July 6, 2010

PINEHURST, N.C. (SMU) - SMU senior-to-be Kelly Kraft reached the finals of the 110th North & South Amateur Championship at Pinehurst No. 2 this weekend. Kraft knocked off defending champion David Chung in a semifinal match that went 22 holes after gritting out a 19-hole victory over 12th seed Riley Arp in the quarterfinals.

Kraft won 3 and 1 in Wednesday's opening round, and then played 42 holes on Thursday, winning in 20 holes in the second round and 22 in the third. By Friday afternoon, Kraft had played 100 holes through the first five rounds of the championship.

In the semifinal, Kraft birdied to win the seventh, but Chung squared the match on the eighth with a par. Things stayed all-square until Kraft sank a birdie putt on the 13th hole to grab a 1-up edge.

Chung carded back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th to take a 1-up advantage into the 18th, but Kraft rolled in a birdie to square the match again.

On the 22nd hole, Chung's bunker shot landed just under four feet from the flag, but Kraft hit a pitch-and-run from off the front left that came to rest five feet from the hole. Kraft putted first and poured in his birdie try. It would prove to be the match-clincher, as Chung's attempt missed.

Kraft then fell to Donald Constable, 4 and 3, in the championship match.

"Kelly played some great golf this week and we're really proud of him," said SMU Coach Jay Loar. "I know he'll bring that same level of play back here this fall and we can't wait for the season."