University of Minnesota senior Andrew Paulson (White Bear Lake, Minn.) looked as if he couldn’t be beat, as he dominated Peter Malnati seven-and-six in his Round of 32 matchup this morning at the U.S. Amateur Public Links tournament. Paulson’s win streak ended, however, in the Round of 16, as he was defeated by Randall Hutchison of Traverse City, Mich. seven-and-five.

Paulson, and several other current and former Gophers, will now focus on a pair of Minnesota tournaments, the 105th Minnesota Golf Association Amateur Championship and the Minnesota State Open Championship. The MGA Amateur is scheduled for July 21-23 at Windsong Farm in Independence while the State Open will be played at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids from July 25-27.  

Paulson defeated Chan Kim of Chandler, Az. three and two in the opening round of match play. The match was all-square after the front nine and again as the players approached the 13th tee box. Paulson proceeded to win holes 13-15 and matched Kim’s par on 16 to put the match away.

Paulson appeared in six tournaments during his junior season at Minnesota and finished with a stroke average of 76.0, the fourth-lowest on the team. His best tournament of the season came in the Gopher Invitational, where he finished in a tie for seventh after carding a 3-over 219. He also placed seventh at the Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge with a 4-over 220.

The Amateur Public Links Championship is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.