Village of Pinehurst
, N.C.
– Danielle Kang knew all too well the peril that can await the stroke-play medalist in the
first round of match play at a USGA championship. A year ago, after earning medalist honors
at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she was promptly eliminated in the first round.
Kang avoided a similar fate at the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior Wednesday when she earned a
hard-fought 1-up victory over
Alejandra Cangrejo, 17, of Colombia in the first round at the par-72, 6,331-yard Dogwood
Course at The Country Club of North Carolina.
Past champion Kristen Park easily advanced into the second round.
(John Mummert/USGA)
Kang, 17, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., knew she would have her work cut out for her
against Cangrejo, a semifinalist in the championship a year ago.
She really brought it on, said Kang, who is playing in her fourth Girls’ Junior. I was trying my
best out there to even it up.
Kang held a 2-up lead after 10 holes, but a birdie by Cangrejo on No. 11 and back-to-back
bogeys by Kang on 12 and 13 gave Cangrejo a 1-up advantage. But Kang did not panic.
I just keep telling myself, ‘One hole at a time, we still have four more holes to go and
anything can happen in match play,’ said Kang. Just keep giving myself shots so I could come
back.
That opportunity came on the par-3 16th hole, when Kang made a 7-foot par putt and Cangrejo
was unable to match from 6 feet.
I just told myself, ‘I need to make this putt – this is probably the game putt right here,’
she said. I knew I had to make it with just three holes to go.
With the match all square, Cangrejo found trouble off the tee on the par-5 18th hole when
her ball landed in a Magnolia tree to the right of the fairway. She needed to take an unplayable
lie and eventually conceded Kang’s par putt, allowing the medalist to advance.
Kristen
Park
, 17, of Buena Park, Calif., had a much easier time advancing out of the first round. The
2007 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion never trailed en route to a 4-and-3 victory over Alexandra
Newell, 17, of Tampa, Fla. But Park wasn’t completely satisfied with her play.
I’m not that happy with how I hit the ball, so I am going to go to the range, said Park, who is
trying to become just the fourth player in the 62-year history of the championship to win
multiple titles. Other than that, I played pretty solidly today. It wasn’t just solid enough for
me to be satisfied.
The largest margin of victory in the first round belonged to Mariko
Tumangan, 16, of San Jose, Calif., who earned an 8-and-6 win overMarissa Dodd, 16, of
Allen, Texas. Tumangan, who had a hole-in-one during the second round of stroke play, said she
preferred the match-play portion of the championship.
There’s a lot less pressure, said Tumangan. The first and second days are nerve-wracking –
you need to play well in order to qualify. But match play is fun. It’s a whole different game.
The 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior continues Thursday with the second and third
rounds of match play. The quarterfinal and semifinal matches are on Friday, and the 36-hole
championship final will be played Saturday.
The U.S. Girls’ Junior is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United
States Golf Association each year, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Story written by Beth Murrison, USGA Manager of Championship Communications. For
questions or comments, contact her at
bmurrison@usga.org
.
Village of Pinehurst, N.C. – Results following Wednesday’s first round of match play at
the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior at the 6,331-yard, par-72 Country Club of North Carolina:
Round of 64
Upper Bracket
Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (141) def. Alejandra Cangrejo, Colombia, 1 up
Kelli Oride, Lihue, Hawaii (153) def. Collins Bradshaw, Columbia, S.C. (153), 19 hole
Summar Roachell, Conway, Ark. (150) def. Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J. (155), 19 holes
Haley Andreas, Pacific Grove, Calif. (155) def. Jaye Marie Green, Boca Raton,
Fla. (150), 2 and 1
Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. (156) def. Jisoo Keel, Canada (147), 2 and 1
Nicole Quinn, Windermere, Fla. (153) def. Jordan Lippetz, Bradenton, Fla.
(154), 1 up
Elisabeth Bernabe, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (147) def. Veronica Valerio, Temecula,
Calif. (156), 3 and 2
Mikayla Harmon, Gilbert, Ariz. (152) def. Shelby Phillips, Gilbrt, Ariz. (155),
1 up
Gyeol Park, Korea (144) def. Mariana Sims, Austin, Texas, 2 and 1
Grace Na, Oakland, Calif. (153) def. Katie Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (154), 1 up
Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. (149) def. Beverly Vatananugulkit, Cerritos,
Calif. (156), 1 up
Brenna Nelsen, Monte Sereno, Calif. (151) def. Linda Luo, Canada (155), 6 and
4
Mariko Tumangan, San Jose, Calif. (145) def. Marissa Dodd, Allen, Texas, 8 and
6
Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (153) def. Brooke Henderson, Canada (154), 1
up
Erica Herr, New Hope, Pa. (149) def. Lindsay McGetrick, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
(156), 1 up
Nicole Morales, South Salem, N.Y. (151) def. Shawnee Martinez, Modesto, Calif.
