Aug. 13, 2012

Cherry Hills Village, Colo. - Virginia sophomore Denny McCarthy had the best opening round performance of the four golfers with Virginia ties at the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship.

McCarthy shot 1-over 72 on the Cherry Hills Country Club course to placed 64th. He needs to be among the top 64 players when Tuesday's second round of stroke play concludes to advance to the match play portion of the tournament.

There are a total of 312 golfers competing on two courses during the 36 holes of stroke play.

Incoming freshman Nick McLaughlin shot 3-over 73 on the Common Grounds Golf Course to stand 113th. Recent graduate Cory Siegfried shot 4-over 74 at Cherry Hills to stand 147th. UVa head coach Bowen Sargent carded a round of 6-over 77 at Cherry Hills to finish day one in 205th place.

The University of Alabama's Bobby Wyatt fired a 7-under-par 64 on the Cherry Hills course to lead the field.

McCarthy starts his second round at 1:45 Tuesday on the Common Grounds course. Siegfried begins his second round at 12:35 p.m. at Common Grounds. McLaughlin starts at 12:45 at Cherry Hills. Sargent plays at 1:15 p.m. at Common Grounds

The U.S. Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.