MORGANTOWN — The rain only delayed what was maybe Mark Goetz’s greatest accomplishment on a golf course, but the WVU senior found a way to battle through.
In the span of two days, Goetz celebrated his 23rd birthday, and then captured the No. 1 seed heading into match play at the 121st U.S. Amateur.
Goetz, a native of Greensburg, Pa., just 30 miles from the Oakmont course, won the low medalist honors with an 8-under par total through 36 holes, just inching past Harvard’s Brian Ma by one stroke for the top spot.
“It’s the most memorable two days of my career by a mile, there’s nothing that will even come close,” Goetz told Golfweek. “This place can beat you to your core. It’s disgustingly hard. If you play scared out here, you’re a little bit tentative, man it’ll bite you in the butt so fast. So I really didn’t have any expectations this week, and it’s because of how difficult this place is.”
Heavy rains delayed the two rounds, meaning Goetz wasn’t expected to begin match play until late Wednesday and would likely finish his first match Thursday.
After two rounds of stroke play, the top 64 advance to a match-play tournament until one winner survives to be crowned champion.
Past U.S. Amateur champions include Jack Nicklaus, Craig Stadler, Mark O’Meara, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.
Match play is expected to continue through Sunday.
Goetz became WVU’s first NCAA regional qualifier this season, finishing runner-up and just missing a spot in the NCAA Golf Championship.
He became the first WVU golfer in school history to earn All-America honors as he was named an honorable mention All-American by Golfweek.
Goetz announced after the season that he will return to WVU for his fifth season of eligibility in 2021-22.
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