Two Wildcat golfers, Alex Carpenter and Tyler Sheppard, have qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship.

Carpenter, now a sophomore, earned his spot at the U.S. Amateur by winning first place in 8 out of 10 Amateur tournaments. Among those wins was the Southern Amateur in Birmingham, Ala., which gave Carpenter the opportunity to compete at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, Fla. in late March. Carpenter maintained the momentum of his successful 2009-2010 season by continuing to compete the summer.

“We’ll do good,” Carpenter said. “Sheppard and I have been hitting in the wind all summer.”

Sheppard earned his trip to the tournament by tying for third place with a 134 at The Woodlands Country Club near Houston, hitting 73-68. Michael Whitehead of Sugar Land won that tournament with 137.

However, Sheppard nearly missed out on the U.S. Amateur altogether. Due to a rain delay and some miscommunication, Sheppard ended up having only 30 seconds to tee off. Despite the close call, he continued to play well at the tournament, granting him a trip to Washington.

The tournament will take place Aug. 23-29 at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash. Each match will be 18 holes except for the championship, which is a 36-hole event consisting of 312 players. After just two days of play, the number of contenders will be drastically reduced to 64. Advancing players are chosen by the lowest scores, but the ACU teammates are not worried.

“We aren’t nervous, we are very confident,” said Carpenter.

But Carpenter and Sheppard are not the only successful Wildcats of the summer months. Cyril Bouniol, reigning  U.S. Division II national champion, competed in Finland at the European Amateur Championships. The French native finished strongly in seventh place.

Head Coach Mike Campbell will not be travelling with his two players to the amateur tournament but will stay in Abilene to be with the rest of the team.