“Being the underdog, I feel like there’s way less pressure on me to perform well,” he said after winning two matches Thursday over more well-established opponents to reach the quarterfinals. “I feel like I can go out there and play pretty free. That’s what we did for most of the holes out there.”
Abdo, who said he was not really recruited out of high school and wasn’t even in Edina’s state tournament lineup until his junior year, had a strong freshman season at Gustavus in 2024-25.
“This is my first time trying to qualify for the U.S. Am. I never felt like I was ready,” he said Thursday. “Coming out of high school, I was never really recruited at all. That kind of adds into this underdog story where no one really believes I’m capable of playing good golf like this. I know I am, and I’ve had that confidence even when I was in high school.”
We’ll find out Friday if his remarkable run continues. The semifinals are slated for Saturday with the championship match on Sunday.