Ada, Mich. (July 21) – Medalist Curtis Thompson survived a Wednesday-morning scare from No. 64 seed Scottie Scheffler and advanced to the second round of match play in the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, Mich.
Scheffler, a 14-year-old from Dallas who needed five playoff holes to grab the final match-play spot on Tuesday night, seemed to carry that momentum into Wednesday morning, three times finding himself 2 up over Thompson through the first 10 holes. However, the difference in driving distance between the slight youngster and the 17-year-old Thompson eventually led to Scheffler’s undoing, as Thompson grabbed the lead on the 15th hole and won by a 3 and 1 margin.
On 12 and 13, you could tell that he wasn’t hitting as good shots as he was hitting earlier in the round, Thompson said. I knew when I got to 15 – he’s only what 13, 14[years old] – I knew I could have him there because that hole is 470 [yards] and it was into the wind today. He had 3-wood and I had 8-iron. There’s a difference.
Gavin Hall, the 15-year-old from Pittsford, N.Y., who electrified Egypt Valley on Tuesday with his championship- and course-record round of 62, knew that he had to put the excitement of the previous day behind him quickly in order to move on in the championship.
It was pretty exciting, Hall said. I got a text from basically all my buddies and even everyone from the club where I belong. So I just enjoyed it last night and when I got up this morning, I had business to do and I had a match to take care of.
Hall kept his deft touch alive on Wednesday. After halving the first hole with Canadian Brandon Ng, Hall won five of the next six holes. His lead slipped to 2 up after 11 holes, but he went on to win by a 3-and-2 margin. Despite his apparent comfort with the match-play format, it is one that is fairly new to Hall.
This is basically one of the first match-play events I’ve played in, other than some of the local ones at home, Hall said. So it’s good to have one match under my belt.
Defending champion Jordan Spieth, 17, of Dallas, Texas, also made quick work of his first-round match, converting a 2-foot putt for birdie on the first hole and rolling on from there, defeating 15-year-old Chelso Barrett, of Keene, N.H., another survivor of Tuesday’s playoff, 7 and 5.
I would consider the first round of stroke play to be probably a little better, Spieth said. But, definitely, it all started on one. He hit it in there pretty close and then I stuck it in even closer. He missed it and I made it.
The first hole really is a big mental boost when you can do something like that. And then from there on in, once you get to about 3-up, that’s pretty comfortable.
Among the other matches of the day, Anthony Paolucci, the 17-year-old Californian who was the runner-up in the 2007 championship, defeated Dan Slavin of Massachusetts, 3 and 1, in a back-and-forth match. Aaron Kunitomo, 16, of Lahaina, Hawaii, upset No. 4 seed Wilson Bateman in 20 holes, while Jorge Fernandez Valdes of Argentina repeated his 2008 victory over Alabama’s Bobby Wyatt by the same 3 and 2 margin.
Story written by Christina Lance, coordinator of championship communications for the USGA.
Ada, Mich. – Results from the first round of match play on Wednesday at the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, being played at the 7,111-yard, par-72 Egypt Valley Country Club:
Upper Bracket
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (134) def. Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (149), 3 and 1
Denny McCarthy, Burtonsville, Md. (145) def. Grayson Murray, Raleigh, N.C. (145), 1 up
Devon Purser, Clearfield, Utah (147) def. Shugo Imahira, Bradenton, Fla. (140), 1 up
Adam Ball, Richmond, Va. (147) def. Marcel Puyat, Philippines (141), 4 and 3
Richard Jung, Canada (138) def. Max Carter, Lake Oswego, Ore. (148), 3 and 2
Sam Straka, Valdosta, Ga. (146) def. Brian Jung, Canada (143), 1 up
Ben Warnquist, Rockville, Md. (138) def. Peter Mathison, Jupiter, Fla. (148), 5 and 4
Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. (146) def. William Zalatoris, Plano, Texas (143), 4 and 2
