Moore marches on at U.S. Amateur

MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) _ Ryan Moore keeps rolling along in the U.S. Amateur, moving into the semifinals with a 3 and 2 victory over Jason Hartwick on Friday at Winged Foot Golf Club. <br/><br/>Already a

Saturday, August 21st 2004, 9:32 am

By: News On 6

MAMARONECK, N.Y. (AP) _ Ryan Moore keeps rolling along in the U.S. Amateur, moving into the semifinals with a 3 and 2 victory over Jason Hartwick on Friday at Winged Foot Golf Club.

Already a champion in three prestigious amateur events _ NCAA Division I, U.S. Amateur Public Links and the Western Amateur _ Moore will oppose Jeff Overton in Saturday's semifinals.

Moore said putting has been the key to his success, and his putter was on the mark against Hartwick, from Sacramento, Calif.

``Putting is what wins for you in match play, and I've been on target for quite a spell,'' said the 21-year-old Moore, a senior at UNLV. ``I birdied my first hole today and that got me going.''

A three-time NCAA All-American, Moore's best previous finish in a U.S. Amateur was the quarterfinals in 2002.

Overton, a senior at Indiana, advanced with a 2 up win over Andrew Svoboda, the four-time Winged Foot club champion from Stamford, Conn.

In the other semifinal, Chris Nallen of Hackettstown, N.J., plays Luke List of Ringgold, Ga.

The 36-hole final is Sunday.

Nallen, a recent graduate of Arizona, beat Dayton Rose of Midwest City, Okla., 6 and 5 in the easiest match of the day. Nallen was the runner-up to Moore in the NCAA Division I final.

List, a sophomore at Vanderbilt, was a 3 and 2 winner over 47-year-old Danny Green, who was the oldest player in the field.

Overton, who lost the U.S. Amateur Public Links title to Moore, won his match with pars on the final two holes, after Svoboda got even at No. 16.

``He had the home crowd rooting for him,'' said Overton. ``I didn't know if I needed to hurry him up and get to the next tee or slow him down. I decided to slow him down, and also the crowd, by taking my time. Fortunately, it worked out and he wound up hitting the ball in the rough.''

Nallen, who made the round of 32 in the 2001 U.S. Amateur for his best finish in the event, said he spent the summer working on a way to win.

``I want to get my name on that trophy,'' said Nallen. ``It'll be a dream. My attitude in this tournament is to show no mercy. Today, I won the first two holes and kept it going. Ill show no mercy tomorrow and, hopefully, none on Sunday.''