July 15, 2009

Woodstock, Ontario - Matt Hoffman had the round of his career on Wednesday. The Illinois senior fired a nine-under par 62 in the second round of the Investors Group Ontario Amateur Championship to move into second place after 36 of 72 holes. At -5, the Thornhill native trails only NCAA champion Matt Hill by one stroke. Hoffman had nine birdies in his round, including six over a nine-hole stretch from holes 8-16.

"I've worked really hard on the mental side of my game," said Hoffman, who was coming off a 75 in the opening round on the 6,728-yard, par 71 Craigowan Golf and Country Club. "I just had a different mindset today. I kept plugging away and after I made a few birdies, I felt good about my round."

Hoffman, who began the day tied for 59th, made a few impressive saves for par as well, sinking a 10-footer on two and a 12-footer on 17. He also got up and down from the bunker on two holes.

"The par saves just kept my round going and helped instill some confidence," he said.

After Hoffman's 62, no other player shot better than 66, which included Brett Cairns, who is tied with Hoffman and Ablin Choi for second, and Garrett Rank, who is in a three-way tie for fifth.

For live updates and complete results, visit gao.ca

Guthrie advances to round of 32 at U.S. Amateur Public Links
Illinois sophomore Luke Guthrie reached the round of 32 of the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship with a victory over Ryan Perez of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, 2 up. Guthrie, the 11th seed in the tournament, trailed just once - after the sixth hole. Guthrie made two birdies in his round, including one on 18 while leading by one hole.

"It wasn't a great round, but I made good shots when I needed to in crunch time," said Guthrie, who made two key par saves on 14 and 15, setting up the final three holes.

"That made him to have go after pins and be more aggressive," Guthrie said. "It feels good to win, but there is still a lot of work to be done."

Guthrie faces 43rd seed Dan Sullivan of Pasadena, Calif., in round two Thursday morning at 9:15 am at the Jimmie Austin/OU Golf Club in Norman, Okla. Sullivan downed 22nd seed Steve Galko of Dallas, 2 & 1. The winner of that match faces either sixth seed Brad Benjamin or Jessie Massey at 1:40 Thursday afternoon when temperatures are supposed to again reach triple digits.

For live updates and complete results, visit usapl.com