Nick Dunlap, John Marshall Butler highlight 2023 U.S. Amateur semifinalists
CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. — As the week has gone on at the 2023 U.S. Amateur, the course has gotten tougher, stakes have gotten higher and the players are coming closer to hoisting the Havemeyer Trophy.
The quarterfinals at the U.S. Amateur are complete, meaning we’re down to four players in the Mile High City. Tee times went off early Friday morning in anticipation of afternoon thunderstorms in the Denver area, but Cherry Hills was baked in sunshine all morning.
Among the semifinalists are one of the favorites coming in, a player who has come oh-so-close to winning this summer but hasn’t quite pulled it off and a pair looking for their signature win.
The remaining players are all American heading into the semifinals.
U.S. Amateur: Photos from Cherry Hills
Here’s everything you need to know from the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur.
Nick Dunlap overcomes putting woes
Nick Dunlap’s putter picked a bad time to go cold.
On the 16th hole early Friday afternoon, Dunlap, a rising sophomore at Alabama, had a chance to go 2 up with two holes to play. His opponent, Jackson Koivun, was in the hole with par, but Dunlap had a birdie putt.
It slid by. Way by. He had about 7 feet coming back. And he missed.
All tied up with two to play.
“It’s hard to win,” Dunlap said after clinching his match on the 19th hole. “Pressure is difficult. I’m normally pretty good inside 10 feet.”
Dunlap and Koivun, an incoming freshman at Auburn, were tied on the 18th tee and both found the fairway. Koivun hit a poor approach and left his chip woefully short, as well.
Meanwhile, Dunlap found the green in two but again slid his birdie putt a few feet by. All he had to do was make his par, and the match would be over. He missed, again. And they went to an extra hole.
“You’re never going to come out with your A-plus game every day,” Dunlap said. “It’s just the way it is. I wasn’t seeing the greens as well today.”
On the 19th hole, Dunlap, who’s ranked ninth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, drained a birdie putt to win the match and move on to Saturday.
“I think you can get overwhelmed with a situation if you allow yourself to,” Dunlap said. “At the end of the day, it’s still golf so you have to execute your game plan.”
JM Butler survives wild night
John Marshall Butler guesses he slept three or four hours on Thursday night. And he had good reason.
Waiting on him in the morning was a continuation of his match that finished in the dark Thursday. He hit his tee shot on the par-4 18th in the water but managed to get up-and-down for par to extend the match.
“Probably one of the best matches I’ll have of my life,” Butler said. “I was just so pumped.”
He went from the golf course to Chipotle and hardly touched his food. Then he hardly slept. However, the adrenaline carried him Friday morning.
He won his Round of 16 match on the 19th hole, then he won his quarterfinal match, beating Jose Islas 3 and 2 to move into the semifinals. The rising senior at Auburn won two of the first three holes and never looked back.
“I was just really in control of my game mentally and physically,” Butler said.
Butler credited his work on controlling his breathing and passion for fitness for his ability to recover and have such a strong performance Friday. From Louisville, he also has researched boxers like Muhammad Ali and others to learn from their techniques.
Butler is also good friends with Megan Schofill, who won the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur last week in Los Angeles, and her caddie and boyfriend, C.J. Easley. Easley and Butler remain friends, even with Easley having transferred to Ole Miss from Auburn.
He said he watched the matches and was screaming at the TV cheering Schofill on.
“It was awesome,” Butler said.
Come Sunday, he’s hoping to go for the Auburn sweep.
Neal Shipley building off earlier failures
More than once, Neal Shipley has nearly gotten a win this summer.
He finished second at the Sunnehanna Amateur. Then at the Trans-Mississippi Amateur, he tripled the 17th hole with a two-shot lead. A birdie on the last got him into a playoff, but he didn’t win.
Now, he’s into the U.S. Amateur semifinals on the verge of a bigger title than anything he has been in the hunt for before.
“I think a lot about the really good weeks, and we’re really close to winning,” Shipley said. “I know when I’m playing my best, and in match play, I’m hard to beat because I keep myself in position so often.”
Shipley knocked off the highest seed remaining, No. 7 Andi Xu, 2 and 1. He was 2 down after four holes but fought back to tie it on the ninth and take a 1-up lead on the 10th in a stretch of three straight wins. Xi bounced back with a birdie on the par-3 12th, but Shipley won the 15th and 17th to advance.
“Even with my failures, I really wanted to take that momentum with me. I see no reason I can’t win out here this week.”
Parker Bell fends off late push
Slowly but surely, Parker Bell watched his lead slip away.
It started on the 16th, when he had a 2-up lead but Ben James, a rising sophomore at Virginia ranked sixth in WAGR, made a birdie. Then on the 17th, Bell made a birdie but James was one better with an eagle.
On the 18th, James had a roughly 2-foot putt to win the match, but he missed. The duo both made double and went to the par-4 first for an extra hole.
That’s where Bell regained control. After leading the entire match until the 17th hole, he won the par-4 first for the second time that day, topping James in 19 holes to move on to Sunday.
A rising sophomore at Florida, Bell played in four tournaments last year but wasn’t in the lineup when the Gators won the national championship. Even with numerous players leaving the lineup this coming season like individual champion Fred Biondi and recent Korn Ferry Tour winner Ricky Castillo, Bell is proving he’s more than ready to take a bigger role in the lineup this season.
Saturday's semifinal matchups
All times listed are ET
No. 41 Nick Dunlap vs. No. 52 Parker Bell, 2 p.m. ET
No 47 Neal Shipley vs. No. 11 John Marshall Butler, 2:15 p.m. ET
Schedule/TV information
All times listed are ET
Saturday, August 19 (Semifinals)
3-4 p.m., Golf Channel
4-6 p.m., NBC
Sunday, August 20 (Championship match)
3-4 p.m., Golf Channel
4-6 p.m., NBC
