Topeka ? The top two seeded players in the 97th annual Kansas Amateur each won a pair of matches Saturday to reach the finals.
No. 1 Wes Stonestreet of Dallas and No. 2 Gary Woodland of Berryton, will play the 36-hole championship match at 7:30 a.m. today at the Topeka Country Club.
“I think it just says both players are playing well,” said Woodland. “Obviously, the golf course sets up well for both of us. It should be a good match tomorrow.”
Stonestreet, a former Wichita State player, knocked off Kansas State golfer Kyle Yonke of Lubbock, Texas, 2-up, in the quarterfinals before defeating Ty Sanders of Tulsa, Okla., in the semifinals, 3 and 1.
The 22-year-old Stonestreet, a native of Kismet, never trailed in either match, but never led by more than two holes in any of the 35 he played Saturday.
“I’m excited,” Stonestreet said of reaching the finals for the first time. “I’m ready to play a little golf and it sure beats working 45 hours a week at a golf course. So, I’m going to leave it all out there tomorrow.”
Woodland, a former All-American from Kansas University, trailed for just one of the 34 holes he played Saturday against Matt Ewald of Leawood and Jason Schulte of Mission Hills. He defeated both opponents by a 3-and-2 score.
Woodland, 23, will be looking to win his second Kansas Amateur in three years today in the scheduled 36-hole finals against Stonestreet. He won the 2005 tournament at Colbert Hills in Manhattan.
Sanders, who will be a junior on the Wichita State golf team this fall, managed a comback against Derek Harrison of Wellington, to reach the semifinals. Sanders was four holes down with seven to play, but won three straight holes to get back into the quarterfinals match. He won the match in the 19th hole by chipping for a birdie.
Schulte, who plays for Kansas State, reached the semifinals with a 2-up victory over Chad Judd of Olathe, in the quarterfinals.
