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JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Pittsburgh financial adviser Nathan Smith beat U.S. Amateur co-medalist Lee McCoy in 19 holes Wednesday in the first round of match play at Atlanta Athletic Club.
The 36-year-old Smith, the oldest player left in the field, pulled even with a birdie win on the par-3 17th, matched McCoy — the University of Georgia player junior from Clarkesville — with a par on the par-5 18th and won with a par on the par-4 19th.
Last year in the Walker Cup on Long Island, Smith won the deciding point in the United States’ 17-9 victory over Britain and Ireland. He’s a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion.
Taylor Moore, the Edmond, Oklahoma, player and Arkansas junior who tied McCoy for medalist honors in stroke-play qualifying, also dropped out. Jesse Heinly, from Bend, Oregon, and Concordia University in Portland, beat Moore 3 and 2.
On Wednesday morning, Smith and Heinly survived a 17-man playoff for the last four match-play spots.