Hilton Head Island’s Garuppo pulls off match play surprise

Hilton Head Island’s Christian Garruppo, seeded 30th, defeated No. 3 seed Matt O’Quinn of Beaufort 2-and-1 in the 45th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship on Friday in Spartanburg.

Garruppo went 3-up in as many holes at South Carolina Country Club. O’Quinn responded, winning holes 10 and 11, but he bogyed No. 17, allowing Garruppo to seal his win with a par.

Garruppo’s upset was nearly the biggest of the day, only getting topped by No. 32 seed Brandon Coggins’ 3-and-2 win over No. 1 Connor Bruns.

No. 10 seed Andrew Orischak earned a spot in the quarterfinals after beating Matt Carter of Easley and Thomas Todd III of Lauren. Orischak won those matches one up and 5-and-4, respectively.

Orischak, a rising sophomore at the University of Virginia, carded an eagle on the par-5 13th hole.

Nick Russell of Hilton Head Island defeated Brandon Hiott of Walterboro 3-and-1 in the Round of 32.

The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played Saturday. The championship match is set Sunday.

Entry in the South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship is open to any male amateur who has reached his 13th birthday by June 14, 2017.

This story was originally published June 16, 2017 at 8:51 PM with the headline "Hilton Head Island’s Garuppo pulls off match play surprise."