Denny McCarthy shot a second-round 71 on Tuesday and survived a 17-for-14 playoff on Wednesday morning to advance to the first round of match play in the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills (Colo.). The University of Virginia sophomore is the only local player in the round of 64.

In Wednesday’s playoff, which began at No. 10, a 453-yard par 4, seven of the 17 contestants clinched spots in match play by making par or better. McCarthy made a bogey along with nine others who advanced to No. 11, a 595-yard par 5. McCarthy, a Georgetown Prep graduate and member at Argyle, was one of two players who made birdie to advance.

McCarthy (72-71 – 143), the ACC freshman of the year this spring, tees off at 12:20 (mountain) in the first round of match play, facing 6th seeded Brandon Hagy (65-72 – 137) , a junior at California.

Two locals rallied with stellar second rounds on Tuesday, but failed to make the cut. Maclain Huge (79-67 – 146), a recent graduate of Middleburg Academy who will begin his college career this fall at Virginia Tech, and Gaitherburg’s Steve Delmar (86-67 – 153) came up short despite firing 3-under-par rounds at CommonGround Golf Course.

Other locals who missed the cut are recent Maryland graduate and D.C. Amateur champion Joey Rice (72-73 – 145), Elon junior Jack Adkins (75-75 – 150), University of Virginia golf coach Bowen Sargent (77-77 – 154), George Mason grad Josh Apple (72-82 – 154), and longtime Bethesda Country Club member Rusty Pies (84-75 – 159).

The medalist was University of Alabama junior Bobby Wyatt (64-68 – 132), who matched the tournament’s stroke-play record. Wyatt gained national fame two summers ago when he shot a 57 in winning the Alabama Junior. Other notables who advance to match play are Texas sophomore Jordan Spieth (69-69 – 138), and 2012 Jack Nicklaus Award winner Justin Thomas (65-74 – 139), a sophomore at Alabama.

California high school senior Beau Hossler (72-72 – 144), who contended this year at the U.S. Open, was a stroke shy of the playoff. Other notables who failed to quaify for match play included Gary Nicklaus (71-74 – 145), son of Jack Nicklaus, 2012 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Andy Hyeon Bo Shim (72-76 – 148), 2010 Junior Am champ Jim Liu (78-69 – 147), 2007 Junior Am champ Cory Whitsett (78-67 – 145), and 1979 Junior Am champ Jack Larkin (75-77 – 152).

Kdunleavy@washingtonexaminer.com

Rockville's Denny McCarthy is in the opening round of match play in the U.S. Amateur Wednesday at Cherry Hills (Colo.) / Photo by Kevin Dunleavy