University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Men's Golfers Advance to Respective Championships
6/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
June 15, 2012
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss men's golfers Kevin Brady and Casey Fernandez have advanced to the championships of a pair of prestigious tournaments this past week.
Brady shot a tournament-best five-under 67 in the Southern Amateur Qualifier at Old Waverly Country Club in West Point, Miss., to lead a group of 33 golfers on Thursday. The junior from Brandon, Miss., advances to the 106th Southern Amateur to be played at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark., July 18-21.
"I hit the ball great," said Brady. "I kept hitting it really close, so I didn't have any long putts. I just kept getting a bunch of tap-in birdies. I didn't go into the tournament with high expectations, but I figured I would qualify if I just played solid, which I did and I ended up winning. I'm really excited to move on to the next stage."
 Casey Fernandez  | |
"I played pretty well," said Fernandez. "I shot 65-69. The winning was blowing about 20-25 miles an hour so (the course) played pretty tough. I struck the ball pretty well and really made every putt that I looked at. It's pretty exciting to be playing for a national championship."
The winner of the Public Links Championship will receive a 10-year APL exemption, exemptions into the next two U.S. Amateurs, a three-year exemption from local U.S. Open qualifying (provided he remains an amateur) and a likely invitation to the 2013 Masters Tournament.