3 from Palmetto State advance at U.S. Amateur

Three players with South Carolina connections — USC senior Matt NeSmith, Glbert High senior Caleb Proveaux and Charleston Southern junior Austin James — advanced to the round of 32 in Wednesday’s first day of match play in the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields Country Club near Chicago.

The luck of the seedings placed both NeSmith and James against players from the Palmetto State with NeSmith surviving a rally for a 1-up win over Billy Kennerly, who graduated from Clemson this spring, and James cruising to a 4-and-3 triumph over Clemson senior Miller Capps.

Meanwhile, Proveaux, who has committed to join the Gamecocks in the fall of 2016, rolled to a 5-and-4 win over the University of Houston’s Roman Robledo.

Following completion of the weather-delayed 36-hole stroke-play qualifying Wednesday morning, Kennerly and USC’s Sean Kelly began the day in a massive playoff — 18 players for 10 spots — for match-play berths. Kennerly advanced quickly to earn the 55th seed against No. 10 NeSmith. Kelly was the last player eliminated.

After winning the fourth hole, NeSmith never trailed and led 3-up with a birdie on the 13th. Kennerly, who won the Canadian Amateur last week, responded by winning the 15th and the 17th holes to cut his deficit to one hole before both parred the 18th.

Proveaux took command by winning holes 7-9 and closed out the match on No. 14. James won the first two holes and completed his victory with wins on Nos. 14 and 15.

In Thursday’s round of 32, Proveaux, seeded 15th based on qualifying scores, takes on No. 18 Paul Dunne, a native of Ireland who played at Alabama-Birmingham and burst into the golf world’s consciousness by sharing the third-round lead in the British Open. NeSmith will face Southern Methodist’s Bryson DeChambeau, who is No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and qualified 23rd. James, the 2014 Canadian junior champion who qualified 19th, will play Denny McCarthy of Rockville, Md.

The winners of Thursday morning matches advance into the round of 16 in the afternoon. The quarterfinals will be played Friday, the semifinals Saturday and the 36-hole final on Sunday.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 10:02 PM with the headline "3 from Palmetto State advance at U.S. Amateur."