HARRISBURG, Pa. — Bo Andrews is a fan of orange. The color, that is.
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As an assistant men’s golf coach at the University of Tennessee, his wardrobe includes plenty of orange apparel. Unsurprisingly, he sported a Volunteers cap and belt Thursday in U.S. Amateur Qualifying administered by GAP at Colonial Golf & Tennis Club (par 72, 6,868 yards).
Red is responsible for orange, and Andrews made plenty of it. He carded a sensational 14-under-par 130 to earn medalist honors at Colonial.
Neil Shipley, who wears plenty of red as a member of Ohio State University’s men’s golf team, also advanced with a score of 11-under-par 133. The 123rd U.S. Amateur will take place Aug. 14-20 at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.
“The toughest part, when the scoring is pretty low, is to keep the pedal down. When it doesn’t go your way, the hardest part is feeling you didn’t get behind. I feel like I did a job with that today,” Andrews, 33, of Knoxville, Tenn., said. “You just have to keep the right frame of mind.”
Overall, 34 competitors finished in red figures at Colonial. The field scoring average: 72.7.
Andrews distinguished his case by carding a 9-under-par 63 in Round One — a stroke shy of Colonial’s competitive course record. In relation to par, LuLu Country Club’s Michael R. Brown, Jr. (2021), a three-time William Hyndman, III Player of the Year (2010, 2018, 2022), and Will Collins (2011), a University of Virginia alum and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica member, both posted 10 under during U.S. Amateur Qualifying.
Starting on No. 10 (par 4, 382 yards) in the morning, Andrews saw his eight-footer for par take a U-turn. His one and only bogey on the day.
Andrews then rattled off eight birdies in a 10-hole stretch: a wedge 120 yards to three feet on No. 13 (par 4, 408 yards); a 4-iron 218 yards to 20 feet for two putts on No. 14 (par 5, 528 yards); a lob wedge 95 yards to three feet on No. 16 (par 4, 397 yards); a 9-iron to 10 feet on No. 17 (par 3, 165 yards); a lob wedge 95 yards to two feet on No. 1 (par 4, 420 yards); a 3-wood 267 yards to the front greenside bunker for an up-and-in on No. 2 (par 5, 569 yards); a gap wedge 125 yards to 15 feet on No. 3 (par 4, 437 yards) and a 3-wood for another up-and-in on No. 4 (par 4, 285 yards).
A scorching Andrews closed Round One in birdie fashion. He struck a 6-iron to 15 feet on No. 7 (par 3, 219 yards). A majestically-flighted wedge from 95 yards on No. 9 (par 4, 385 yards) stopped two feet below the hole location.
Andrews stood four shots clear following Round One. He kept the pedal down.
On No. 1, his golf ball resting near his earlier divot, Andrews hit a wedge 95 yards to eight feet for birdie. In a divot/downslope debacle on No. 6 (par 5, 530 yards), Andrews executed “one of the best 4-irons I’ve hit in a long time” — from 221 yards to 40 feet. Two putts and another birdie. He lifted a wedge 110 yards to three feet for birdie on No. 8 (par 4, 362 yards).
With the field still in hot pursuit, Andrews stayed hot by firing back-to-back birdies on Nos. 13 (par 4, 308 yards) No. 14 (par 5, 528 yards). On the former, he drilled a gap wedge 125 out of a flier lie to 18 feet. Andrews drained the right-to-left breaker. A pitch 30 yards to 12 feet meant a birdie on No. 14. Andrews hit 30 greens in regulation Thursday.
The U.S. Amateur is the lone competition that draws Andrews. This will mark his fourth appearance (2013, 2014, 2021). He gained the Round of 64 in 2021 and lost to eventual runner-up Austin Greaser, 2&1.
Andrews selected Colonial as a means of visiting his mother Carol, a Raleigh, N.C. resident. She served as his caddie Thursday.
“I love northeast golf courses, and my mom loves caddying. We try to make a little bit of a trip out of it,” Andrews said. “I said, ‘The only time for us to spend time with each other, given my work schedule, is if I made the U.S. Amateur. I’m pretty excited.”
Mother and son shared a warm embrace after Andrews holed his final putt. They then shared a celebratory meal at Mission BBQ before heading their separate ways. A Cherry Hills meetup is now in motion.
