U.S. AMATEUR

Yesterday, the novelty ended here at the 104th U.S. Amateur.

A yanked three-foot- putt at 17 and a pulled 8-iron at 18 bounced native son Andy Svoboda. Time, and a stud sophomore from Vanderbilt, finally caught up with 47-year-old Danny Green.

Now four golfers remain, two accomplished amateurs and two ascending ones, known only to the globe’s golf geeks. One of each group will meet this morning with not only a trip to tomorrow’s 36-hole final at stake, but also invites to next year’s Masters and U.S. Open.

“Another win, and I’m there,” said Vanderbilt sophomore Luke List. “That was the goal coming into the week. It would be a great accomplishment.”

List, a 19-year-old who topped Green 3-and-2 in yesterday’s quarterfinals at Winged Foot Golf Club, meets New Jersey’s Chris Nallen, a 6-and-5 winner over Oklahoma State’s Dayton Rose.

The other semifinal features Ryan Murphy, the reigning NCAA champion and a two-time U.S. Amateur Public Links winner, who beat Jason Hartwick 3-and-2. He meets Indiana’s Jeff Overton, whose pars on the final two holes beat Svoboda’s bogeys and delivered a 2-up win. The pairings provide great contrasts, with all four players possessing strong skills, but two owning far superior credentials.

Moore and Nallen finished 1-2 at the NCAA Championships. Moore’s two USGA titles are two more than the other semifinalists combined, and Nallen spent part of last summer playing in the Walker Cup, amateur’s golf most prestigious international competition.

Nallen also uses a Palmer Cup golf bag, red and white with “USA” in blue down one side.

“It might be slightly intimidating to play someone who’s won a lot of things,” Moore said. “It puts pressure on the other person that they have to play well to have a chance to win.”

Both List and Overton can run to the title – List advanced through local and sectional qualifying for last year’s U.S. Open, and Overton won 2004 Big 10 Player of the Year Honors. Neither, though, had endured a U.S. Amateur match before Wednesday.

“I came here to play great players,” List said. “And so far, I’ve done that.”

With tremendous fortune, he might add. To reach the semis, List eliminated 2004 U.S. Junior champ Sihwan Kim, 1994 Amateur finalist Trip Kuehne, 2003 Amateur medallist John Holmes and Green.

Overton, meanwhile, overcame a crowd he said cheered his poor shots against Svoboda, the four-time Winged Foot club champion. That test should help toughen him for Moore.