WHEATON, Ill. -- Andy Roberts beat Mark Harrell 3 & 2 in the first round of match play Wednesday at the U.S. Public Links Championship, becoming the first No. 64 seed to upset No. 1 since 2002.
Roberts, of Owensboro, Ky., emerged from a 19-man playoff to secure one of the final 16 spots of match play. Then he defeated Harrell.
"That's neat," the 27-year-old Roberts said. "To beat No. 1 is great but it's still a long way from over."
Harrell, of Hazlehurst, Ga., was one of five players to complete the stroke-play qualifying rounds under par, finishing two shots ahead of Lucas Lee of Brazil, Eddie Olson of Aptos, Calif., and Clayton Rask of Ostego, Minn.
Danny Lee of New Zealand was 2 under, and Zack Byrd of Calabash, N.C., was 1 under.
Defending champion Casey Watabu of Kapaa, Hawaii, rebounded from an opening round 80 to shoot a 4-under 68 and easily make match play with a total of 4-over 148.
All 32 matches started Wednesday, and 15 finished before play was suspended due to darkness. The remaining 17 first-round matches will conclude as the second round begins Thursday morning.
In other complete first-round action, Nathan Pistacchio beat Steven Wilson, 6 & 4; Philip Arouca downed Danny Sorgini, 4 & 3; William Mitchell topped. Nathan Stamey, 2 & 1; Seung Yul Noh beat Jonathon Schram, 3 & 2; Ty Sanders got past Thomas Timby, 1-up (20 holes); Samuel Cyr defeated Daniel Woltman, 4 & 2; Corey Nagy edged Garrett Jones, 1-up; Clayton Rask upended Alan Hill, 2 & 1; Michael Bielawski advanced past Timothy Madigan, 2 & 1; Andrew Rauscher eliminated Junhak Lee, 2 & 1; Colt Knost beat Troy Merritt, 2 & 1; Danny Lee squeezed by Troy Johnson, 1-up; Christian Raynor downed Chris Baker, 2 & 1; and Cameron Knight ran past Brent Long, 3 & 2.
Quarterfinal and semifinal matches are scheduled to be played on Friday, followed by the 36-hole final match on Saturday.
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