Thoughts between Round 2 and 3

SAN FRANCISCO--Midway through the only scheduled double-round day at the 107th U.S. Amateur Championship here at Olympic Club and just a couple of things to ponder:

â¿¢ We're down to two U.S. Walker Cup team member remaining in the field with Colt Knost moving on to round 3 with his 3-and-2 victory over Brendan Gielow and Jaime Lovemark surviving his match with incoming Northwestern Josh Dupont, winning in the 21st hole. Chris Kirk obviously never figured out what was causing the ball-striking problems, as the two-time first-team All-American lost to Derek Fathauer, 7 and 6.

â¿¢ The USGA's final two selections for the Walker Cup team haven't been made any easier with the way the bracket is shaking out. Unless Knost can become the sixth person to ever win two USGA events in the same year (he won the U.S. Amateur Public Links title in July) or Lovemark, the NCAA champion, can pick up his play, we could crown a U.S. Amateur champion here Sunday that probably wasn't on the selection committee's short list earlier this week.

â¿¢ If Knost thought a lot of people were asking questions on whether he was going to turn down his Masters invite from winning the APL to turn pro, just imagine what it's going to be like, big fella, when you've also got to think about spots in the U.S. Open and British Open.

â¿¢ With all due respect to the remaining players in the field, the folks at NBC, who are televising the semifinals and finals this weekend, have to be sweating a little bit. Past the two Walker Cuppers remaining and either Sihwan Kim, winner of the 2004 U.S. Junior here at Olympic Club, or 54-year-old__George Zahringer__ (Knost's opponent in the third round), there's not a whole lot of star power remaining here in the Bay Area.