Aug. 16, 2015

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina seniors Matt NeSmith and Sean Kelly are set to open play at the 115th U.S. Amateur Championship on Monday in Olympia Fields, Ill.

NeSmith and Kelly will tee it up at Olympia Fields Country Club’s North and South courses for stroke-play qualifying on Monday and Tuesday. The North Course, which is a par-70, 7,234-yard layout, will host stroke play rounds and all rounds of match play. The South Course will be used for stroke play only and is a par-70, 7,037-yard setup.

A field of 312 golfers will play 18 holes of stroke play on Monday and 18 on Tuesday to determine the low 64 scorers for match play. The first of six rounds of match play will then begin on Aug. 19. The championship match will be contested on Aug. 23.

NeSmith is making his third-straight appearance at the U.S. Amateur after earning an exemption by qualifying for the 2015 U.S. Open. He dominated the field in his U.S. Open sectional qualifier at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga., winning by four strokes with a 36-hole total of 127 (-17). A native of North Augusta, S.C., NeSmith finished tied for 43rd in stroke play at last year’s U.S. Amateur and advanced to match play before losing in the first round.

A third-team PING and Golfweek All-American and first-team All-SEC and PING All-Southeast Region selection, NeSmith finished 2014-15 with a stroke average of 70.51, which ranks second in program history. He finished in the top 20 in eight of 12 tournaments, including two tournament wins. NeSmith became just the second Gamecock to win an SEC title as he claimed a six-stroke victory at the SEC Championship with a school-record 54-hole total of 196 (-14).

A native of Staten Island, N.Y., Kelly will be making his second appearance at the U.S. Amateur as he also qualified in 2010. He earned his way to Olympia Fields by winning a qualifier in Monroe Township, N.J., at Forsgate Country Club’s Banks Course by four strokes with a 36-hole total of 133 (-9).

Kelly played in 11 tournaments for the Gamecocks in 2014-15 and recorded five top-20 finishes on the season, including a tie for 20th finish at the NCAA Bremerton Regional. He finished the year with a stroke average of 72.71.

NeSmith will tee off on the 10th hole of the South Course on Monday at 9:10 a.m. ET, while Kelly is slated to tee off the first hole of the South Course at 1:10 p.m. ET.

Fox Sports 1 will provide live coverage of match play on Aug. 19-21 from 2-5 p.m. each day, while Fox will televise the semifinals (Aug. 22) and championship match (Aug. 23) from 2-5. Live scoring will be available at USGA.org.