A former Georgia Tech standout, Andrews represented the Yellow Jackets on conference championship teams in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. He posted 11 Top-10 finishes during his career, including a victory at the 2013 Gary Koch Invitational. He graduated from Georgia Tech in May 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in business management.
Andrews then pursued a professional golf career, dipping into events on the eGolf, Swingthought, GPro, PGA Latinoamérica and Web.com (now Korn Ferry) tours. He returned to the amateur ranks in 2018 when he joined Brennan Webb’s coaching staff at the University of Tennessee.
“Great playing, coach,” Shipley uttered as he presented his own Colonial merit in the scoring area Thursday.
“Bo’s a legend. He’s got such a solid game,” Shipley, 22, of Pittsburgh, Pa., said. “Great coach. Their team is phenomenal. I have nothing but good things to say about that program. They got a lot of good things going.”
Shipley got his qualifying prospects going — 3 under on his last six holes. On the gettable No. 4, he ripped a 3-iron to 25 feet and buried the eagle putt. Shipley stuffed a 9-iron to three feet on No. 5 (par 3, 163 yards). Although he sailed No. 6 (par 5, 520 yards) green with an 8-iron from 202 yards, Shipley supplied delicacy. His chip stopped four feet from the hole location. He cleaned up the birdie putt.
“I definitely got hot coming in, which helped out a ton. With the pins being pretty central on most of the greens and not too difficult, it was going to be a putting contest out here. You saw that with the scores,” Shipley, the reigning Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Champion, said. “I hit the ball really well all day. I feel like my morning score didn’t reflect necessarily how I played. I knew if I kept at it, some putts might fall. I was thinking 11 or 12 under would be a pretty good number to get to.”
After graduating from James Madison University in three years, he moved to Ohio State for graduate school. He is a fifth-year student studying to earn a certificate in public management.
Shipley previously qualified for the U.S. Amateur in 2021.
“My game’s progressed significantly since then. I feel like I’m much better built to handle U.S. Amateur conditions,” Shipley said. “I’m up for the challenge that we’re going to have in Colorado.”
NOTES
Colonial’s 17th hole (par 3, 165 yards) staged a pair of aces during Round One. Overbrook Golf Club’s David Colleran and Lebanon Country Club’s John DiGiacomo both notched their second career hole-in-ones there: Colleran with a 9 iron, DiGiacomo with an 8-iron.
GAP
Celebrating Amateur Golf since 1897, GAP, also known as the Golf Association of Philadelphia, is the oldest regional or state golf association in the United States. It serves as the principal ruling body of amateur golf in its region. The organization’s 340 Member Clubs and 100,000 individual members are spread across Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey and Maryland. The GAP’s mission is to promote, preserve and protect the game of golf.
| Qualifiers | |
| Name, city, state | Rd1-Rd2–Total |
| Bo Andrews, Raleigh, N.C. | 63-67–130 |
| Neal Shipley, Pittsburgh, Pa. | 67-66–133 |
| Alternates (in order) | |
| Dean Greyserman, Boca Raton, Fla. | 67-67–134 |
| *Blake Wisdom, Lake Geneva, Wisc. | 68-67–135 |
| Failed to qualify | |
| *Tyler McGarry, Pittston, Pa. | 67-68–135 |
| Nikita Gubenko, Great Falls, Va. | 67-69–136 |
