has advanced to the semifinals of the North and South Amateur before falling to Bryan, and he tied for fifth place in the South Carolina State Amateur.

Woodbury, a native of Lake City, S.C., will be making his second straight appearance in the Amateur as well after advancing to the second round of match play in 2008. He defeated David McDaniel in the first round, 4 and 3, before falling to Jeff Edelman (20 holes) in the second round.

Anderson will likely be competing in his final major amateur event unless he earns one of the final two selections to the U.S. Walker Cup team. Ten selections have already been announced, and Anderson, ranked 26th in the WAGR, is one of the prime candidates for one of the final two spots.

The 312-player field will compete in stroke-play qualifying on two different courses, Southern Hills and Cedar Ridge. Pairings, tee times and full coverage can be found at usamateur.org.