SAC champion and runner-up qualify for US Amateur Public Links Championship

June 8, 2011

GREENVILLE, S.C. and ADVANCE, N.C. - Defending Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Men's Golf Tournament champion Daniel Stanley of Newberry College and tournament runner-up Clifford Blanquicet have each qualified for the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship in their sectional qualifiers. The Public Links will be held at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon on June 27-July 2.

Daniel StanleyM. Golf: Daniel Stanley

Stanley, who was a four-time all-South Atlantic Conference player and two-time SAC Tournament champion, shot a 139 over the course of two rounds Monday in a sectional qualifier at the Furman University Golf Club in Greenville. He is one of three golfers from that sectional to qualify for the Amateur Public Links tournament.

This is Stanley's second qualification for a USGA event, as the Boiling Springs native also qualified for the 2007 US Junior Amateur Championships.

"I can't say enough how happy I am for Daniel," said Newberry head coach Brian McCants. "He has tried for 4 years to get back into a USGA event. I know he will have a great week at Bandon and if that putter of his gets hot, he will be tough to beat in match play."

Clifford Blanquicet

Wingate University rising senior Clifford Blanquicet (Sanford, N.C.) has qualified for the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links championship, by virtue of his medalist performance at the Valley Golf Club (par 72, 7058 yards, 74.1 course rating) this week. Blanquicet shot 70-66 (136) in the 36-hole event to finish at eight-under-par. He won the qualifier by three strokes.

Blanquicet played 36 holes Monday. On the fifth hole of his first round, he holed out from 120 yards for an eagle-two on the par 4. "I believe the eagle jump-started my round," Blanquicet says. "I made a double-bogey on my last hole of the round…I had no idea I would be in second place going into the second round."

"I did not want to leave any question (regarding my qualification)," Blanquicet says. "I did not want to play in a play-off…I wanted to win the qualifier and go to Oregon." In the second round, Blanquicet shot a bogey-free 66 to take first place. Bulldog rising senior teammate Kyle Leonard (King, N.C.) shot an even-par 144 (74-70) at the same qualifying site, tying for fourth place and the second alternate position.

"Clifford entered our program as a transfer junior (this year)," Wingate head men's golf coach Corey Iacofano says. "He embraced our program and our philosophies. Clifford is proud to be a Bulldog. He represented us well this past season…and he will represent us well in Oregon."