Aaron Kunitomo, Lahaina, Hawaii (149) def. Wilson Bateman, Canada (136), 20 holes
Scott Wolfes, St Simons Island, Ga. (146) def. Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz. (144), 1 up
Lee McCoy, Palm Harbor, Fla. (148) def. J D Tomlinson, Gainesville, Fla. (139), 1 up
Zachary Wright, Phoenix, Ariz. (142) def. Matthew Mabrey, Little Rock, Ark. (147), 1 up
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. (136) def. Andrew Ariens, Mansfield, Texas (149), 5 and 3
Khaled Attieh, Saudi Arabia (146) def. Branson Davis, Mckinney, Texas (144), 1 up
Jorge Fernandez Valdes, Argentina (148) def. Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala. (139), 3 and 2
Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn. (142) def. Kevin Lee, Dacula, Ga. (147), 6 and 5
Lower Bracket
Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas (135) def. Chelso Barrett, Keene, N.H. (149), 7 and 5
Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. (145) def. Ben Crancer, Kirkwood, Mo. (145), 3 and 2
Andrew Lister, Haymarket, Va. (140) def. David Flynn, Elk Grove Village, Ill. (147), 7 and 5
Stephen Behr, Florence, S.C. (141) def. Justin Keiley, Haiku, Hawaii (147), 2 and 1
Andrew Fogg, Greenwood, Ind. (149) def. Wyndham Clark, Greenwood Village, Colo. (138), 1 up
Anthony Paolucci, Del Mar, Calif. (143) def. Dan Slavin, Waban, Mass. (146), 3 and 1
Emiliano Grillo, Argentina (138) def. Nicholas Scott, Englewood, Ohio (148), 5 and 3
Charles Martin, Lagrange, Ga. (143) def. Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif. (146), 2 and 1
Gavin Hall, Pittsford, N.Y. (135) def. Brandon Ng, Canada (149), 3 and 2
Alexander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif. (145) def. David Lee, Houston, Texas (146), 19 holes
Jonathan Garrick, Atherton, Calif. (147) def. Michael Bernard, Huber Heights, Ohio (140), 3 and 2
Charlie Saxon, Tulsa, Okla. (141) def. Kyle Kochevar, Glen Ellyn, Ill. (147), 4 and 3
Davis Womble, High Point, N.C. (136) def. Joey Petronio, Orlando, Fla. (149), 1 up
Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. (144) def. Peter Kim, Metuchen, N.J. (146), 2 up
Cody Proveaux, Leesville, S.C. (139) def. Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. (148), 7 and 6
Oliver Schniederjans, Powder Springs, Ga. (146) def. McCabe Buege, Rogers, Minn. (142), 1 up
Ada, Mich. – Pairings for the second round of match play on Thursday at the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, being played at the 7,111-yard, par-72 Egypt Valley Country Club:
Upper Bracket
7:30 a.m. Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (134) vs. Denny McCarthy, Burtonsville, Md. (145)
7:39 a.m. Devon Purser, Clearfield, Utah (147) vs. Adam Ball, Richmond, Va. (147)
7:48 a.m. Richard Jung, Canada (138) vs. Sam Straka, Valdosta, Ga. (146)
7:57 a.m. Ben Warnquist, Rockville, Md. (138) vs. Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. (146)
8:06 a.m. Aaron Kunitomo, Lahaina, Hawaii (149) vs. Scott Wolfes, St Simons Island, Ga. (146)
8:15 a.m. Lee McCoy, Palm Harbor, Fla. (148) vs. Zachary Wright, Phoenix, Ariz. (142)
8:24 a.m. Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. (136) vs. Khaled Attieh, Saudi Arabia (146)
8:33 a.m. Jorge Fernandez Valdes, Argentina (148) vs. Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn. (142)
Lower Bracket
8:42 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas (135) vs. Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. (145)
8:51 a.m. Andrew Lister, Haymarket, Va. (140) vs. Stephen Behr, Florence, S.C. (141)
9:00 a.m. Andrew Fogg, Greenwood, Ind. (149) vs. Anthony Paolucci, Del Mar, Calif. (143)
9:09 a.m. Emiliano Grillo, Argentina (138) vs. Charles Martin, Lagrange, Ga. (143)
9:18 a.m. Gavin Hall, Pittsford, N.Y. (135) vs. Alexander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif. (145)
9:27 a.m. Jonathan Garrick, Atherton, Calif. (147) vs. Charlie Saxon, Tulsa, Okla. (141)
9:36 a.m. Davis Womble, High Point, N.C. (136) vs. Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. (144)
9:45 a.m. Cody Proveaux, Leesville, S.C. (139) vs. Oliver Schniederjans, Powder Springs, Ga. (146)