GOLF
Eoff to tee off in U.S. Amateur
Austin Eoff of Benton will tee off at 9:55 a.m. today in the opening round of the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.
Eoff, the two-time defending Arkansas State Golf Association champion, will be paired with Philip Knowles of Bradenton, Fla., and Stephen Franken of Raleigh, N.C., on Oakland Hills' South Course.
"The South Course is brutal," said Eoff, a senior at Purdue who is leading the ASGA Player of the Year standings. "It has bunkers lining every fairway, so it will be a really good test."
Eoff finished second to Chris Harris of Atlanta in the July 25 qualifier at Maumelle Country Club and received an invitation into the U.S. Amateur the next day. He is coming off a rough finish two weeks ago at the Western Amateur in Lake Forest, Ill., when he didn't make the 53-player stroke play cut.
"The Western was so different, that course to this course," Eoff said. "It was so firm and really hard to get the ball within a reasonable distance with your irons."
The first two days of the tournament will be stroke play before match play begins Wednesday with the round of 64. The tournament is scheduled to conclude Sunday.
Oakland Hills has played host to several major championships, the last coming in 2008 when Padraig Harrington won the PGA Championship. The 2004 Ryder Cup won by Europe also was played there.
Current PGA Tour member Bryson DeChambeau defeated Derek Bard 7 and 6 in last year's championship at Olympia Fields (Ill.) Country Club.
-- Frankie Frisco
Sports on 08/15/2016