U.S. Girls' Junior Blog

Hole 34 - 177-yard par 3

Doris Chen makes a 25-foot birdie putt to win the 62nd U.S. Girls' Junior Championship. Chen hit her tee shot with a hybrid to 25 feet. Dambaugh, needing to win the hole to extend the match, hit her hybrid to 12 feet. Her birdie putt was conceded after Chen made hers. Chen wins, 3 and 2.

 

Hole 33 - 395-yard par 4

Chen again increases her lead with a par on the 33rd hole. Dambaugh hit her approach shot to 35 feet and was well short on her birdie par. She lipped out her 10-footer for par. Chen hit her approach shot to 20 feet and lagged her birdie putt to 3 feet, which she converted for par. Chen is 3 up and dormie.

Hole 32 - 372-yard par 4

Doris Chen increases her lead to 2 up. Dambaugh hit her approach shot just over the green on the fringe, 40 feet from the hole. She lagged her birdie putt to 3 feet. Chen hit her approach to 10 feet and converted the birdie putt. Chen is 2 up with four holes to play.

Hole 31 - 195-yard par 3

Chen's tee shot with her hybrid club finds the right greenside bunker. She hit out to 5 feet and converted the par putt. Dambaugh's tee shot, also with a hybrid, landed 35 feet below the hole. She lagged her putt to 2 feet for a conceded par. Chen remains 1 up. 

Hole 30 - 555-yard par 5
Chen takes the lead for the first time since the 12th hole. Dambaugh's approach shot is long and lands on the fringe behind the green. Her pitch and run to the hole is short, leaving her 16 feet for par. Her par putt slid by the hole on the left. Chen hit her approach to 15 feet and her par putt just missed. Chen goes 1 up.

Hole 29 - 351-yard par 4

Chen immediately gets a hole back when Dambaugh topped her 3-wood off the tee and is fortunate that the rough catches the ball, which stopped 5 yards from the water. She hit her approach shot to 50 feet, then putted to 10 feet right of the hole. She missed her par putt to the right. Chen hit her approach from the fairway to 24 feet. Her birdie putt slid 4 feet past the hole, which she is able to convert for par. Match is all square. 

Hole 28 - 371-yard par 4 

Dambaugh regains the lead after knocking her approach shot from the right rough to 4 feet. Chen's approach shot landed in the right front fringe, 18 feet from the hole. She missed her birdie putt to the right. Dambaugh converted the birdie putt. Dambaugh is now 1 up. 

Hole 27 - 534-yard par 5

Both players found trouble off the tee - Dambaugh in a fairway bunker; Chen in deep rough left of the fairway. Both laid up. Chen's fourth shot sailed over the green. She chipped up to 10 feet and made the par putt. Dambaugh's fourth shot landed on the green, 20 feet from the hole. She missed the birdie putt but made a 2-footer for par. Match remains all square.

Hole 26 -- 155-yard par 3

Both players reached the green off the tee. Doris Chen missed her birdie from 12 feet and Katelyn Dambaugh continued to struggle with short birdie putts, missing from 7 feet. Match remains all square. 

Hole 25 -- 418-yard par 4

Both players recovered nicely from poorly executed shots to halve the hole with pars. Katelyn Dambaugh found a left-fairway bunker off the tee and used a fairway metal to advance the ball 40 yards into the rough. From there, she hit her third shot to 3 feet for a brilliant par. Doris Chen's approach found a greenside bunker and she blasted to 6 feet and saved a par. Match remains all square.

Hole 24 - 375-yard par 4 

The match has returned to all square as Katelyn Dambaugh is beginning to leak a little oil. She is spraying tee shots and it cost her on the 24th hole. She found the right rough and her approach came up short and right of the putting surface in the rough. Her recovery chip scooted 8 feet past the hole and she missed the par putt. Doris Chen safely was on the green, 60 feet from the hole. She putted to 4 feet and made the par putt. Match is all square.

Hole 23 - 448-yard par 5 

Doris Chen gets one back by making an 8-foot birdie putt. Katelyn Dambaugh missed the green with her approach and then failed to convert a 12-foot birdie attempt. Dambaugh is now 1 up. 

Hole 22 - 341-yard par 4

The hole is halved with pars after each reaches the green in two. Doris Chen lags from 35 feet to within a foot and is conceded her parr. Katelyn Dambaugh putts her 20-foot birdie past the hole 5 feet and makes the come-backer for par. Dambaugh remains 2 up.

Hole 21 - 123-yard par 3

Both players miss the green, but each is able to get up and down for par. Dambaugh remains 2 up.

