Barrington, R.I. – Lydia Ko, 14, of New Zealand, and Jihee Kim, 17, of Korea, shared stroke-play honors at 7-under-par 136 in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the 6,399-yard, par-71 Rhode Island Country Club.
Ko made eight birdies on her way to a second-round 66 on Tuesday. Kim slipped a bit from her opening 66 with a 1-under-par 70, but still matched Ko’s 36-hole total. They finished one stroke ahead of Moriya Jutanugarn, 17, of Thailand, who fired a 67 for a 5-under-par 137 total.
Emma Talley, 17, of Princeton, Ky., finished alone at 138 after a second-round 68.
Ko’s 66 was the round of the day. While she claimed that putting is her weakness, on Tuesday her putter was magical. Teeing off on No. 10 she made her first birdie with a 20-foot putt on the 15th hole. She followed with a 4-foot birdie putt on No. 16 and a 10-foot birdie on No. 18 before making the turn.
A short putt on the first hole gave her another birdie. After a bogey on the third hole, she made four straight birdies on putts ranging from 2 to 36 feet. The 36-footer on the seventh hole was a surprise. I wasn’t really expecting to make it, said Ko. I started being in the zone.
Kim had 26 putts in Monday’s round but struggled on the greens Tuesday with 31 putts. It was a tough day, Kim said through an interpreter, her uncle John Pih. My shots were working today but my putting was not as good.
Informed that she was the co-medalist, Kim said, Tomorrow is another day. She has never competed in a match-play competition and is nervous going into Wednesday’s first round. All of her tournaments in Korea have been stroke-play events.
Kim and Ko each traveled from a half-world away to play in Rhode Island. Traveling with her coach Guy Wilson and her mother Tina Ko, Lydia Ko made an 18.5-hour flight from Auckland to Boston to play in sectional qualifying for this championship on July 20. The three then began a 30-day golf odyssey in California, where Ko played some of the state’s top courses before traveling back to New England.
Kim, who carded a 63 in last fall’s Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Argentina to help Korea win by 17 strokes, made a 14-hour flight from Korea. It is her first trip to the United States. While this is also her first U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, it’s also her last amateur competition. She plans to turn professional upon her return to Korea.
Ko is little-known outside of New Zealand. She gained notice from the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, supported by The R&A and the USGA, which gave her the No.-1 ranking among female amateurs. In April she claimed two of her nation’s amateur titles in the same week. She won the New Zealand Stroke Play title by 11 strokes over Cecilia Cho, the world’s No.-2 ranked amateur. She also won the Match Play Championship two days after turning 14, defeating Cho in the final, 4 and 3, to become that event’s youngest champion.
Ko said she will focus on the upcoming match-play rounds by thinking of past success. I’ll be thinking about the New Zealand Amateur, because I played pretty solid then, Ko said.
Jutanugarn was low amateur in last month’s U.S. Women’s Open at The Broadmoor. Satisfied with her second-round 67, Moriya said, I didn’t have a bogey. This makes me feel good.
On five holes, Jutanugarn used her putter to save pars. Teeing off on the second nine, she made a 6-foot putt at the 14th hole for her first birdie. She birdied the fifth hole from 3 feet and the sixth hole from 10 feet. Her last birdie was a tap-in on the par-5 eighth hole.
Jutanugarn’s sister, Ariya, won the 2011 U.S. Girls’ Junior in July. She also qualified for match play, finishing even par and tying for 10th.
The low 64 players advance to Wednesday’s first round of match play. The cut came at 149, seven over par, with five golfers playing off for one spot.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur continues Thursday with rounds two and three, with the quarterfinals and semifinals set for Friday and Saturday, respectively. The Women’s Amateur concludes with the 36-hole championship final Sunday.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, of which 10 are strictly for amateurs.
Rhonda Glenn is a manager of communications for the USGA. For questions and comments, e-mail her at rglenn@usga.org.
