Had Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans been allowed to script his first match play victory in three U.S. Amateur appearances, he would have written it just as Wednesday played out:
Come out fast; win the first hole with a four-foot birdie putt. Just to let everyone know you’re serious.
Keep up the pressure; knock it to one foot on No. 9 and make the turn 4 up.
Win 6-and-5, go home, relax, pick up the Seve Ballesteros autobiography he’s been reading and rest up for a potentially very long Thursday.
“Today couldn’t have gone any better. You want to get out there early, get done early and have time to rest for the big day tomorrow,” Schniederjans said after taking 13 holes to oust Temple University senior Matt Teesdale.
In his two previous U.S. Am appearances, Schniederjans, the world’s top-ranked amateur, had made it to match play once before (and lost in the first round). He says he has grown far more comfortable with that style of competition, and Wednesday certainly seconded that opinion.
“Today I could walk to the beat of my own drum. I stayed in momentum and rhythm all day,” he said.
Both the round of 32 and the sweet 16 will be played tomorrow. To advance, players must be prepared to grind out 36 holes — maybe less, maybe even more — over the long day.
It is going to get harder for Schniederjans. “Most of the time in match play it comes down to 17 and 18, almost every match it seems. I don’t expect the matches to end this quickly the rest of the week,” he said.
“I’m prepared. I was really well rested going into this. That was part of my strategy, to be ready for a marathon.”
In Thursday’s round of 32 match, Schniederjans will meet 18-year-old high school senior Sam Burns, from Shreveport, La. Committed to LSU, Burns was tied for third after stroke play (5-under). He defeated Matt Nesmith of North Augusta, S.C. 2-and-1 Wednesday.
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