Hole 20 - 381-yard par 4 

Both players missed the green with their approach shots; Katelyn Dambaugh to the left and Doris Chen to the right. Each chipped up to 4 feet and converted their par putts. Dambaugh remains 2 up.

Hole 19 - 384-yard par 4 

Katelyn Dambaugh increases her advantage to 2 up, knocking her approach shot to 10 feet. While she missed her birdie attempt, her par putt was conceded. Doris Chen's tee shot found the first cut of right rough. Then she proceeded to lip out two putts after knocking her approach on the green, the birdie try from 24 feet and her par attempt from 4 feet. Dambaugh holds a 2-up lead.

Some quick stats from the morning 18. Doris Chen hit 10 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens, while registering 32 putts. She shot the equivalent of 1-over-par 73, with the usual match-play concessions.

Katelyn Dambaugh has also struggled a little with the putter, missing golden chances for birdie on the last two holes. She has 31 putts. She has hit 11 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens. Dambaugh shot the equivalent of even-par 72.

The heat is definitely picking up. The second 18 will begin at 12:45 p.m. EDT.

Hole 18 - 440-yard par 5

Chen hit her approach shot to 20 feet. She missed the birdie putt but made her 3-footer for par. Dambaugh nearly holed her third shot, which spun back to 9 feet. She missed her birdie putt. Dambaugh holds a 1-up at the break.

Hole 17 - 362-yard par 4 

Chen hit her approach to the fringe, 14 feet from the hole, and missed her birdie putt. Dambaugh hit her approach from a buried lie in the left rough to 7 feet. She missed her birdie putt. Dambaugh remains 1 up. 

Hole 16 - 177-yard par 3 

The players trade par 3s. Chen hit a 5-wood 40 feet past the hole. She lagged her birdie putt to 3 feet and made the par putt. Dambaugh also hit a 5-wood, to 25 feet. Her birdie putt went 3 feet by and she converted for par. Dambaugh remains 1 up. 

Hole 15 - 395-yard par 4

Chen hit her drive into a right fairway bunker. She topped her shot out of the bunker with a fairway metal and the ball rolled down the fairway 90 yards from the flagstick. She hit her third shot to 8 feet and pushed her par putt right. Dambaugh hit her approach from the fairway to 35 feet. She left her birdie putt 4 feet short but was able to convert the par putt to take her first lead. Dambaugh goes 1 up. 

Hole 14 - 372-yard par 4
Dambaugh's approach spins off the green and stops 30 feet from the hole. She pitched to 2 feet, which was conceded for par. Chen hit her approach shot to 18 feet. Her birdie putt slid 4 feet by the hole, and she was able to convert the par putt. Match is all square.  

Hole 13 - 195-yard par 3
Chen hit her tee shot with a hybrid into the left greenside bunker. She blasted out to 6 feet and burned the left lip of the hole with her par putt. It was her first bogey of the day. Dambaugh hit her hybrid to 27 feet. She missed her birdie putt to the right but converted her 2-footer for par to square the match. Match is all square. 

Hole 12 - 555-yard par 5
Dambaugh hit her approach shot 15 feet above the hole and missed her birdie putt to the right. Chen, who hit her approach to 16 feet, missed her birdie putt and converted a 5-footer for par. Chen remains 1 up.

Hole 11 - 351-yard par 4
Dambaugh hit her approach from the left rough to 35 feet below the hole. She lagged her birdie putt to 4 feet and converted the par putt. Chen laid up short of the water off the tee and hit approach shot from the fairway to 10 feet. Her birdie putt burned the left edge of the hole, and she converted her 3-footer for par. Chen remains 1 up.

Hole 10 - 371-yard par 4
Dambaugh hit her approach shot to 12 feet and made her birdie putt. Chen's 35-foot birdie putt went 5 feet past the hole. Chen is now 1 up.

Hole 9 - 534-yard par 5
Dambaugh spun her approach shot to 6 feet but missed her birdie putt left. Chen two-putted from 10 feet. Chen remains 2 up.

Hole 8 - 155-yard par 3
Dambaugh nearly chipped in from 25 feet, the ball stopping inches from the hole. Chen missed a 15-foot birdie putt but made her 2-footer for par. Chen remains 2 up.

Hole 7 - 418-yard par 4
Dambaugh hit her approach shot to 20 and missed her birdie putt left. Chen hit her approach shot to 45 feet and made the long birdie putt. Chen goes 2 up.

Hole 6 - 375-yard par 4
Dambaugh putted from the fringe, 30 feet from the hole, and made her 2-footer for par. Chen safely two-putted from 40 feet for par. Chen remains 1 up.