Barrington, R.I. – Results following Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the 6,399-yard, par-71 Rhode Island Country Club (*=in playoff):
Jihee Kim, Korea, 66-70--136
Lydia Ko, New Zealand, 70-66--136
Moriya Jutanugarn, Thailand, 70-67--137
Emma Talley, Princeton, Ky., 70-68--138
Casey Grice, College Station, Texas, 72-67--139
Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla., 69-71--140
Pamela Pretswell, Scotland, 69-72--141
Xi Yu Lin, People's Republic of China, 68-73--141
Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y., 71-70--141
Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C., 71-71--142
Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand, 70-72--142
Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas, 71-71--142
Jaye Marie Green, Boca Raton, Fla., 71-71--142
Victoria Tanco, Bradenton, Fla., 72-70--142
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif., 73-69--142
Courtney Gunter, Matthews, N.C., 70-72--142
Nicole Morales, South Salem, N.Y., 72-70--142
Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 74-69--143
Chihiro Ikeda, Philippines, 72-71--143
Marina Alex, Wayne, N.J., 71-72--143
Andrea Unson, Philippines, 70-73--143
Lauren Stratton, Spring Hill, Tenn., 70-73--143
Michelle Piyapattra, Corona, Calif., 73-70--143
Amy Meier, Rochester Hills, Mich., 72-71--143
Mariel Galdiano, Pearl City, Hawaii, 68-75--143
Lee Lopez, Whittier, Calif., 71-72--143
Brianna Cooper, Canada, 71-73--144
Demi Frances Runas, Torrance, Calif., 72-72--144
Danielle Kang, Westlake Village, Calif., 71-73--144
Amy Anderson, Oxbow, N.D., 73-71--144
Madeleine Sheils, Boise, Idaho, 71-73--144
Brooke Pancake, Chattanooga, Tenn., 71-73--144
Breanna Elliott, Australia, 74-70--144
Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii, 71-73--144
Cyna Rodriguez, Philippines, 70-74--144
Talia Campbell, Dallas, Texas, 74-71--145
Manuela Carbajo Re, Argentina, 74-71--145
Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis., 75-70--145
Kristina Merkle, Honolulu, Hawaii, 72-73--145
Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash., 72-73--145
Jennifer Kirby, Canada, 75-70--145
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif., 72-73--145
Lindy Duncan, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 72-73--145
Julie Yang, Mesa, Ariz., 75-70--145
Cindy Ha, Demarest, N.J., 73-73--146
Sarah Ababa, Philippines, 73-73--146
Mackenzie Brooke Henderson, Canada, 74-72--146
Emma De GnewsContent, Australia, 73-73--146
Christine Wong, Canada, 73-73--146
Kelly Shon, Port Washington, N.Y., 72-74--146
Jessica Wallace, Canada, 72-74--146
Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth, Texas, 71-75--146
Holly Clyburn, England, 72-74--146
Sophia Popov, Germany, 74-72--146
Sally Watson, Scotland, 72-75--147
Calle Nielson, Nashville, Tenn., 74-73--147
Tiffany Lim, San Jose, Calif., 72-75--147
Stephanie Kim, Tempe, Ariz., 71-76--147
Gabriela Lopez, Mexico, 73-75--148
Ket Preamchuen, Kennesaw, Ga., 76-72--148
Shu-Yin Liu, Chinese Taipei, 75-73--148
Crystal Reeves, Broken Arrow, Okla., 74-74--148
Lauren Dobashi, Gold River, Calif., 72-76--148
*Elyse Smidinger, Crofton, Md., 76-73--149 (4, 4)
Failed to qualify*Emily Collins, Colleyville, Texas, 72-77--149 (4, 5)
*Kendall Prince, Lake Oswego, Ore., 74-75--149 (4, 5)
*Brittany Henderson, Canada, 72-77--149 (5)
*Haley Stephens, Greer, S.C., 75-74--149 (x)
Kaitlin Park, Tustin, Calif., 74-76--150
Jayvie Agojo, Philippines, 76-74--150
