TRUCKEE, Calif. – Jim Liu, 17, of Smithtown, N.Y., shot a 5-under-par 67 on Tuesday to earn medalist honors for the second consecutive year in the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the par-72, 7,740-yard Martis Camp Club. Liu, who carded a 69 in the first round, finished at 8-under 136.
Liu, who shared medalist honors with two other players at last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur, becomes the third player in the championship’s history to twice earn the stroke-play medal, joining Willie Wood and Tiger Woods. Liu fashioned a bogey-free second round, one stroke off the course record.
The U.S. Junior Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Saturday, July 27, starting at 7 a.m. PDT.
The U.S. Junior Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Liu, the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and the runner-up last year, started on the par-5 10th hole where he had to work hard for a three-putt par. But it was smooth sailing starting on the next hole when he struck a 5-iron to 8 feet for the first of five birdies. Liu made consecutive birdies on Nos. 1 and 2, the second when he hit a wedge to 2 feet. He added a two-putt birdie from 20 feet at the par-5 fourth.
To be medalist is a good honor, said Liu, who is participating in his fifth Junior Amateur championship. It’s something to be happy about. You take these two rounds, know that you’re playing well, and go forward.
Cameron Young, 16, of Scarborough, N.Y., was two strokes behind Liu with a two-round total of 138. Young, who added a two-under 70 to his first-round 68, made an eagle on the par-5 10th when he sank an 80-foot putt that broke left to right over a ridge. He made up for a hooked 3-wood at the par-4 16th with a 20-foot putt for birdie and ended the round with a 7-foot par putt on No. 18.
I played really well yesterday but not quite as strong today, said Young, who added that he is comfortable with the course and has a good feel for his distance at the 6,000-foot altitude. I will be more aggressive tomorrow, take on more bunkers off the tee, and go at a lot more flagsticks.
Scottie Scheffler, 17, of Dallas, who owned a piece of the first-round lead with a 67, was three strokes behind Liu with a 36-hole score of 139. He regrouped from a 2-over 38 on the outward nine with birdies on three of his last five holes. Corey Eddings, 17, of Roseville, Calif., who also shared the first-day lead, carded a 2-over 74 in the second round. He was among three players at 3-under 141 overall.
Davis Riley, 16, of Hattiesburg, Miss., shot a 3-under-par 69, and Zachary Bauchou, 17, of Forest, Va., carded his second consecutive 70, as both players completed stroke play at 4-under 140, tied for fourth place. Bauchou, who advanced to the Round of 16 at last year’s Junior Amateur, had six birdies and four bogeys. He capped his round by hitting a 178-yard 8-iron to 15 feet at No. 18 for his third birdie on the inward nine.
I had two up-and-down rounds, said Bauchou, who played in U.S. Open sectional qualifying at Rockville, Md., last month. I made a lot of birdies and a lot of putts. Everything resets [in match play]. When I get to the tee my two 70s are gone. I just have to beat the other guy.
Riley shot an even-par 36 on the outward nine, but jump-started his second round with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 10 and 11. He made a 12-foot putt at the par-5 10th, before striking an 8-iron to 2 feet at the par-4 11th. Riley, who reached the Round of 32 at last year’s Junior Amateur, later eagled the 569-yard, par-5 15th. He chased a 4-iron 240 yards to within 8 feet. A bogey at No. 16 left him 4-under overall for the championship.
I am hitting the ball really well, said Riley, who started his first round on Monday with an eagle on the par-5 10th. I feel like if I keep doing what I am doing I will go really far. In match play you are not really worried about the whole field like stroke play.
Sam Horsfield, 16, of England, and Jorge Antonio Garcia, 17, of Venezuela, joined Eddings in a tie for sixth place with two-round scores of 141. Horsfield added a 1-under-par 71 to his first-round 70. Horsfield, who advanced to match play at the 2012 Junior Amateur and reached the Round of 16 at last week’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship, started on the 10th hole. He eagled the par-5 15th by hitting a 5-wood 263 yards to 2 feet.
It was a good experience to get to the round of 16 at the [Amateur] Public Links last week, said Horsfield, who won the Florida State Amateur in June and has claimed two consecutive City of Orlando Amateurs. You are playing against one person; it’s one-on-one.
Wilson Furr, 15, of Jackson, Miss., shot 1-under-par 71 for the second consecutive day and was among three players with a 36-hole total of 142. Furr, the youngest player in the field to break par on the first day of stroke play, started on the 10th hole and made the turn at 3-under 33. He finished with bogeys on two of his last three holes.
I made my goal and it’s a great feeling, said Furr, who played in this year’s U.S. Open sectional qualifier in Memphis, Tenn. To make match play is a real good accomplishment. [U.S. Open sectional qualifying] really helped me prepare. It was the most nerve-racking thing I’ve done and I learned from the experience.