Hole 5 - 448-yard par 5
Dambaugh hit her second shot from 197 yards with a 5-wood to 8 feet. She missed her eagle putt to the right but made her birdie putt from 2 feet. Chen laid up with an iron. She hit her approach shot from the right rough to 10 feet, but missed her birdie putt to the right. Chen is now 1 up.

Hole 4 - 341-yard par 4
Dambaugh hit her approach shot long and just right of the green in the fringe 25 feet from the hole. She pitched to 3 feet and her par putt lipped out. Chen hit her approach shot long and her ball landed behind the green in a collection area. She pitched to 7 feet and made her par putt. Chen goes 2 up.

Hole 3 - 123-yard par 3
Dambaugh's tee shot spun back to the fringe of the green. She missed her 25-foot birdie putt by 2 feet. Chen's tee shot landed 20 feet from the hole. She missed her birdie putt to the left. Chen remains 1 up.

Hole 2 - 369-yard par 4
Dambaugh pulled her approach from the right intermediate rough and the ball landed short and right of the green. She pitched to 7 feet past the hole and missed her par putt left. Chen was just short of the green with her approach from the left intermediate rough. She pitched to 18 inches, which was conceded for par. Chen goes 1 up.

Hole 1 - 384-yard par 4
Dambaugh hit her approach to 8 feet. She lipped out her birdie putt and made a 3-footer for par. Chen hit her approach to 9 feet. She missed the birdie putt right and made her 2-footer for par. Match is all square. 


After two rounds of stroke play and three days of matches, we are finally down to our final two golfers: Doris Chen, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., and 15-year-old Katelyn Dambaugh of Goose Creek, S.C. The 36-hole final takes place today at The Country Club of North Carolina's Dogwood Course and we'll provide hole-by-hole updates of the proceedings.

The U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Junior Amateur not only attracts the best young players in the game, but also a cavalcade of college coaches. More than 100 were here at The Country Club of North Carolina this week checking out potential future players. Most have left the premises here at CCNC as the field has dwindled to just eight players, but the University of Florida assistant and new University of Miami coach Patti Rizzo were still around on Friday morning. Rizzo's name might ring a bell as she recorded 14 worldwide professional victories, including four on the LPGA Tour. She also was the runner-up to Juli Inkster at the 1980 U.S. Women's Amateur at Prairie Dunes C.C., losing 2 down in the 36-hole final.

Rizzo is trying to rebuild the Hurricane program from scratch and hopes to land some top players for the Class of 2011.

The weather reports are gettting rather boring this week. Hot, hot and more hot. Excruciatingly hot. And humid. Just walked nine holes with the lead match and I needed to get inside to the air-conditioned clubhouse. It's like walking around in a steam room. Amazingly, these girls are waging on with grit and determination.

Doris Chen easily could have made the turn three or four holes up. She has had golden chances for birdies and can't get anything to fall. She missed two birdie putts -- on holes 5 and 7 from inside 7 feet. She held a 1-up advantage at the turn. Danielle Kang finally made a birdie putt at No. 9 after putting the ball off the green at at the par-3 eighth hole.

We also could have the first female left-handed champion. Katelyn Dambaugh of Goose Creek, S.C., has a 2-up lead on Stephanie Liu. While the USGA has crowned five left-handed male champions -- the first coming at the 1988 U.S. Amateur Public Links (Ralph Howe III) -- no female lefties have won a USGA title. The late Toni Wiesner reached three USGA Senior Women's Amateur finals and came up short each time.

For those planning to come out and watch the U.S. Girls' Junior today, bring plenty of sun block, drink lots of water and wear a hat. Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 90s and with the stifling humidity, the Heat Index will reach triple digits. Yesterday, the players made it through the first round OK, but a couple of caddies had to be treated by medical staff for heat-related issues.

On the course, the matches should be outstanding. Here are a couple to keep an eye on:

Victoria Tanco vs. Ariya Jutanugarn. Jutanugarn, a 15-year-old from Thailand, was the medalist at last month's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and reached the quarterfinalis of the 2009 Girls' Junior, beating defending champion Alexis Thompson in the round of 16. Tanco, 16, of Argentina, is a three-time U.S. Women's Open qualifier and a past American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year.

Mariah Stackhouse vs. Kristen Park. Park won the 2007 Girls' Junior and recently claimed the AJGA Tournament of Champions in Arkansas. Stackhouse was a member of Georgia's winning USGA Women's State Team Championship squad last fall and competed in the LPGA Tour's MoJo event earlier this year.

Ginger Howard vs. Kendall Martindale. Howard won the Big I event at CCNC two years ago. Martindale played for Tennessee at last year's USGA Women's State Team Championship. She is headed to Vanderbilt.

