McCoy Advances To U.S. Amateur

AMES, Iowa- Iowa State sophomore golfer Nate McCoy will get a chance to test his skills on the national stage after securing a spot in the 2009 U.S. Amateur Monday afternoon. The West Des Moines, Iowa, native carded rounds of 74-71 (145) in the U.S. Amateur qualifier at Des Moines Golf and Country Club, finishing third to earn a spot in the prestigious event, Aug. 24-30 at the Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.

McCoy had a banner rookie season for the Cyclones last year, breaking ISU's freshman scoring record with a 73.83 stroke average. He is the second member of the McCoy family to qualify for a U.S. Amateur. His father, Mike, is a multiple U.S. Amateur qualifier and just missed out of making it again on Monday, falling two strokes back of the cut.

All U.S. Amateur participants will play 36 holes of stroke play with the top 64 competitors advancing to the match play portion of the event.

McCoy is the third Cyclone in the last four seasons to advance to the U.S. Amateur. Ben Herrera, who fell short of qualifying on Monday with an eighth-place finish (148), made it in 2008, and Joe Cermak qualified in 2006.