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LORTON, Va. >> China’s Dou Zecheng beat fellow 16-year-old Sam Horsfield of England 1 up Thursday in the U.S. Amateur Public Links to advance to the quarterfinals.
Dou took the lead with a par on the par-3 16th at Laurel Hill and matched Horsfield with a par on the par-4 and a birdie on the par-5 18th to close out the match.
Dou, a 3-and-2 second-round winner over Sam Saunders of Albuquerque, N.M., in the morning, will face Jordan Niebrugge of Mequon, Wis. Niebrugge beat Canada’s Justin Shin 5 and 3 in the third round.
In the other upper-brack quarterfinal, Austin Smotherman of Loomis, Calif., will play James Erkenbeck of San Diego. Smotherman beat Sean Knapp of Oakmont, Pa., 4 and 3, and Erkenbeck topped Mexico’s Mario Clemens 5 and 4.
In the lower bracket, Robby Shelton IV of Wilmer, Ala., will face Michael Kim of Del Mar, Calif., while Eric Sugimoto of San Diego will play Kyle Henning of Brookfield, Wis.
Shelton beat Ian Davis of Edmond, Okla., 2 up; Kim advanced with a 3-and-2 victory over Mitchell Rutledge of Creve Coeur, Mo.; Sugimoto edged Cameron Peck of Olympia, Wash., 2 up; and Henning won the last two holes to beat Carlson Cox IV of Church Hill, Tenn., 1 up.
The tournament is limited to players who don’t hold privileges at any course that doesn’t extend playing privileges to the general public. The 36-hole championship match is Saturday.