Talented Argentinean teen Victoria Tanco could have flown over to France this week to compete in the LPGA Tour's Evian Masters on a sponsor's exemption. But Tanco, who has qualified for the last three U.S. Women's Opens, decided she would rather compete amongst her peers at the U.S. Girls' Junior at The Country Club of North Carolina.

Good for her.

In an era where youngsters are so eager to turn pro and compete with the stars, here's a young lady who gets it. There will be many future opportunities for Tanco, and she obviously has her priorities in order.

In talking with Golfweek,com, Tanco said, "The USGA is so good and they let us qualify for the U.S. [Women's] Open so I said it’s better to stay here because I get to play in USGA tournament – it’s really nice.”

Tanco opened with a disappointing 80, but bounced back with a 73 on Tuesday to easily qualify for match play. She is taking on 14-year-old Gabriella Then of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., another 2010 U.S. Women's Open qualifier. The winner could face 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links stroke-play medalist Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand. Jutanugarn reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Girls' Junior, beating 2008 champion Alexis Thompson in the third round. She also qualified for the Honda Thailand LPGA event as an 11-year-old.

We started the 2010 U.S. Girls' Junior with four sets of sisters and two sets have qualified for match play: Erynne and Katie Lee, and Mariana Sierra Sims. Alexandra Newell qualified for match play, while her sister Anneliese did not qualify. Both Murrays, Laura and Lindsay, also failed to advance. Robbie Howard, the younger sister of No. 2 seed Ginger Howard and a fine player in her own right, is caddying for her sister.

Past champion Kristen Park also advanced and will take on Alexandra Newell in the first round.

Other notables to advance included 2009 semifinalist Doris Chen, past American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year Victoria Tanco, 2009 USGA Women's State Team champion member Mariah Stackhouse (Georgia), 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior runner-up Karen Chung and 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links stroke-play medalist Ariya Jutanugarn. The youngest player to advance was 12-year-old Megan Khang of Rockland, Mass.

The playoff for the final five match-play spots has begun this morning at the par-5 12th hole. The first threesome of Emily Wright, Mariana Sims and Marissa Dodd just completed the hole, with Wright making a bogey-6 and the other two recording pars. If the final three players make par or better on the hole, we'll have our match-play draw complete. Dottie Ardina, 2008 semifinalist Alejandra Cangrejo and Hannah Sodersten are in the final threesome.

The playoff for the final spots has come to an end. Alejandra Cangrejo of Colombia, a semifinalist in 2009, made a 6, as did Hannah Sodersten, but Dottie Ardina of the Philippines recorded a 7. Ardina was eliminated. Wright, who also made a 6, slipped into the field.

The first round matches have begun. We'll have 32 today.

The first three scores are in from the 11-for-7 playoff for the final spots. Cindy Ha from Demarest, N.J., virtually assured herself of a spot with a birdie-3. Emily Wright of Mason, Ohio had a 4 and Ri Hyang Park of Japan bogeyed the hole and at the moment appears out of the running.

The second group of four players just completed No. 10, with Kelley Walsh of Boca Raton, Fla., advancing through with a birdie-3. Hannah Sodersten, Marissa Dodd and Mariana Sims all made 4s.

One more foursome left and it's starting to get dark outside.

Dottie Ardina and Alejandra Cangrejo, a semifinalist last year, each remained alive in the playoff by making 4s. Taylor Moreno and Janie Jackson were eliminated with bogeys. Park also has been eliminated.

The six players who made 4s are now playing off for the last five spots. USGA officials have deemed there is sufficient light to play one more hole. 

The par-4 11th hole failed to decide the final spot as all six remaining golfers made 4s. The playoff will resume on Wednesday morning at the 12th hole. The remaining players are Cangrejo, Sodersten, Ardina, Wright, Dodd and Sims.

The match-play cut at the Girls' Junior has come at 13-over 157, with 11 players vying for the final seven spots in the 64-player draw. The playoff is about to start shortly on the par-4 10th hole. Given the amount of daylight, the golfers likely will get one hole in before darkness sets in.

Mariko Tumangan, a 16-year-old from San Jose, Calif., picked a nice time for her first hole-in-one. Tumangan, who qualified for the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open, aced the 123-yard, third hole with a pitching wedge. 

“Regardless of the event, it was great,” said Tumangan, who has verbally committed to attend Stanford University in the fall of 2011. “We saw it go in. It spun back just a little to the left and it went in.” 

