Fillmore wins stroke-play portion of U.S. Amateur

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Robbie Fillmore, who never touched a club during two years away from golf, shot 5-under 65 on Tuesday to win the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Amateur.

The lowest score in two days of qualifying came on the No. 4 course at Pinehurst and followed Fillmore's opening 69 on Pinehurst No. 2, giving him a total of 6-under 134.

Fillmore leads the group of 64 players who will start the match-play portion today. The final two qualifiers will be determined in a playoff among 26 players who tied at 5-over 145.

A junior at BYU, Fillmore left golf behind during his Mormon mission to Chile, but quickly made up for lost time when he returned in 2006.

"I got it back pretty quickly, but from sunup to sundown, I worked pretty hard at it," said Fillmore, a first-team All-Mountain West Conference player last season.

Fillmore finished two strokes better than first-round leader Wesley Bryan, an 18-year-old South Carolina freshman who shot 1-under 69 on Pinehurst No. 4.

Among those also moving on were top-ranked amateur Danny Lee (141), Kevin Tway (143) and Jamie Lovemark (143).

Brady Exber, a 52-year-old member of the Southern Nevada Golf Hall of Fame, was the oldest to advance.