BY: RORY SPEARS

Doug Ghim of Arlington Hts. became the first Chicago area medalist at the Western Amateur in over 30 years. The last to pull off the feat was Roy Biancalana of Franklin Park in 1983.

Ghim beat out Josh Munn of New Zealand and Bryson Dechambeau of California by shots to win. The sweet 16 match play gets underway this morning. The field will be trimmed to four players by the end of the day.

Joining Ghim in the Sweet Sixteen are two of his fellow teammates at the University of Texas, Beau Hossler, and Scottie Scheffler. Three members of the University of Illinois team made the final 16. Nick Hardy of Northbrook, along with Brian Campbell and Charlie Danielson.

Four players advanced from Australia, including Cory Crawford, not the Blackhawks goalie. Defending Champion Jordan Niebrugge was eliminated.