Mid-Amateur Jimmy Ellis shoots 61 in U.S. Amateur second round
Jimmy Ellis (Chris Keane/USGA Photo)
In a field full of the top amateurs in the country, 38-year-old
Jimmy Ellis has all the eyes on him.
Ellis shot a second-round 9-under 61 at Chaska Town Club to get to 10-under and earned the medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur championship by three shots over Ethan Evans, who is in solo second place at 9-under.
The Florida Amateur champion recorded ten birdies and one bogey in his impressive round. He birdied his last three holes to come up one shot short of the course record at Chaska, set by Billy Horschel in the 2006 U.S. Amateur.
He is ranked No. 465 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
Ellis shot a first-round 1-under 71 at Hazeltine National Golf Club and propelled up 48 spots in the second round, going from the possible cutline to likely medalist. Only eight golfers are 5-under or better, so the 10-under score from Ellis is even more impressive.
Ellis is the first mid-amateur to win medalist honors at the U.S. Amateur in 11 years. He played his collegiate golf at Florida Gulf Coast and Ohio University.
Ellis shot 64 in the final round at Quail Valley Country Club in Vero Beach, Fla., in June to win the Florida Amateur and earn his spot in the field.
We will have a full recap once the day events are concluded
ABOUT THE
US Amateur
The U.S. Amateur, the oldest USGA
championship, was first played in 1895 at
Newport Golf Club in Rhode Island. The
event,
which has no age restriction, is open to
those
with a Handicap Index of .4 (point four) or lower. It is
one
of 15 national championships conducted
annually by the USGA.
A new two-stage qualifying process went into effect in 2024, providing exemptions through local qualifying for state amateur champions and top-ranked WAGR playres. See the USGA website for details -- applications are typically placed online in the spring
at www.usga.org.
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