But the medallist and top seed couldn’t find the same form in match play on Monday, particularly with the putter.

No.64 seed Kory Frost took full advantage of his opponent’s struggles. Playing with a nothing-to-lose mindset, the 64-year-old stunned Hogarth in a 21-hole thriller. It was the first time since 2003 that the No.1 seed was ousted in the Round of 64.

Frost, who watched Hogarth miss a five foot par putt to win the match on the par-4 20th hole, executed a magnificent 20-yard greenside bunker shot on the par-5 21st hole to two feet. Hogarth, the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion and 2010 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up, also hit an excellent pitch from the fairway to five feet, but missed the birdie putt.

Wasting little time, Frost converted his birdie attempt to eliminate the veteran of 37 USGA championships.

Tim Hogarth couldn't keep his strokeplay form going in the Round of 64 and is headed home. PHOTO: USGA.

“It’s a little prayer there,” said Frost of his bunker shot. “That’s a tough shot. I knew that Tim was going to knock it close. I thought for sure he would make the putt.”

Hogarth, who just turned 55 in June to become eligible for the U.S. Senior Amateur, had seen this type of nervous performance creep up before. Besides the short putts in extra holes, he also failed to convert a two footer to win the par-5 ninth.

“I get a nervous feeling in my hands with the putter,” said Hogarth. “And I putted terrible, just awful.

“But Kory played well and deserved to win.”

Frost, who grew up in the small northern Montana town of Kevin (population 200) near Glacier National Park, won the first hole with a par and the seventh with a birdie. Hogarth did birdie the par-3 eighth and then holed a 7-iron from 180 yards for an eagle on the 441-yard 12th hole to tie the match. After they traded winning holes at 14 and 15, the stage was set for extra holes.

“I think it’s harder on him from a perspective that he’s been playing well, and probably thinks it’s going to continue,” said Frost, who advanced to the Round of 16 in his first USGA event, the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur. “[But] I was ready to shake his hands several times.”

That wasn’t the only marathon match of the day. Steve Harwell, a quarterfinalist in 2019, eliminated 2018 champion Jeff Wilson in 23 holes. A two-putt par from 20 feet on the 242-yard, par-3 fifth hole allowed Harwell to advance. Wilson found the right greenside bunker and missed his par putt from 18 feet.

Early on, it looked like Harwell might be making a quick exit. Wilson won the first three holes, including an eagle on the par-5 third. The tide turned when Harwell made back-to-back birdies on 8 and 9 and took the par-5 10th with a par.

“He’s one of the titans and I knew that,” said Harwell of Wilson, one of two players to earn low-amateur honours in the U.S. Open and U.S. Senior Open. “All I kept saying was keep hitting good putts and they will eventually go in.”

No.2 seed Chip Lutz, the active consecutive cut streak leader in the U.S. Senior Amateur at 11, overcame a 2-down deficit after two holes to defeat Robert Nelson 5&3. The 2015 champion won six of the next eight holes in upping his total match wins in this championship to 26.

Third seed Sean Knapp, the 2017 champion; fourth seed and 2015 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball runner-up Sherrill Britt; fifth seed and 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur runner-up Roger Newsom; sixth seed and 2013 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Michael McCoy; and eighth seed Chris Fieger, also advanced. Hanzel improved his match-play record in the Senior Amateur to 21-7.

No.7 Jeff Knox, of Augusta National Golf Club, was the only other top-eight seed to be eliminated, falling to 2017 semi-finalist Craig Davis 4&2.