Oct. 3, 2007

Greenville, S.C. - Former Furman men's golf standout Jordan Byrd won his first round match at the United States Mid-Amateur on Monday at Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Bandon, Ore., to advance to the round of 32.

Byrd, currently an assistant coach at Clemson, fired a 150 for the two rounds of stroke play to qualify for the 64-player match play field. He defeated Thomas McGraw of Montgomery, Texas, in the first round 4 &2. Byrd won the first hole with a birdie on the par five and had a three-up lead after just five holes. McGraw cut the margin to 1-up by winning the eighth hole. The two-time All-Southern Conference pick won the 14th and 16th holes with birdies to capture the match.

Byrd, who claimed the 1997 SoCon title while leading Furman to the team title, was three-under par for the 16 holes and had five birdies to win convincingly over the #21 seeded McGraw. He now meets Brandon Kearney of Bend, OR on Tuesday at 12:40 PM Eastern time.

The winner of the US Mid-Amateur receives an invitation to the 2008 Masters. Byrd's brother, PGA Tour professional Jonathan Byrd, has already qualified for the 2008 Masters.