Aug. 7, 2002

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Kansas State men's golf team will have two representatives at the 2002 U.S. Amateur as a pair of Wildcats advanced out of sectional-qualifying tournaments this week.

Recently graduated senior Bryan Milberger was the first to earn a berth, advancing out of the sectional-qualifying event held in Kansas City Monday.

Junior-to-be Aaron Watkins followed suit Tuesday in Gilbert, Ariz.

Milberger, a resident of Olathe, Kan., who appeared in all 12 events during 2001-02 and finished with K-State's fourth-best stroke average at 75.6, shot a two-round total of even-par 142 at the par-71 Shoal Creek Golf Course then needed to secure one of the top two spots in a three-way playoff in order to advance. He did just that paring the par-4 No. 1 to secure one of three qualifying spots.

Watkins averaged 74.1 in 12 tournaments for the Wildcats as a sophomore and but was even better during the Arizona sectional-qualifying event. The Mesa, Ariz., product tied for third with a 36-hole total of 1-under 139 at the par 70, 6,950-yard Seville Golf and Country Club in Gilbert, finishing just two strokes behind medalist Ben Flam of Arizona State.

The 2002 U.S. Amateur will be held Aug. 19-25 at the Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Earlier this summer, Kansas State women's golfer Christine Boucher qualified for the Women's U.S. Amateur at the sectional qualifier held at Segregansett Country Club in Taunton, Mass.