SAN FRANCISCO — John Daly II and Niall Shiels Donegan each won two matches Thursday at The Olympic Club to advance to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals as more top-ranked players dropped out.
Daly, the son of two-time major champion John Daly, beat Nate Smith 2 and 1 in the morning in the round of 32 then topped Daniel Bennett of South Africa 3 and 2 in the afternoon in the round of 16.
A senior-to-be at Arkansas, Daly set up a match with Mason Howell, the 18-year-old from Georgia who qualified for the U.S. Open this year with rounds of 63-63 from the Atlanta sectional.
Howell beat second-ranked Virginia senior Ben James 1 up and Max Herendeen 2 and 1. In the morning, Herendeen eliminated top-ranked Jackson Koivun 3 and 2.
Donegan had two 1-up victories, topping ninth-ranked Christiaan Maas of South Africa and fourth-ranked Preston Stout, the Oklahoma State junior who was the stroke-play medalist.
Donegan, who plays under the Scottish flag and lives in the Bay Area, pulled even with Stout with a birdie on the par-3 15th and took the lead with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 16th.
“Elated, ecstatic,” said Donegan, who recently joined the North Carolina golf team after two seasons at Northwestern. “Yeah, it’s amazing. Just trying to enjoy the moment right now and get ready for tomorrow,”
Donegan was among 17 players who advanced from a 20-man playoff Wednesday morning to determine the final 64 for match play. His father, Lawrence, was a longtime golf correspondent for The Guardian.
Donegan will next face Jacob Modleski, a 2-up winner over Paul Chang of China. Modleski, at No. 15, is the top player left in the world amateur ranking.
Sixteen-year-old Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, also advanced to the quarterfinals, beating Pepperdine’s Mahanth Chirravuri 2 and 1. Russell is No. 16 in the ranking.
Russell will face 29th-ranked Eric Lee, a 2-up winner over Josh Duangmanee when Duangmanee lost his ball off the tee on the final hole. In the other quarterfinal, Jimmy Abdo will play Jackson Herrington.
“Being the underdog, I feel like there’s way less pressure on me to perform well,” said Abdo, coming off his freshman season at Gustavus Adolphus in Minnesota. “I feel like I can go out there and play pretty free. That’s what we did for most of the holes out there.”
