Of the almost 7,300 golfers who entered the U.S. Amateur, Patrick Reed is one of the final four remaining.

The 18-year-old Augustan defeated Canada's Graham Hill, 4 and 3, in Friday's quarterfinals at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C.

Reed, a freshman at Georgia, advances to play the world's top-ranked amateur, Danny Lee, at 9:15 this morning. Adam Mitchell, Reed's Georgia teammate, faces Drew Kittleson at 9 in the other semifinal

The two semifinal winners not only advance to Sunday's 36-hole final but also qualify for the 2009 Masters Tournament.

"I like our odds -- we're 50 percent right now over here. We have four people playing, two Bulldogs," Reed told The Associated Press. "Adam's playing really well, and if I can get by Danny Lee, it's going to get interesting."

Lee, of New Zealand, has put together an impressive August. He won medal play and match play in the prestigious Western Amateur before tying for 20th in his PGA Tour debut at the Wyndham Championship.

In U.S. Amateur match play, Lee has closed out all of his opponents before No. 16. That doesn't bother Reed, a three-time American Junior Golf Association All-American.

"If I keep hitting fairways and greens, it's going to wear on him," Reed said by cell phone Friday. "No golfer plays a perfect round. ... I know he's going to make some bogeys every now and then, and when he does, I'm going to need to make par."

Reed, No. 393 in the world, is battle-tested this week. Of the 312 players in the field, he entered the 64-player match play portion as the No. 62 seed. Reed proceeded to defeat No. 3 seed Dan Woltman in 19 holes in the first round.

Reed then knocked off Brady Exber, 4 and 3, in the second round. In Thursday's quarterfinal against Brandon Detweiler, Reed drilled a 12-foot birdie putt on the fourth sudden-death hole to extend the match before winning it one hole later.

Against Hill, Reed recovered from two early bogeys for a 4-up lead through 11 holes.

Now, the lone person standing between Reed and an Augusta National Golf Club invitation is Lee.

"I have nothing to lose," Reed said. "Nobody knows me around here. Everybody knows Danny Lee. Everybody expects him to walk over me."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.