Tumangan’s eagle started a streak of 4-under golf in a five-hole stretch. She made three consecutive birdies from No. 5, then finished with a par at the eighth and a disappointing three-putt bogey at No. 9, her last of the round. Her 2-under-par 70 was one of three sub-par scores posted on the Dogwood Course on Tuesday. She also finished in the No. 4 qualifying spot for match play, which begins on Wednesday. 

“I feel great going into match play,” said Tumangan, competing in her fourth U.S. Girls’ Junior. “I’m going to go practice some putting and chipping right now. [But] I had a pretty good game today, except for a few putts that didn’t go in.” 

There are 108 college coaches on-site at The Country Club of North Carolina this week, but one player they don’t need to worry about recruiting is Danielle Kang. Kang finished high school last December so she could get an early start at Pepperdine University this spring.
And she made a splash right away – earning second-team All-American honors from Golfweek magazine. She was the medalist at the Bruin Wave Invitational, her second collegiate tournament, and was Pepperdine’s top finisher at the NCAA East Regional, where she finished sixth, and the NCAA Championship, where she tied for 15th.

But don’t expect Kang, who leads the charge for medalist honors midway through the second round, to think she has an advantage over the field because of her collegiate experience.
“It’s just another tournament, that’s how I look at it,” said Kang, who made the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago. “Whether it’s a college tournament or junior tournaments, it’s all just competitive rounds. I don’t really see the difference. You’re still fighting competitors for the trophy.” – Beth Murrison

Very impressive 67 shot by Danielle Kang today. It was 13 strokes better than the course average of 80.4. That number is quite shocking, but even more startling is the fact that several high-profile golfers struggled on Monday. Victoria Tanco of Argentina, considered by some to be a pre-championship favorite shot an 80. Tanco has qualified for the last three U.S. Women's Opens and is a past American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year.

Alison Lee, a two-time Women's Open qualifier, shot 79. Doris Chen, a semifinalist in 2009, shot 79. Alejandra Congrejo, another semifinalist from last year, carded a 77. Daniela Lendl had an 82. Tiffany Lim, one of two 2010 U.S. Girls' Junior participants to make the cut at the Women's Open two weeks ago, shot a 78. Erynne Lee, a 2008 Women's Amateur semifinalist, also shot 78.

Of course, it's only one round and you can bet some of those girls to rebound on Tuesday. But it adds plenty of pressure because there's not much wiggle room for error.

We also had some surprising rounds in the positive direction, especially the career-best 70 from 12-year-old Megan Khang from Massachusetts, who shot 86-91 in the 2009 Girls' Junior. Khang had the only eagle of the day when she holed out from 45 yards at the par-5 18th hole. A little luck never hurts.

But the best thing that happened on Monday was we never heard the horns blow. That meant golf took place all day without a single delay for weather.

Let's hope we can dodge thunderstorms again on Tuesday.

When Megan Khang of Rockland, Mass., played in the 2009 U.S. Girls' Junior at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., she posted rounds of 86-91. Nothing spectacular, but consider that she was only 11. This year, Khang qualified again for the Girls' Junior and showed massive improvement. How about a career-best 2-under-par 70 in the first round of stroke-play qualifying on a day when many players are struggling. Khang's 70 was only matched by Summar Roachell of Conway, Ark., in the morning wave of 78 golfers. On the par-5 18th, she holed out for eagle from 45 yards with a 54-degree wedge. That's when you know it's going to be a good day.

Clearly, The Country Club of North Carolina is winning so far at the U.S. Girls' Junior. Just one golfer has managed a sub-par round, Summar Roachell of Conway, Ark., who shot a 2-under 70. But there have been a few surprising scores. Victoria Tanco of Argentina, a three-time U.S. Women's Open qualifier, shot an 80, while Tiffany Lim, who made the cut at last week's U.S. Women's Open, had a 78, the same score posted by 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur semifinalist Erynne Lee.

Even with relatively soft conditions from the weekend rains, the course definitely is playing difficult.

We'll have more course statistics later on.

 

Attended the Players Dinner on Sunday night and it began with a bagpiper leading all the golfers into the ball room where chairs were assembled in rows. Speeches were then made by Cece Durbin of the USGA Women's Committee and the Chairman of the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship Committee and Sandy Labauve, who founded LPGA-USGA Girls Golf in Phoenix, Ariz. Labauve presented a distinguished service award to former USGA president Judy Bell, who is currently staying in the Pinehurst area. The event concluded with a speech by six-time USGA champion Hollis Stacy, a current member of the Girls' Junior Committee. Stacy won three consecutive U.S. Girls' Juniors from 1969 and then claimed three U.S. Women's Open titles as a professional. She told the girls how she learned from mistakes and conquered her nerves to become a great champion.