Gainesville's Ralston moves into U.S. Amateur quarterfinals

PINEHURST, N.C. — Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston rolled into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur golf tournament Thursday with a pair of victories at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club courses.
 
Ralston opened the day with a back-and-forth duel with France’s Julien Sale sinking a birdie putt on No. 18 for a thrilling 1-up win in the Round of 32. He followed that with a dominating 6&5 win over Parker Cody of Plano, Tex., in the Round of 16.
 
In an interview after his Round of 16 win, Ralston, a former Gainesville High standout and current Georgia Bulldog golfer, said the winning birdie putt in the morning session was the key. He birdied the first two holes against Cody and never looked back. He blew it open winning Nos. 9, 10, and 11 for a 6-up lead. 
 
“That really helped my confidence,” he said. “I came out and hit more fairways (in the afternoon). I played pretty well the entire afternoon session but getting a quick lead was big.”
 
Ralston next will take on Andy Ogletree of Little Rock, Miss., in the quarterfinal round. The pair will tee-off at 2:45 p.m. on Friday.
 
Ralston said the plan is to keep it simple.
 
“I’m just going to try and hit fairways,” he said. “That was my approach in the afternoon so I’m going to try and keep that approach.”