When Jack Wyman walked off the first playoff hole of the U.S. Amateur sectional qualifying tournament Monday in York, he was “devastated.”

He had bogeyed the hole and lost out on the second and final qualifying spot for the 118th national championship.

Wyman, 27, a South Freeport resident, got much better news Thursday. He got a call from the United States Golf Association and was told the organization reassessed the size and strength of the field that competed at The Ledges Golf Club and decided to take the top three finishers instead of two.

That means Wyman will be part of the 312-player field of the world’s most prestigious amateur golf tournament from Aug. 13-19 at Pebble Beach, California.

“I got the call and even before I answered it, I thought, this could be really good news. It was a pretty cool feeling,” Wyman said.

A representative of the USGA Championship Administration confirmed Wyman was offered and accepted a spot in the tournament.

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Earlier this month, Wyman won his second straight Maine Amateur championship.

At the 36-hole U.S. Amateur qualifier, Wyman tied for second at 3-under par with Matt Cowgill, 23, of Weston, Massachusetts, forcing a playoff.

Wyman put his drive in the left rough and couldn’t hold the green with his second shot on the par 4. Then he mis-hit a chip shot, opening the door for Cowgill to make a relatively simple two-putt for par and what at the time was the final qualifying spot.

“It was pretty devastating. I’d had some heartbreak there,” said Wyman, who once previously had been an alternate for the U.S. Amateur.

“I was really bummed out because I had played really well and it just came down to a playoff hole where it didn’t come out. The change of emotion from then to now is definitely dramatic.”

Wyman, whose home course is Portland Country Club, will be making his first trip to the U.S. Amateur.

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Also in the field is Will Kannegieser of Minot (Martindale Country Club). Cole Anderson of Camden (2017) and John Hayes IV of Portland (2016) are other recent U.S. Amateur qualifiers from Maine.

The first two days of the U.S. Amateur are 18-hole stroke play rounds, one at Pebble Beach and one at Spyglass Hill Golf Course. The low 64 scores will advance to match play at Pebble Beach.

Steve Craig can be reached at 791-6413 or:

scraig@pressherald.com

Twitter: SteveCCraig


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