John Daly II Wins Twice, Advances to Quarterfinals U.S. Amateur

SAN FRANCISCO – Razorback senior John Daly II won a pair of matches – 2&1 versus Nate Smith in the round of 32 and 3&2 versus Daniel Bennett in the round of 16 – to advance to the quarterfinals at the 2025 USGA U.S. Amateur Championship, played at the Olympic Club – Lake Course.

Daly will face Max Herendeen (Illinois) on Friday in the quarterfinals. He is the first Razorback to reach the U.S. Amateur quarterfinal since David Lingmerth in 2009, who lost 2 and 1 to eventual runner-up Ben Martin in the quarters.

In the morning Round of 32 match, Daly came from behind and took down Nate Smith, 2 and 1. Smith won the opening hole, but Daly squared the match by winning the third hole. However, Smith bounced back to win the 4th and 6th holes to take a 2 UP lead. Daly turned the match around by winning holes 8, 10 and 12 for a 1 UP advantage. Smith tied the match by winning the 14th hole with a par. Undaunted, Daly birdied 15 and 16 to take a 2 Up lead. The pair birdied the par-5 17th, but that was all Daly needed to close out the match.

Later Thursday, Daly had a convincing 3 and 2 win over Texas Longhorn sophomore Daniel Bennett, who is the reigning National Freshman of the Year and is #27 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Daly won the first hole with a par, then extended his lead to 4 UP by winning holes 5, 7 and 9. Bennett opened the inward nine with a birdie on 10 to cut his deficit to 3. Daly regained the momentum by winning the 14th hole with a par only to see Bennett win the 13th with a par to give Daly a 3 Up lead with five holes to play. Daly and Bennett each tied holes 14, 15 and 16, which is all Daly needed to close out the victory.

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