| Will Baker, Statham, Ga. | 69-68–137 |
| Felix Bouchard, Canada | 68-69–137 |
| Kevin O’Brien, Pittsburgh, Pa. | 69-68–137 |
| Mike O’Neil, Baltimore, Md. | 69-68–137 |
| Garrett Kessler, Far Hills, N.J. | 68-70–138 |
| Benjamin Ortwein, Easton, Pa. | 69-69–138 |
| Zachary Drescher, Lancaster, Pa. | 72-67–139 |
| Richard Calve, Oceanport, N.J. | 72-67–139 |
| Tyler Lee, Franklin Lakes, N.J. | 70-70–140 |
| Evan Eichenlaub, Bethlehem, Pa. | 74-66–140 |
| Anthony Cordaro, Allentown, Pa. | 69-71–140 |
| Matthew Vital, Bethlehem, Pa. | 70-71–141 |
| Alex Seelig, Reading, Pa. | 71-70–141 |
| Mark Miller, Philadelphia, Pa. | 71-70–141 |
| Tommy Sharps, Lutherville, Md. | 71-70–141 |
| Conor McGrath, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. | 71-70–141 |
| Timothy Barto, Kittanning, Pa. | 71-70–141 |
| Cameron Deiuliis, Highland, Md. | 70-71–141 |
| Will Wears, Baltimore, Md. | 68-73–141 |
| Randy Kurzinsky, Barnesville, Pa. | 71-71–142 |
| Michael Lugiano, Jackson Township, Pa. | 72-70–142 |
| Angelo Marcon, San Francisco, Calif. | 74-68–142 |
| John Keba, Emmaus, Pa. | 71-72–143 |
| Matthew Zerfass, Macungie, Pa. | 75-68–143 |
| Evan Barbin, Elkton, Md. | 70-73–143 |
| Aaron Williams, England | 72-71–143 |
| Andrew Curran, Media, Pa. | 71-72–143 |
| Jake Micewski, Broomall, Pa. | 71-72–143 |
| Harry Cohen, Ridgewood, N.J. | 75-69–144 |
| Arjun Caprihan, Florham Park, N.J. | 70-74–144 |
| Timothy Cooper, Harrisburg, Pa. | 72-72–144 |
| Tyler Shank, Palmyra, Pa. | 73-72–145 |
| Derek Gutierrez, Cranford, N.J. | 71-74–145 |
| Jake Maddaloni, Newtown Square, Pa. | 75-70–145 |
| Anthony Depietress, Enola, Pa. | 76-69–145 |
| Jack Halleron, Timonium, Md. | 75-70–145 |
| Jake Richardson, Virginia Beach, Va. | 76-69–145 |
| John DiGiacomo, Lebanon, Pa. | 70-76–146 |
| Derek McGlaughlin, Elizabethtown, Pa. | 71-75–146 |
| Clay Spangler, Latrobe, Pa. | 71-76–147 |
| Eli Shah, Newtown Square, Pa. | 73-74–147 |
| Ian Patterson, Chambersburg, Pa. | 74-74–148 |
| Andrew Bilson, Lititz, Pa. | 73-75–148 |
| Luke Thompson, Huntingdon, Pa. | 75-73–148 |
| Caleb Itzoe, Phoenix, Md. | 75-74–149 |
| Kurtis Straw, Johnstown, Pa. | 71-79–150 |
| Kyle Hayworth, Nashville, Tenn. | 76-74–150 |
| Charlie Schulman, Bethesda, Md. | 74-76–150 |
| Caleb Bryant, Railroad, Pa. | 71-79–150 |
| Thomas Tatum, San Francisco, Calif. | 74-76–150 |
| Dan Snyder, Richmond, Va. | 79-71–150 |
| Ian Masenheimer, Orefield, Pa. | 74-77–151 |
| Jonathan Ressler, Lancaster, Pa. | 75-77–152 |
| Kyle Kegerreis, Chambersburg, Pa. | 78-75–153 |
| Jason Miller, Harrisburg, Pa. | 76-78–154 |
| Jasper Timmer, Garrison, NY | 80-76–156 |
| Austin Lis, Avella, Pa. | 79-77–156 |
| Zachary Wagner, Philadelphia, Pa. | 77-80–157 |
| Owen Wisner, Reading, Pa. | 79-79–158 |
| Andy Manges, Mechanicsburg, Pa. | 81-77–158 |
| Devon Turner, Bath, Pa. | 82-77–159 |
| Kristof Kopecky, Garnet Valley, Pa. | 91-84–175 |
| Geoffrey Cooper, Erdenheim, Pa. | 70-DNF–DNF |
| Sam Mitchell, Pottstown, Pa. | 78-DNF–DNF |
| David Colleran, Radnor, Pa. | 69-NC–122 |
| Logan Paczewski, Dallas, Pa. | 75-NC–NC |
| Steve Crain, Mechanicsburg, Pa. | 82-NC–NC |
| James Kaan, Hershey, Pa. | 83-NC–NC |
| Robert Ward, Towson, Md. | 87-NC–NC |
| David Hurly, Newtown Square, Pa. | 76-NS–NS |
| Brady Pevarnik, Latrobe, Pa. | NS-NS–NS |
| Michael Vital, Bethlehem, Pa. | NS-NS–NS |
| Jarred Berish, Pottstown, Pa. | NS-NS–NS |
| * – determined in playoff | |
| DNF – did not finish; NC – no cards; NS – no show |
