UVA senior men’s golfer Denny McCarthy (Rockville, Md.) shot 4-under 67 at the World Amateur Team Championships to help Team USA take the lead after 54 holes of play. The final round of the 69-team event will be held Saturday in Karuizawa, japan.
McCarthy’s teammate, Bryson DeChambeu shot a record-setting 10-under 61 for a third-round combined teamscore of 128 to give the USA the overall lead at 31-under 397. DeChambeau, an All-American at SMU, closed his round on the par-71 Oshitate Course with six consecutive birdies. His score was the lowest single-round total in the history of the event.
McCarthy was 5-under through 13 holes and finished with an eagle, three birdies and a bogey. The US’s third competitor, Beau Hossler (Texas), shot a non-counting 68.
“I played really well all day and made some really nice par saves in the middle,” McCarthy said. “I had it 5-under through 13 and lipped out on 13 for eagle for the second day in the row, which wasn’t too kind. I missed a shorty on 14 from about two and a half feet and that really changed my round. Overall I played really well, but I just had a disappointing finish.”
The USA broke the record for lowest 54-hole score (404 set by the USA in 2012) by seven strokes. Its third-round total of 14-under 128 also broke the mark for any round – 131, set by the USA in the first round in 2012 – by three strokes.
“I think that speaks to the consistency of these three guys,” said team captain Jim Hyler. “They’re really experienced tournament players. It’s not a surprise to me that we’ve had nine rounds that are all in the 60s. These guys are trending in the right way coming into the World Amateur Team Championship and we’ve seen really good consistent play by all three.”
Sweden enters the final round in second place at 28-under 400; followed by Canada and Spain tied for third at 403; second-round leader Argentina in fifth at 404; Australia in sixth at 405; England and Ireland tied for seventh at 408; and Chinese Taipei, France, Mexico, Scotland and Switzerland tied for ninth at 409.
The World Amateur Team Championship is a biennial international amateur competition conducted by the International Golf Federation (IGF), which comprises 137 national governing bodies in 131 countries. The competition, which is being held for the 26th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.
This year’s event is hosted by the japan GolfAssociation. The teams play for the Eisenhower Trophy. The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and will conduct the Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.
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