An important first step: UNF senior Nick Gabrelcik wins opening-round match in U.S. Amateur
University of North Florida senior Nick Gabrelcik made the turn on Wednesday in his opening-round U.S. Amateur match two holes down to Jackson Van Paris, a Vanderbilt junior.
Gabrelcik then staged a four-hole blitz that led to a 2 and 1 victory at the Cherry Hills Country Club near Denver.
It's the third year in a row that Gabrelcik has qualified for match play. He reached the semifinals in 2021 at Oakmont before losing to eventual champion James Piot.
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Gabrelcik won four holes in a row from Nos. 10 to 13, three with birdies, to take the lead for good. He lost the 16th hole but closed Van Paris out with a birdie at the par-5 17th.
Gabrelcik will play University of Georgia sophomore Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners, Ga., in the second round on Thursday, beginning at 10:40 a.m. Ford beat Brian Stark of Kingsburg, Calif., a University of Texas graduate senior, 4 and 3 in his first-round match.
Gabrelcik said the key at Cherry Hills was keeping the ball out of the high rough.
"If you hit fairways, you’re going to do really well, and if you’re not, you’re going to be in for a long – maybe not long day. You might lose early," he told usga.org. "The rough is just nasty. Half the time you can’t even advance it more than 50 yards.”
The second-round winners will play again in the afternoon to get the field down to eight players for Friday's quarterfinals.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ospreys senior Nick Gabrelcik captures opening-round U.S. Amateur match