Rachel Rohanna, Waynesburg, Pa., 75-75--150
Jaclyn Jansen, Effingham, Ill., 77-73--150
Brianna Do, Viet Nam, 78-72--150
Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif., 79-71--150
Erica Rivard, Canada, 73-77--150
Rebecca Lee-Bentham, Canada, 76-74--150
Marissa Dodd, Allen, Texas, 75-75--150
Ashley Armstrong, Flossmoor, Ill., 78-72--150
Angel Yin, Arcadia, Calif., 77-73--150
Taelor Rubin, Raleigh, N.C., 76-75--151
Lauren Taylor, England, 77-74--151
Samantha S. Marks, Maitland, Fla., 77-74--151
Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass., 76-75--151
Kayli Quinton, Houston, Texas, 76-75--151
Kuriko Tsukiyama, West New York, N.J., 75-76--151
Margarita Ramos, Mexico, 75-76--151
Mallory Viera, Howey In The Hills, Fla., 75-76--151
Margaret Shirley, Athens, Ga., 78-73--151
Dottie Ardina, Philippines, 77-74--151
Hannah Collier, Birmingham, Ala., 79-72--151
Allyssa Ferrell, Edgerton, Wis., 77-75--152
Paige Lee, Folsom, Calif., 77-75--152
Kris Yoo, Schaumburg, Ill., 73-79--152
Jillian Fraccola, Manlius, N.Y., 74-78--152
Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J., 73-79--152
Samantha Wagner, Windermere, Fla., 76-76--152
Jessica Hollandsworth, Floyd, Va., 75-77--152
Jenny Hahn, Henderson, Nev., 75-78--153
Nicole Zhang, Canada, 77-76--153
Christina Foster, Canada, 78-75--153
Amy Ruengmateekhun, Garland, Texas, 76-77--153
Carol Robertson, Virginia Beach, Va., 79-74--153
Brittany Marchand, Canada, 78-76--154
Martha Leach, Hebron, Ky., 75-79--154
Chelsey Couch, Ware Shoals, S.C., 79-75--154
Christine Wolf, Austria, 77-77--154
Meghan Stasi, Oakland Park, Fla., 75-79--154
Hee Wook Choi, San Diego, Calif., 78-76--154
Anna Hancock, Lakeland, Fla., 82-72--154
Olivia Lansing, Dellwood, Minn., 73-82--155
Hana Lee, Korea, 79-76--155
Hannah Sodersten, Fresno, Calif., 77-78--155
Alejandra Cangrejo, Colombia, 74-81--155
Anna Christenson, Denver, Colo., 79-76--155
Jacqueline Williams, Fair Oaks, Calif., 79-76--155
Kate Scarpetta, Crystal Lakes, Pa., 78-77--155
Taylor Totland, Tinton Falls, N.J., 78-77--155
Delaney Howson, Canada, 78-77--155
Sierra Sims, Austin, Texas, 79-77--156
Jordan Ferreira, University Place, Wash., 75-81--156
Abby Newton, Katy, Texas, 77-79--156
Samantha Swinehart, Lancaster, Ohio, 77-79--156
Emily Podzielinski, Noblesville, Ind., 77-79--156
Sarah Bae, Cary, N.C., 78-78--156
Steffi Neisen, New Prague, Minn., 79-78--157
Jenni Jenq, Saratoga, Calif., 79-78--157
Yugene Lee, Athens, Ga., 79-78--157
Mikayla Harmon, Gilbert, Ariz., 78-79--157
Betty Chen, Castro Valley, Calif., 78-79--157
Juliet Vongphoumy, Providence, R.I., 82-75--157
Allison Emrey, Charlotte, N.C., 76-82--158
Amy West, Valrico, Fla., 77-81--158
Isabella Loza, Colombia, 79-79--158
Allison Harper, Columbus, Ohio, 82-77--159
Carly Werwie, Kenosha, Wis., 79-81--160
Kristen Rue, Gig Harbor, Wash., 78-82--160
Courtney Hooton, Del Mar, Calif., 79-81--160
Gianna Misenhelter, Overland Park, Kan., 77-83--160
Kailey Walsh, Boca Raton, Fla., 82-79--161
Courtney Boe, Bluffton, S.C., 82-79--161
Thuhashini Selvaratnam, Sri Lanka, 82-79--161
Amelia Ek, Cypress, Calif., 78-83--161
Darcie Richmond, Mill Creek, Wash., 83-79--162
Taylor Newlin, Frisco, Texas, 80-83--163
Mina Hardin, Ft Worth, Texas, 82-81--163
Alexa Rancourt, South Portland, Maine, 77-86--163
Alisa White, Hereford, Texas, 81-82--163
Samantha Stancato, Colorado Springs, Colo., 83-81--164
Shannon Lubar, Littleton, Colo., 80-85--165
Tanya Olson, Naperville, Ill., 85-80--165
Sherry Herman, Belmar, N.J., 84-81--165
