Cape Girardeau's Brevin Giebler is a veteran of the Missouri Amateur Championship golf tournament, and that experience was on display Thursday.
Giebler advanced to the Round of 32 with a 4 and 3 match-play victory over Conrad Maloney of Wildwood, Missouri, at Dalhousie Golf Club in the 111th annual Missouri Amateur Championship.
Giebler, who reached the semifinals in 2012 when the tournament was last held at Dalhousie, was one of four area golfers to win their Round of 64 match. His victory was the most decisive among area golfers as he wrapped it up in 15 holes, thanks to a four-hole lead.
Jackson's Drew Denton, ranked No. 16 after the two-day stroke play portion of the tournament, claimed a 2-and-1 win over Alex Ciaramitaro of St. Charles, Missouri.
Gabe Wheeler of Sikeston edged Warren Crow from Hillsboro, Missouri, by a hole, and in a battle of two local products, Cape Girardeau Central High School graduate Travis Simmons bested former Advance standout Brian Whitson by one hole.
Simmons, the third seed, will face No. 35 Ian Barnes at 9:48 a.m. Friday. The winner of that matchup advances to the Round of 16, which will be played this afternoon.
The quarterfinals and semifinals are Saturday, and the tournament concludes with the championship match at 9 a.m. Sunday.
Giebler, who's the 25th seed, will face No. 8 Brian Haskell from St. Joesph, Missouri, in the Round of 32 at 8:18 Friday.
Denton goes against Chris Martin, out of Rolla, Missouri, at 8:09 a.m., and Wheeler faces off against Joesph Williams out of St. Louis at 9:57 a.m. Along with Whitson, Notre Dame Regional High School alumnus Brady Dixon, Jackson's Jason Cahill and Dexter's Chance Holden were eliminated with losses Thursday. The leader after stroke play, St. Joseph's Brad Nurski, advanced to the Round of 32 with a 5 and 4 victory. He is the reigning champion and could face Denton Friday in a Round of 16 match.
The top 64 golfers following stroke play on Tuesday and Wednesday advanced to the match-play bracket.