When the dust had settled at Wakonda Club after 36 holes of golf, Cedar Falls’ Jonathan Feldick (69-72) and Ankeny’s Nate McCoy (71-71) grabbed the two spots available into the U.S. Amateur on Monday.

Each player took different roads to earn their spot to Pinehurst however.

Feldick (pictured above), who was medalist, rode a rollercoaster for most of the afternoon finishing with 11 birdies over his 36 holes. Meanwhile, McCoy settled for a bushel basket of pars, making 32 on the day. McCoy then survived a playoff against Sam Vincent, of Ames, to secure his spot into the U.S. Amateur.

“I just tried to keep it in play off the tee,” Feldick said. “I struggled with that though, but I putted well today and I finished strong. I birdied the last two holes (this afternoon). It has been a life-long dream of mine to qualify for the U.S. Amateur. Wakonda Club has been good to me, I qualified for the U.S. Junior Amateur when I was 17 here. I can’t be happier, I am shocked to be honest.”

Feldick, who opened with 69 (-3) in the morning, said he didn’t really have a number in mind in the afternoon, he just knew he couldn’t let up.

“I didn’t have a number in mind,” Feldick said. “Luckily I birdied the last two holes to finish even (for the afternoon round). I just wanted to get back to even and finish strong, other than that I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could.”

McCoy (right) admitted he simply could not get a birdie putt to find the bottom of the cup

“I had 32 pars today,” McCoy said. “I was getting frustrated out there actually, I just couldn’t get a putt to fall. When you’re stuck around even par you feel like people are passing you. I gave myself a lot of opportunities, but I just couldn’t get any to drop. The greens were tough and I was grinding a lot.”

McCoy admitted that playing with Vincent (1st Alternate via the playoff loss) was enjoyable and kept his mind sharp the whole day.

“I had a ton of fun playing with Sam,” McCoy said. “I knew he was going to be tough. I just tried to stay even with him most of the day.”

Nate will also join his dad, Mike, who is exempt into the U.S. Amateur at Pinehurst. It is believed to be only the fourth time a father/son dou has played in the same U.S. Amateur. Nate commented that it will be a special week for sure in North Carolina , August 11-18.

“He (my dad) kept telling me to go punch your ticket,” Nate McCoy said. “I hope we can play a few practice rounds together. Hopefully it will make my hotel rental a little cheaper. It might be a win-win for me.”

Earning Second Alternate was Ankeny’s Jon Olson.

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