Shang-Fan Huang, Sugar Land, Texas, 85-82--167
Shabril Brewer, Herndon, Va., 80-88--168
Alexandra Frazier, Haverford, Pa., 80-88--168
Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif., 86-84--170
Asia Adell, Fresno, Calif., 85-WD—WD
Barrington, R.I. – Pairings for Wednesday’s first round of match play at the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the 6,399-yard, par-71 Rhode Island Country Club:
Round of 64
Upper Bracket
9 a.m.: Jihee Kim, Korea (136) vs. Elyse Smidinger, Crofton, Md. (149)
9:10 a.m.: Brooke Pancake, Chattanooga, Tenn. (144) vs. Breanna Elliott, Australia (144)
9:20 a.m.: Courtney Gunter, Matthews, N.C. (142) vs. Christine Wong, Canada (146)
9:30 a.m.: Nicole Morales, South Salem, N.Y. (142) vs. Emma De GnewsContent, Australia (146)
9:40 a.m.: Xi Yu Lin, People's Republic of China (141) vs. Tiffany Lim, San Jose, Calif. (147)
9:50 a.m.: Mariel Galdiano, Pearl City, Hawaii (143) vs. Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (145)
10 a.m.: Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y. (141) vs. Calle Nielson, Nashville, Tenn. (147)
10:10 a.m.: Amy Meier, Rochester Hills, Mich. (143) vs. Jennifer Kirby, Canada (145)
10:20 a.m.: Emma Talley, Princeton, Ky. (138) vs. Shu-Yin Liu, Chinese Taipei (148)
10:30 a.m.: Danielle Kang, Westlake Village, Calif. (144) vs. Talia Campbell, Dallas, Texas (145)
10:40 a.m.: Jaye Marie Green, Boca Raton, Fla. (142) vs. Chelsea Mocio, Fort Worth, Texas (146)
10:50 a.m.: Marina Alex, Wayne, N.J. (143) vs. Cindy Ha, Demarest, N.J. (146)
11 a.m.: Casey Grice, College Station, Texas (139) vs. Ket Preamchuen, Kennesaw, Ga. (148)
11:10 a.m.: Demi Frances Runas, Torrance, Calif. (144) vs. Manuela Carbajo Re, Argentina (145)
11:20 a.m.: Lisa McCloskey, Montgomery, Texas (142) vs. Holly Clyburn, England (146)
11:30 a.m.: Andrea Unson, Philippines (143) vs. Julie Yang, Mesa, Ariz. (145)
Lower Bracket
11:40 a.m.: Lydia Ko, New Zealand (136) vs. Lauren Dobashi, Gold River, Calif. (148)
11:50 a.m.: Madeleine Sheils, Boise, Idaho (144) vs. Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (144)
12 p.m.: Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (142) vs. Kelly Shon, Port Washington, N.Y. (146)
12:10 p.m.: Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (143) vs. Mackenzie Brooke Henderson, Canada (146)
12:20 p.m.: Pamela Pretswell, Scotland (141) vs. Stephanie Kim, Tempe, Ariz. (147)
12:30 p.m.: Lee Lopez, Whittier, Calif. (143) vs. Kristina Merkle, Honolulu, Hawaii (145)
12:40 p.m.: Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C. (142) vs. Sally Watson, Scotland (147)
12:50 p.m.: Michelle Piyapattra, Corona, Calif. (143) vs. Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (145)
1 p.m.: Moriya Jutanugarn, Thailand (137) vs. Crystal Reeves, Broken Arrow, Okla. (148)
1:10 p.m.: Amy Anderson, Oxbow, N.D. (144) vs. Cyna Rodriguez, Philippines (144)
1:20 p.m.: Victoria Tanco, Bradenton, Fla. (142) vs. Jessica Wallace, Canada (146)
1:30 p.m.: Chihiro Ikeda, Philippines (143) vs. Sarah Ababa, Philippines (146)
1:40 p.m.: Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. (140) vs. Gabriela Lopez, Mexico (148)
1:50 p.m.: Brianna Cooper, Canada (144) vs. Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (145)
2 p.m.: Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (142) vs. Sophia Popov, Germany (146)
2:10 p.m.: Lauren Stratton, Spring Hill, Tenn. (143) vs. Lindy Duncan, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (145)