Derek Hitchner of Minneapolis lost to Ben Carr of Columbus, Ga., 3 and 2 on Saturday in the semifinals of the U.S. Men's Amateur in Paramus, N.J.
The two 22-year-old, fifth-year seniors — Hitchner at Pepperdine and Carr at Georgia Southern — were tied after nine holes. But Carr went 3-up with birdies on the par-5 13th and the par-4 14th holes.
"I just didn't make nearly enough putts today," Hitchner said. "I felt like I had a lot that were burning edges, but felt like I hit it pretty well and gave myself some chances but just couldn't convert them."
Hitchner advanced to match play by surviving a playoff and then beat his first four opponents.
"It was an unbelievable week," Hitchner said. "Obviously it stings quite a bit. … But still it was, all in all, just a fantastic experience."
Hagan leads Funny Car qualifying
Defending event champion Matt Hagan topped Funny Car qualifying Saturday in the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.
He had a 3.843-second run at 331.36 mph in Tony Stewart Racing's Dodge Charger Hellcat SRT.
"It's impressive to do that, especially with the sun shining," Hagan said. "That's a testament to this track and the NHRA prep. … We're in a great spot tomorrow. "