Sean Crocker, 16, of Zimbabwe, and Maverick McNealy, 17, of Portola Valley, Calif., rebounded in the second round’s morning wave after digging themselves a hole with first-round scores in the high 70s. Both were able to move on to match play.
Crocker, who was the low amateur at the Zimbabwe Open in April and played in last month’s U.S. Open sectional qualifier in Newport Beach, Calif., began with a 5-over-par 77 in the opening round of stroke play. But Crocker, who started on the 10th hole on Tuesday, made four consecutive birdies on his second nine to card a 3-under 69.
McNealy, a quarterfinalist at last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur, struggled to a 6-over 78 in the first round with a pair of double bogeys. But he regrouped with a second-round 69, highlighted by an eagle at the drivable 323-yard, par-4 16th.
Zecheng Dou, 16, of the People’s Republic of China, made a 10-stroke improvement from the first day by shooting a 2-under 70. He advanced to the quarterfinals at last week’s U.S. Amateur Public Links.
Twelve players who tied for 57th place at 7-over 151 will play off for the final eight match-play berths. The playoff was halted due to darkness after one hole and will resume Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
Brian DePasquale is a manager of championship communications for the USGA. Email him at bdepasquale@usga.org.
Results
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Results of Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at 7,740 yard, par-72 Martis Camp Club. (*-In 12-for-8 playoff for the final match-play spots)
Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. - 69-67--136
Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. - 68-70--138
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas - 67-72--139
Zachary Bauchou, Forest, Va. - 70-70--140
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. - 71-69--140
Jorge Antonio Garcia, Venezuela - 69-72--141
Corey Eddings, Roseville, Calif. - 67-74--141
Sam Horsfield, England - 70-71--141
Aaron Terrazas, Bluffton, S.C. - 69-73--142
Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. - 70-72--142
Wilson Furr, Jackson, Miss. - 71-71--142
William Register, Burlington, N.C. - 75-68--143
Tyler Moore, Escondido, Calif. - 71-72--143
Jack Comstock, Jacksonville, Fla. - 69-75--144
George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. - 69-75--144
Alvaro Ortiz, Mexico - 70-74--144
Lucas Herbert, Australia - 74-70--144
Cheng Jin, People's Republic of China - 74-71--145
Benjamin Griffin, Chapel Hill, N.C. - 74-71--145
Ryan Ruffels, Australia - 76-69--145
Daniel Connolly, San Francisco, Calif. - 72-73--145
P. J. Samiere, Kailua, Hawaii - 74-72--146
William Gordon, Davidson, N.C. - 74-72--146
Sean Crocker, Zimbabwe - 77-69--146
Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill. - 74-72--146
Thaddeus Obecny II, Wheeling, W.Va. - 74-72--146
Joshua Seiple, Castle Rock, Colo. - 76-70--146
Brian Mogg, Sammamish, Wash. - 75-71--146
Patrick Murphy, Canada - 77-70--147
Cole Berman, Rosemont, Pa. - 73-74--147
Jeremy Wall, Brielle, N.J. - 71-76--147
Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas - 74-73--147
John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. - 72-75--147
Tyson Reeder, Edmond, Okla. - 76-71--147
Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. - 78-69--147
Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, Calif. - 76-71--147
Luis Gagne, Costa Rica - 78-69--147
Nick Heinen, Edmond, Okla. - 76-72--148
Jooho Lee, Canada - 75-73--148
Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio - 74-74--148
Austin Connelly, Irving, Texas - 74-74--148
Jake Shuman, Needham, Mass. - 76-72--148
Sam Meuret, Brunswick, Neb. - 74-74--148
Jacob Joiner, Albany, Ga. - 74-74--148
Theo Humphrey, Greenwich, Conn. - 79-70--149
Justin Suh, San Jose, Calif. - 77-72--149
Jeffrey Swegle, West Des Moines, Iowa - 74-75--149
Brian Carlson, Madison, Conn. - 78-71--149
