SANTA CRUZ – It seems the biggest and most prestigious amateur golf tournament in the country just wouldn’t be complete without a Wildcat in the field. Incoming Chico State men’s golfer Cody Thompson, set to join the ’Cats this fall, shot a 1-over par 145 during a 36-hole sectional qualifier Monday to earn a spot in the 110th U.S. Amateur Championship, taking place August 23-29 at Chambers Bay Golf Course in University Place, Wash. Thompson becomes the third Chico State golfer in as many years to compete for the coveted Havemeyer Cup.

Thompson, a Chico High and Butte College product who just missed getting to play in last year’s U.S. Amateur, grabbed the sectional’s final qualifying slot in dramatic fashion, with birdies on three of the last four holes at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz. He was among 61 golfers to advance during 21 qualifying tournaments played this week around the country; a total of 99 sectional qualifying tourneys will be conducted through August 10.

Thompson is now assured a spot in the 312-player U.S. Amateur Championship field that begins 36 holes of stroke play August 23 and 24 at Chambers Bay, the first municipal golf course to ever host the event. The top 64 golfers in stroke play will advance to match play beginning on the 25th, with the 36-hole match play championship slated for Sunday, August 29.

Thompson follows former Wildcat golfers Art Golden III and Ryan Trask into the U.S. Amateur Championship. Golden competed last year in Tulsa, Okla., while Trask was in the field when the 2008 U.S. Amateur Championship was held in Pinehurst, N.C.

The U.S. Amateur is the oldest golf championship in this country, one day older than the U.S. Open. Many of the great names of professional golf – Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Lanny Wadkins, Craig Stadler, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods – grace the Havemeyer Cup. Legendary golfer Bobby Jones captured the U.S. Amateur crown five times between 1924-1930.