Featured Players
Five months after a dramatic victory in the Latin America Amateur in January – and two after his major championship debut at the Masters Tournament – Mateo Pulcini strolled the fairways at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in his first U.S. Open start.
With a late afternoon first-round tee time, made later by a two-hour fog delay on Thursday morning, Argentina’s Pulcini was forced into a stop-and-start opening round alongside playing partners Angel Hidalgo of Spain and Spencer Tibbits of the United States. An early double bogey at the par-4 13th led to a four-over 39 in his opening nine, but after returning on Friday morning, Pulcini rallied with three birdies at hole Nos. 5, 7 and 9.
At the par-3 seventh – perhaps Shinnecock Hills’ most iconic hole – Pulcini shaped a beautiful shot just left of the pin and rolled in an 11-foot birdie. At the difficult par-4 ninth, Pulcini capped his first round with an approach from 144 yards to four feet and a third birdie in five holes.
Pulcini had less on-course success in his second round later on Friday morning, but did manage a fourth birdie at the par-4 eighth after a massive 343-yard drive preceded a wedge to inside three feet. And though he missed the cut, Pulcini undoubtedly enjoyed his second major experience and his countryman’s (Emiliano Grillo) run near the top of the leaderboard throughout the weekend.
Special mention should also go to Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, the 2018 Latin America Amateur Championship winner, who finished tied for seventh and recorded the best major championship result of his career.
