Rising Jacksonville State junior golfer Tomasz Anderson is making his move in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after a semifinal finish in last week's English Amateur Championship.
The native of Hertfordshire, England, used the semifinal finish at The National Golf Centre in Linconshire to move to 56th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, jumping 102 spots from his 158th-place ranking a week before. He heads into this week's European Amateur Championship in Spain trying to continue his climb in the rankings.
Anderson tied for second out of 288 golfers with a seven-under 137 in the two stroke play rounds to advance to 64-player match-play tournament. He continued his strong play into the match play, winning four matches before running into Matthew Fitzpatrick, the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world.
"Well the tournament was very strong and there are loads of very low ranked players in the field, so playing against everyone was a huge test," Anderson said. "The match play was tough, as you have to concentrate on every hole, but I stayed in my routine all the way through and played my strategy every time."
He used that routine and strategy to bounce Timothy Martin on the 17th hole of the opening match before cruising to a 6&5 win over Martin Young in the round of 32. He needed one extra hole to defeat Ryan Evans in the third round and advance to the quarterfinals, where he limited his mistakes and picked up a 4&2 win over Josh Carpenter.
"I feel that I am difficult to beat as I don't make many mistakes and make my opponent work for every half," Anderson added of his approach to the match play. "And that's what's tough about match play."
Fitzpatrick, the 18-year-old who recently finished as the low amateur in the British Open, claimed a 7&6 win in the semis to eliminate Anderson's quest for the championship. It was a match that featured large galleries that the world's top-ranked amateur has grown accustomed to after his showing in the The Open in late July.
"Playing Fitzpatrick was hard, as there was a big crowd and he got me out of my rhythm," Anderson said. "I haven't been in that situation, so it was a leaning experience for me. But now I have come out on the other end stronger and with the strength to move forwards."
Anderson, who became the first Gamecock to earn an at-large individual bid into the NCAA Tournament since Danny Willett in 2007 last year, believes that strength can be a huge asset to the Gamecocks in his junior season.
"This gives me a great grounding for coming back to JSU playing great and hopefully getting the team to nationals," Anderson said. "It will provide good experience since the NCAA finals are match play!"
WILLETT EARNS SPOT IN THIS WEEK'S PGA CHAMPIONSHIP
Speaking of Willett, the former Gamecock, who left JSU as the No.1 ranked Amateur in the world to pursue his pro career, will tee it up in the PGA Championship this week.
The native of Sheffield, England, used his 15th-place finish in the British Open to catapult into this week's final major of the season at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y.
He will be paired with Joost Luiten and Russell Henley in the first two rounds. He will tee off at 12:50 p.m. ET on Thursday and at 7:40 a.m. ET on Friday. Coverage of the PGA Championship will be on TNT all four days, with CBS pitching in for the final two rounds.
Willett has one European Tour win under his belt and has €3,481,660 in career earnings. He is currently 98th in the World Golf Rankings and 55th in The Race to Dubai.
Fans can follow Willett's quest for his first major championship title at http://www.pga.com/pgachampionship.
