Aug. 5, 2016
Vanderbilt rising sophomore Will Gordon stormed back from three down on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Western Amateur to defeat Braden Bailey, 1-up, to advance to the semifinals of the prestigious amateur event, a tournament which has seen the likes of Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Ryan Moore, and Tiger Woods raise the championship trophy.
Gordon will play Dylan Meyer of Evansville, Indiana, who stars at the University of Illinois, in a semifinal match Saturday morning. The winner will face either Sam Horsfield, who plays at the University of Florida, or Davis Riley, who plays at Alabama.
“I really believed I was not going to go home [Friday],” Gordon told the Western Golf Association after Friday’s match. “I felt like I was playing good enough and making enough putts to come back. I just kept fighting.”
Gordon squared the match with a birdie at No. 12 and took a 1-up lead with a birdie at No. 14, a lead he never surrendered. But Gordon said his 12-footer for par on No. 9 is what won him the match against Bailey, who didn’t make a bogey in his round.
“That kept me in it, kept me going,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Gordon easily advanced in his round of 16 match with a 4 and 3 win over Andy Zhang.
Gordon’s match with Meyer begins at 8:15 a.m. CT at the Knollwood Club in Lake Forest, Ill.