Today's Edition
Abu Dhabi (Aletihad)
Nick Dunlap, No. 4 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, tallied seven birdies enroute to position the America team one stroke clear of China and France at the midway stage of the World Amateur Team Championship (WATC). He carded a 5-under 67 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club to give his team the edge after the second round.
“I just like the vibe out here,” said Dunlap, the 2023 US Amateur champion. “It’s a little bit different so I’m just trying to embrace it. There are a couple holes that I like hitting 3-wood where a lot of people are hitting driver, so I’m trying to play to my strengths and play to what looks good to my eye and go from there.”
USA also used a 2-under 70 from world No. 2 Gordon Sargent, who earned his PGA Tour membership on Wednesday for a two-day total of 16-under 272. After a slow team start, Dunlap and Sargent combined for five birdies during a four-hole stretch at the conclusion of their first nine.
“This team had another really good day,” said Team USA captain Mark Newell. “It started out kind of challenging out there, but they really turned it on around the turn and played some really good golf in conditions that were reasonably challenging with the heat and the wind.”
France, which held a share of the lead at the start of the day, was led by 15-year-old Hugo le Goff’s 4-under 68 and a 2-under 70 from 2023 US Open qualifier Bastien Amat. Hugo had an eagle and three birdies through his first seven holes.
“He’s one of the youngest players on the course, but he looks like a very experienced player when you see him play,” Antoine Delon, his captain, said. “He is very professional on the course and very steady for the team.”
China, which finished in a tie for 31st last year in France, moved up six places on the leader board on the strength of a 5-under 67 from Zihang Qiu and a 4-under 68 from Justin Bai, who has committed to play at the University of Washington in 2024.
“We’ve had a very good start in this tournament, much better than last year,” said the China coach Zheng Pang. “Our players played very good and very smart. They just played their tempo.”
Australia remains two strokes behind the USA in a tie for fourth place with Czechia on the strength of another steady day from two-time Australian junior amateur champion Jeffrey Guan and his Stanford University senior Karl Vilips. Guan and Vilips traded a pair of 67s and 68s during the first two rounds to post a 14-under total of 270.
Denmark followed in sixth position along side Argentina. Mexico, the Netherlands and South Africa made up the top 10 on the leaderboard.