(155), 4 and 3
Lower Bracket
Ginger Howard, Bradenton, Fla. (142) def. Hannah Sodersten, Fresno, Calif., 1 up
Kendall Martindale, Jefferson City, Tenn. (153) def. Sierra Sims, Austin, Texas
(153), 5 and 3
Ally McDonald, Fulton, Miss. (150) def. Kaitlin Park, Tustin Ranch, Calif.
(156), 2 and 1
Kyle Roig, Puerto Rico (150) def. Paveenuch Sritragul, Thailand (155), 4 and
3
Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (147) def. Cindy Ha, Demarest, N.J. (157), 1 up
Victoria Tanco, Argentina (153) def. Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
(154), 20 holes
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (148) def. Alexandra Newell, Tampa, Fla.
(156), 4 and 3
Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale, Ga. (152) def. Tiffany Lim, San Jose, Calif.
(155), 1 up
Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. (143) def. Emily Wright, Mason, Ohio (157), 2 up
Cali Hipp, Caldwell, Idaho (154) def. Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (153), 4
and 3
Stephanie Liu, St Albans, Mo. (149) def. Maddie Szeryk, Allen, Texas (156), 4
and 3
Soobin Kim, Canada (150) def. Lili Cammisa, Argentina (155), 3 and 1
Yueer Feng, Ppls Rep. of China (146) def. Kailey Walsh, Boca Raton, Fla. (157),
4 and 3
Christina Foster, Canada (153) def. Maia Schechter, Takoma Park, Md. (154), 6
and 5
Giovana Maymon, Mexico (156) def. Emma Talley, Princeton, Ky. (148), 2 and 1
Katelyn Dambaugh, Goose Creek, S.C. (151) def. Daniela Ordonez, Colombia (155),
4 and 3
Village of Pinehurst, N.C. – Pairings for Thursday’s second round of match play at the
2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior at the 6,331-yard, par-72 Country Club of North Carolina:
Round of 32
Upper Bracket
7:30 a.m. Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (141) vs. Kelli Oride,
Lihue, Hawaii (153)
7:39 a.m. Summar Roachell, Conway, Ark. (150) vs.
Haley Andreas, Pacific Grove, Calif. (155)
7:48 a.m. Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. (156) vs. Nicole
Quinn, Windermere, Fla. (153)
7:57 a.m. Elisabeth Bernabe, Anaheim Hills, Calif.
(147) vs. Mikayla Harmon, Gilbert, Ariz. (152)
8:06 a.m. Gyeol Park, Korea (144) vs. Grace Na,
Oakland, Calif. (153)
8:15 a.m. Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. (149) vs.
Brenna Nelsen, Monte Sereno, Calif. (151)
8:24 a.m. Mariko Tumangan, San Jose, Calif. (145) vs.
Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (153)
8:33 a.m. Erica Herr, New Hope, Pa. (149) vs. Nicole
Morales, South Salem, N.Y. (151)
Lower Bracket
8:42 a.m. Ginger Howard, Bradenton, Fla. (142) vs. Kendall Martindale,
Jefferson City, Tenn. (153)
8:51 a.m. Ally McDonald, Fulton, Miss. (150) vs. Kyle
Roig, Puerto Rico (150)
9:00 a.m. Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (147) vs.
Victoria Tanco, Argentina (153)
9:09 a.m. Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (148)
vs. Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale, Ga. (152)
9:18 a.m. Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. (143) vs. Cali
Hipp, Caldwell, Idaho (154)
9:27 a.m. Stephanie Liu, St Albans, Mo. (149) vs.
Soobin Kim, Canada (150)
9:36 a.m. Yueer Feng, Ppls Rep. of China (146) vs.
Christina Foster, Canada (153)
9:45 a.m. Giovana Maymon, Mexico (156) vs. Katelyn
Dambaugh, Goose Creek, S.C. (151)