But Past Champion Park Eliminated By Tanco

Village of Pinehurst , N.C. – Danielle Kang was happy to make it out of the first round of match play at the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior with a victory, but she wasn’t thrilled with how she was playing. After two resounding victories in the second and third round of match play Thursday at the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior, the 17-year-old stroke-play medalist from Thousand Oaks, Calif., was much happier.

Kang recorded a second-round 5-and-4 win over Kelli Oride of Lihue, Hawaii in the morning and then earned a 5-and-3

Danielle Kang celebrates holing out for birdie from a greenside bunker on the fourth hole in her third-round win over Haley Andreas. (John Mummert/USGA)

victory over Haley Andreas of Pacific Grove, Calif., in the third round on the par-72, 6,331-yard Dogwood Course at The Country Club of North Carolina

I’m pretty happy, said Kang, who is playing in her fourth Girls’ Junior. I keep telling myself to play my own game. Today I pretended I was just playing stroke play. I played pretty well. I was hitting the ball really well and my ball-striking was good.

On the par-4 fourth hole, Kang chipped in from a greenside bunker for birdie. It was a familiar scenario for Kang, who holed a greenside bunker shot on her 17th hole at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club two weeks ago to make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open by a stroke.

That really got my confidence up, said Kang of holing out against Andreas. I felt like I knew I could do it because of what happened at Oakmont.

Kristen Park’s hopes of another title were dashed by Victoria Tanco, 16, of Argentina, in the third round. Tanco, who survived a 25-hole marathon against Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand in the second round, had a much easier time against Park, the 2007 Girls’ Junior champion who was trying to become just the fourth multiple winner in the championship’s history.

Tanco, a quarterfinalist at the 2009 championship, won the first hole against the 17-year-old Park and never trailed en route to a 5-and-3 victory. Despite the lengthy second-round match in temperatures that neared 100 in the Sandhills region, Tanco had no trouble refocusing for her afternoon match against Park.

I just say that I was not tired so I just go out there and it was a lot better because I already knew the holes, said Tanco, who has played in three U.S. Women’s Opens. That helped me to play in the afternoon.

Ally McDonald, 17, of Fulton, Miss., staged a furious rally to earn a spot in the quarterfinals. Ginger Howard of Bradenton, Fla., held a 2-up lead after 16 holes but McDonald birdied No. 17 and 18 to square the match and earned the victory on the 19th with another birdie.

Also staging a rally was Mariko Tumangan, 16, of San Jose, Calif., who fell 3 down to Nicole Morales of South Salem, N.Y. Morales after four holes. But Tumangan slowly chipped away at the lead, eventually squaring the match with an eagle on the par-5 12th hole

Despite falling behind early, Tumangan didn’t panic.

I’ve been in that position before, said Tumangan, who had not trailed during her first two matches, a span of 29 holes. Sometimes it’s better because you don’t always have to keep a lead. I just stuck with my game and kept grinding it out and hitting good shots.

Stephanie Liu of St. Albans, Mo., recorded the largest margin of victory in the third round with a 7-and-6 win over Cali Hipp of Caldwell, Idaho. At age 13, Liu is the youngest of the quarterfinalists.

Also advancing to the quarterfinals were Katelyn Dambaugh, 15, of Goose Creek, S.C.; Gyeol Park, 14, of Korea; and Doris Chen, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., who reached the quarterfinals for a second consecutive year.

The 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior continues with quarterfinal and semifinal matches Friday. 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 Thursday’s second and third 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
Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (141) def. Kelli Oride, Lihue, Hawaii (153), 5 and 4
Haley Andreas, Pacific Grove, Calif. (155) def. Summar Roachell, Conway, Ark. (150), 7 and 6
Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. (156) def. Nicole Quinn, Windermere, Fla. (153), 4 and
Elisabeth Bernabe, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (147) def. Mikayla Harmon, Gilbert, Ariz. (152), 3 and 2
Gyeol Park , Korea (144) def. Grace Na, Oakland, Calif. (153), 1 up
Lindsey Weaver, Scottsdale, Ariz. (149) def. Brenna Nelsen, Monte Sereno, Calif. (151), 4 and 3
Mariko Tumangan, San Jose, Calif. (145) def. Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (153), 4 and 3
Nicole Morales, South Salem, N.Y. (151) def. Erica Herr, New Hope, Pa. (149), 19 holes

Lower Bracket
Ginger Howard, Bradenton, Fla. (142) def. Kendall Martindale, Jefferson City, Tenn. (153), 22 holes
Ally McDonald, Fulton, Miss. (150) def. Kyle Roig, Puerto Rico (150), 1 up
Victoria Tanco , Argentina (153) def. Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (147), 25 holes
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (148) def. Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale, Ga. (152), 1 up
Cali Hipp, Caldwell, Idaho (154) def. Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. (143), 21 holes
Stephanie Liu , St Albans, Mo. (149) def. Soobin Kim, Canada (150), 3 and 2
Christina Foster, Canada (153) def. Yueer Feng, Ppls Rep. of China (146), 2 up
Katelyn Dambaugh , Goose Creek, S.C. (151) def. Giovana Maymon, Mexico (156), 2 and 1

Round of 16
Upper Bracket
Kang def. Andreas, 5 and 3
Chen def. Bernabe, 3 and 1
Park def. Weaver, 2 up
Tumangan def. Morales, 3 and 1

Lower Bracket
McDonald def. Howard, 19 holes
Tanco def. Park, 5 and 3
Liu def. Hipp, 7 and 6
Dambaugh def. Foster, 4 and 3

Village of Pinehurst, N.C. – Pairings for Friday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior at the 6,331-yard, par-72 Country Club of North Carolina (All times EDT):

Quarterfinals
Upper Bracket
8 a.m.              Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (141) vs. Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. (156)
8:10 a.m.         Gyeol Park, Korea (144) vs. Mariko Tumangan, San Jose, Calif. (145)

Lower Bracket
8:20 a.m.         Ally McDonald, Fulton, Miss. (150) vs. Victoria Tanco, Argentina (153)
8:30 a.m.         Stephanie Liu, St Albans, Mo. (149) vs. Katelyn Dambaugh, Goose Creek, S.C. (151)