Atholton sophomore pulls off major upset in Illinois
After surviving medal play by one stroke in the 63rd U.S. Girls Junior Championship, Columbia’s Bryana Nguyen, had a tough task, going against No. 4 seed Nicole Morales of South Salem, N.Y. in the opening round of match play Tuesday at the South Course at Olympia Fields Country Club (Ill.).
Morales had the experience of advancing to the round of 16 in match play last year, while Nguyen finished a distant 103rd in stroke play qualifying. But Nguyen ignored the disadvantage and played brilliant golf – making five birdies and no bogeys in 14 holes on her way to a 5 and 4 victory. Nguyen advances to the round of 32 Thursday morning, playing the No. 36 seed, Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif.
Nguyen, a sophomore this fall at Atholton, was runner up to Elyse Smidinger (Arundel) last October in the Maryland public schools championship.
She was the lone player from the Washington area to qualify for match play. Ju Hee Bae, a sophomore this fall at Chantilly who was runner up last week in the Virginia Women’s Amateur, shot 81-74 – 155, finishing a stroke shy of a playoff, which included six girls vying for three slots.
In the boys Junior Amateur at Gold Mountain Country Club in Bremerton, Wash., no Washington-area players advanced beyond stroke play. Keegan Boone, a senior at Gonzaga, shot 77-76 – 153, a stroke shy of a 12-players-for-10-slots playoff. Jordan Sweet, a recent graduate of DeMatha who is bound for Maryland, recovered from a rough opening round, shooting 83-72 – 155.
Richmond’s Adam Ball 73-71 – 144, tied for eighth in stroke play and advanced to the round of 32 with a match play victory on Tuesday. It is the second straight year in the round of 32 for Ball, a junior at St. Christopher School and son of Virginia Commonwealth golf coach Matt Ball.
Medalist Beau Hossler of Mission Viejo, Calif., who played in the U.S. Open last month at Congressional, shot 68-67 – 135 to capture medalist honors by four strokes. After losing the first four holes in match play on Tuesday, Hossler rallied to beat Miller Capps of Denver, N.C. 3 and 2. Former U.S. Junior Am champions Jordan Speith (2009) and Jim Liu (2010), both trying to join Tiger Woods as the only players in history to win the event more than once, also advanced.
