This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Bernie D'Amato Earns A Ticket To The U.S Amateur Championship

Weston standout golfer Bernie D'Amato set to play in the country's most prestigious amateur tournament

Bernie D'Amato is an accomplished golfer who has played in some big tournaments during his brilliant career. The 2009 graduate of Weston High School captured the Connecticut State Amateur Championship a year ago and has competed against the best players in the NCAA as a member of the Princeton Tigers.

But on August 22nd, D'Amato will play in the biggest tournament of his life when he tees off in the United States Amateur Championship at the Erin Hills Country Club in Wisconsin.

"It's the most prestigious amateur championship in the country," said D'Amato. "The best amateur players will be there and it will be played on a tough course. I'm really excited to be playing in it."

Find out what's happening in Weston-Redding-Eastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

After finishing third in the local qualifier at the New Haven Country Club in Hamden on August 1st, D'Amato never expected to be booking a flight to Wisconsin. As the first alternate, D'Amato needed a lot of things to fall into place for him to get a spot in the U.S Amateur Championship, and they did.

"I was really surprised," said D'Amato. "I thought I had blown any chance of making the tournament during my final round at the qualifier. They use a pretty sophisticated system to pick from the alternates. This was really unexpected."

Find out what's happening in Weston-Redding-Eastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Qualifying for his first USGA event has brightened what has been somewhat of a disappointing summer for D'Amato.

"I didn't make the cut at the Connecticut Open or the New England Amateur," said D'Amato. "So making this tournament really kind of makes up for that. It really is a special thing to qualify for the U.S Amateur and I'm excited to have the opportunity."

D'Amato and the rest of the field will play two rounds of stroke play. The top 64 players move on to match-play and a grueling schedule that is sure to test a players skill as well as mental and physical stamina.

"There is a lot of excitement and anxiety," said D'Amato. "I'll be playing against the best amateur golfers in the country. I'll take it as a great experience, do my best, and see what happens."

As we saw last weekend from Keegan Bradley in the PGA Championship, anything can happen and usually does.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?