Meet The 2008 Quarterfinalists

John Chin, 21, Temecula, Calif.

He’s a junior at the University of California-Irvine… He won the Big West Conference individual title in 2008… He is playing in his first U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship… His father, Michael, is caddying for him… In qualifying for the APL, he had a stretch of six consecutive birdies, shooting 69-69 for a 36-hole total of 138 to earn the second spot at his qualifier… Has a low score of 65 and two holes-in-one… He got his first hole-in-one when he was eight years old… The 2007 Big West Freshman of the Year… A 2007 and 2008 First-Team All-Big West golfer… 2008 Big West Player of the Year… Marks his golf ball on the greens with a heads-up quarter… He is naturally right-handed but plays golf left-handed because when he was young he “mirrored” his father’s swing.

Jeff Dennis, 21, Jacksonville, Fla.

One of three members of the University of North Florida to make match play, but the only one to advance to the quarterfinals… Roommate J.C. Horne has stayed on to cheer his teammate… He is a communications major… played well in 2007 in college with several top 5 finishes… earned Athlete of the Year honors at UNF after qualifying for the NCAA Division I Regionals... Had an off 2008 season where he slipped to No. 2 player on the team, “there’s still time to make it a good year,” said Dennis… qualified for the Amateur Public Links with rounds of 68-69… Lost in the second round of match play in the 2007 APL… realized he was pretty good at golf when he qualified for two American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) tournaments as a sophomore in high school… Calls putting the weak part of his game, until this week when he says, “My putting has kept me in this tournament”… played baseball and soccer before concentrating on golf in high school… enjoys movies, and calls The Patriot his favorite… He’s also excited about the new Batman series…At 6 foot and 140 pounds, he carries the nickname “J Dizzle.”

Cason Hammock, 23, Columbus, Ga.

Hammock is a fifth-year senior year at Columbus State University. He played for the golf team there his freshman year, but left the team to “do his own thing” after that… Columbus State has won six national Division II titles and has Mark Immelman as the head coach (Trevor Immelman’s older brother)… He is self-taught and has never had a lesson… “I’m pretty proud of that,” he says…He earned his first chance at the Amateur Public Links by tying for medalist honors at his site in Montgomery, Ala.,… He carried his own bag for the 36 holes and finished with a 137, including a round of 67…he has his older sister, Jennifer, as his caddie at the APL…”I haven’t won anything in a while,” he says… last win was the 2007 Heart of Dixie Pro-Am… also won the 2003 Southeastern Junior Golf Tournament and the 2003 Southeastern Junior Invitational…A good high school player who set a Hardaway High School record with a 67 in tournament play… Always marks his golf ball with a quarter… he has no aspirations of playing professional, but rather hopes that “it will lead to a good job some day”… plays golf three days a week… He broke par for the first time at age 11.

Randall Hutchison, 21, Traverse City, Mich.

Hutchison is the top player for Michigan State, where he is a senior… The Spartans have won back-to-back Big Ten titles… He is playing in his second Amateur Public Links… He has trailed for only two holes in his first three matches; he fell behind twice in his first match but immediately won the next hole… He won his second and third-round matches by 6-and-5 and 7-and-5 respectively… He missed the cut for match play in 2007… He also played in the 2006 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine National (Minn.), but failed to qualify for match play…At 6’2” and 220 pounds, Randy is the biggest of the quarterfinalists… He learned the game from his father at age 4… He was the medalist at the 2008 Michigan Amateur… He was low amateur at the 2008 Michigan Open, where he finished third, four strokes behind the winner… He was runner-up at the 2008 Missouri Intercollegiate… Earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors… His coach at Michigan State is Sam Puryear.

David Johnson, 21, Palm Bay, Fla.

A senior at the University of Central Florida, Johnson is playing in his third U.S. Amateur Public Links, more than any of the other quarterfinalists… Rallied to come from behind in his second-and third-round matches… In his previous two APL appearances, he missed the cut for match play… He safely advanced this time at 143 (1 over par)… He also competed at the 2007 U.S. Amateur, where he lost in a playoff for the last spots in match play… When not playing golf, he enjoys fishing.

Kyle Leach, 21, Louisville, Ky

Defeated top-ranked amateur Rickie Fowler in his third-round match, making key putts on the 13th and 14th holes… His 10-footer on the 13th put him 1 up… “This is the highlight of my golf career, especially after who I just beat,” said Leach, a senior at Bellarmine University in Louisville… Bellarmine is a Division II school for golf, and Leach is the top player on the team… Although the team’s top player, he’s “not sure if his game is good enough” to become a professional golfer… A former baseball pitcher in high school, he started the final game of the 1999 state high school championship, which his team won… Prior to this Amateur Public Links Championship, he listed his golf highlight as winning the 2006 Missouri-St. Louis Triton Invitational… He took his first golf lesson at age eight… a big movie fan, his favorite is the Shawshank Redemption… his favorite golf movie is the Legend of Bagger Vance…Caddie this week is his cousin Tim Jones… Majoring in business administration.

Corey Nagy, 19, Charlotte, N.C.

A junior at UNC-Charlotte, he is the top-returning player in the field, having reached the semifinals in 2007 before losing to eventual champion Colt Knost… Won the 2007 University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Invitational… Was inspired by attending the 2000 Masters Tournament, where he watched Tiger Woods…”If I could do this everyday for a living, it would be fantastic,” thought Nagy after the Masters…Father Steve is caddieing for him; he has taken vacation from his job as a product manager for Belk stores… Corey is the youngest of three children in the family; has two older sisters… beat his father for the first time when he was age 11 or 12…Corey was an honorable mention all-America in 2007 and reached full all-America status as a sophomore in 2008… He marks his ball with a 1988 quarter, the year he was born… In addition to golf, he enjoys basketball ping-pong and bowling… He has four holes-in-one, three of them at his home course of the Tradition Golf Club in Charlotte.

Jack Newman, 20, Des Moines, Iowa

Newman is the Number 2 player for the Michigan State Spartans, who have won the 2007 and 2008 Big Ten titles… Playing in his second Amateur Public Links… One of five children to Bob and Maribeth Newman… He is the youngest…Earned second-team All-Big Ten for 2008… Had his first hole-in-one at age 13… Won the 2008 Western Intercollegiate…Lowest competitive score is 65… Played basketball in high school as well as golf, earning two letters… Also lettered in swimming… Lists Adam Scott as his favorite golfer