Paramus, N.J. – Florida head coach JC Deacon called it the main draw.
It was difficult to discuss.
Aberg stepped into the ring as the No. 2 player in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and topped the field at Ridgewood Country Club this week. Castillo has come out of a world-ranked 20th corner, but is starting to regain the form he once had as a top-ranked amateur with his coppers on Walker.
Top billing, and the two players delivered 1-up with Castillo edging Aberg after a nervous final hole where Castillo almost hit out of bounds and Aberg messed up in the sand. did.
It was never a birdie barrage. With the par 5s removed, the pair are just 2 birdies together. But it wasn’t sloppy either, neither player he built a lead of more than 1 up.
“It was really close the whole time,” said Castillo, who was one down when Aberg made a 30-foot birdie for birdie after hitting the first two rough on the par-5 13th.th hole.
If Aberg struggled, it was the tee off.The normally dominant driver missed several fairways at crunch time and cost more than the par 4 14th On the hole he stepped one into the left rough and drew a terrible lie. He lost the hole on a bogey and never took the lead again.
“Don’t give holes to players like Ricky,” said Greg Sands, Aberg’s caddy and college coach. “But he wasn’t himself. He didn’t drive well, but that’s usually the best part of his game. Disappointed.
After losing the No. 15 with a 10-foot birdie for Castillo to regain the lead, Aberg hit another whimsical drive, bogeying the par-4 16.thWithout Castillo’s short parmiss, Aberg would have been two down.
Aberg won with a par 5 17th Castillo whiffed an eight-footer for birdie, but on the final tee box the drivers couldn’t cooperate and Aberg lost his right and had to hit a low cut on the approach to hopefully put it on the green. He did not run and drew a nasty lie in his bunker on the front left greenside.
Castillo, on the other hand, didn’t exactly split the fairway on the par-4 finishing hole. According to Castillo, his pulled drive was less than an inch inbound.
“It was pretty scary,” Castillo said. “I was kind of in jail and I just wanted to give myself a chance to make par because I knew he wasn’t in great position on the tee. It’s hard for him to get on the green. Deaf I knew, I just tried to get something back on the fairway and I could get something closer and par.”
Castillo stretched the layup to 74 yards, then wedged from 58 degrees to about 5 feet.
“It’s one of the best wedge shots I’ve ever seen of him,” Deacon said. “I’ve watched him play golf for a long time and his shot with the wedge at his 18 under the circumstances was unbelievable.”
Aberg still had a chance, but it was short-lived as his bunker shot barely progressed. From an awkward stance, his next shot also failed to reach the green and he chipped the fifth to finally get a conceded double bogey.
Castillo, who needed two putts to win the hole, wasted no time reducing his par and eliminating the top-ranked players on the field.
“I don’t want it to end like this,” Castillo said. They both played really well. Tough golf course, fast greens and thick rough. It was a fun game. “
After a quick handshake, Aberg, clearly disappointed, lined it up for the clubhouse.
The 21-year-old from Yorba Linda, California has reached the Round of 32 in all four US Amateur matches. He has made it to the Round of 16 twice each, last year and his last in 2019 (he missed 2020 after withdrawing due to illness before the first round at Bandon Dunes).
But since last summer, Castillo has struggled to find consistency and stay focused. He had a sluggish fall semester before hitting the top 10 five times in the spring. He took a break from competitive golf this summer to reset.
he is well charged. Castillo won his fourth Sweet 16 ticket at the West Amateur last month.
“We won one game. He was the best player to play the entire tournament. I think he can play better than he did today,” Deacon said. “
Castillo’s second round opponent on Thursday will be much easier, at least on paper. But again, this is match play, the US Amateur where the underdogs often win.
In some sense, every match is the main draw.
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