LORTON, Va. — China's Dou Zecheng beat fellow 16-year-old Sam Horsfield of England 1 up Thursday in the U.S. Amateur Public Links to advance to the quarterfinals.
Dou took the lead with a par on the par-3 16th at Laurel Hill and matched Horsfield with a par on the par-4 and a birdie on the par-5 18th to close out the match.
"This is my best match ever," Dou said. "We barely had any missed shots. It was fun because I've been playing with Sam since I was 7 years old, so we know each other well. This is a great memory."
Dou, a 3-and-2 second-round winner over Sam Saunders of Albuquerque, N.M., in the morning, will face Oklahoma State sophomore Jordan Niebrugge of Mequon, Wis. Niebrugge beat Canada's Justin Shin 5 and 3 in the third round and has played a tournament-low 44 holes in match play.
In the other upper-brack quarterfinal, 19-year-old Austin Smotherman of Loomis, Calif., will play James Erkenbeck of San Diego.
Smotherman beat 51-year-old Sean Knapp of Oakmont, Pa., 4 and 3.
"I've heard a lot about (Knapp). I mean, he's played in 14 U.S. Amateurs," Smotherman said. "But you can only control yourself, so that's what I focused on though it does feel good to beat a good player."
Erkenbeck, at 23 the oldest player remaining, topped Mexico's Mario Clemens 5 and 4.