Brad Dalke, Hobart, Okla. - 72-77--149
Mitchell Schow, Ogden, Utah - 73-76--149
Corey Shaun, Encinitas, Calif. - 77-72--149
Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China - 80-70--150
Trevor Phillips, Inman, S.C. - 73-77--150
Keenan Huskey, Greenville, S.C. - 74-76--150
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. - 77-73--150
Wes Artac, Kingwood, Texas - 74-76--150
*Chase Johnson, Barberton, Ohio - 75-76—151 (3)
*Coleman Self, Greenwood, S.C. - 72-79—151 (3)
*Spencer Painton, Aurora, Colo. - 80-71—151 (3)
*Matt Echelmeier, Columbia, Mo. - 76-75—151 (3)
*Dean Sakata, Diamond Bar, Calif. - 74-77—151 (3)
*Will Bernstein, New York, N.Y. - 78-73—151 (3)
*Andy Zhang, People's Republic of China - 79-72—151 (3)
*Matthew Lowe, Farmingdale, N.Y. - 74-77—151 (4,4,3,3)
Failed to Qualify
*Jae Hoon Kim, Republic of Korea - 74-77—151 (4,4,3,X)
*Ben Doyle, La Jolla, Calif. - 73-78—151 (4,4,3,X)
*Victor Ponte, Camarillo, Calif. - 77-74—151 (4,4,3,5)
*Will Minton, Raleigh, N.C. - 74-77—151 (6)
Pablo Torres, Colombia - 73-79--152
Blake Fiest, Huntersville, N.C. - 74-78--152
Max Donohue, Sioux Falls, S.D. - 81-71--152
Cole Dillon, Manhattan, Kan. - 76-76--152
Derek Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. - 73-79--152
Vasili Kartos, Birmingham, Ala. - 76-76--152
Bryce Evon, Canada - 74-78--152
Dan Woodbury, Upton, Mass. - 76-76--152
Jake Kelley, Littleton, Colo. - 77-75--152
Zander Lozano, Fair Oaks Ranch, Texas - 76-76--152
Aaron Guanlao, Haslet, Texas - 76-76--152
Davis Richards, China Grove, N.C. - 75-77--152
Yu-Chuan Hsiang, Rowland Heights, Calif. - 78-74--152
Aaron Wise, Lake Elsinore, Calif. - 81-71--152
Amay Poria, Morgan Hill, Calif. - 76-76--152
J. D. Hughes, Carlisle, Pa. - 76-76--152
Cameron McRae, Little Rock, Ark. - 77-76--153
Ryan Fowler, Warren, Ohio - 75-78--153
Michael Pisciotta, Alpharetta, Ga. - 74-79--153
D. J. Vogt, Louisville, Ky. - 77-76--153
Kyle Hart, Midlothian, Va. - 77-76--153
Jackson Shoenfelt, Boynton Beach, Fla. - 77-76--153
Spencer Ralston, Gainesville, Ga. - 74-79--153
Sam Burns, Shreveport, La. - 76-77--153
Cole Madey, West Linn, Ore. - 80-73--153
William Pollock, Eugene, Ore. - 75-79--154
Tiger Lee, Hong Kong China - 76-78--154
Sean Carlon, Albuquerque, N.M. - 78-76--154
Kristian Caparros, Hollywood, Fla. - 76-78--154
Sawyer Shaw, West Palm Beach, Fla. - 80-74--154
Gustavo Morantes, Venezuela - 81-73--154
Bradley Knox, Menlo Park, Calif. - 77-77--154
Jonathan Keppler, Marietta, Ga. - 77-77--154
Riley Johnson, Fargo, N.D. - 81-73--154
Edwin Yi, Beaumont, Calif. - 82-73--155
Patrick Flavin, Highwood, Ill. - 77-78--155
Paul Stankey, Eden Prairie, Minn. - 75-80--155
Blake Abercrombie, Rocklin, Calif. - 77-78--155
Caleb Proveaux, Lexington, S.C. - 78-77--155
Jalen Griffin, Ambler, Pa. - 79-76--155
Kyler Tate, Winter Garden, Fla. - 79-77--156
Marc Casullo, Canada - 78-78--156
Shuai Ming Wong, People's Republic of China - 76-80--156
Matt Holuta, Indiana, Pa. - 82-74--156
Michael Cotton, Katy, Texas - 82-74--156
Brian Ohr, Northbrook, Ill. - 78-79--157
Jack Gianniny, Rochester, N.Y. - 80-77--157
Harrison Frye, Gastonia, N.C. - 79-78--157
Chris Navarro, Davidsonville, Md. - 80-77--157
Michael Davis, Newtown Square, Pa. - 77-80--157
Joshua Gliege, Eagle, Idaho - 83-74--157
James Beckner, Kingsport, Tenn. - 81-77--158
Paul Lei, Middleton, Mass. - 77-81--158
Ben Schlottman, Advance, N.C. - 83-75--158
Kai Ruiz, Mapleton, Utah - 81-77--158
Bradley Keyer, Henderson, Nev. - 79-79--158
Tyler Collier, Chico, Calif. - 84-74--158
Carey Bina, Villanova, Pa. - 82-77--159
Daniel Hudson, Western Springs, Ill. - 78-81--159
Easton Paxton, Riverton, Wyo. - 80-79--159
Johnny Hyun, Irvine, Calif. - 77-82--159
Aaron Wirt, Des Moines, Iowa - 81-78--159
Preston Fleenor, Mission Hills, Kan. - 81-78--159
Patrick Welch, Providence, R.I. - 82-77--159
John Souza, Phoenix, Ariz. - 82-77--159
Graysen Huff, Eagle, Idaho - 80-79--159
Johnny Jones, Flower Mound, Texas - 80-80--160
Jacob Lehman, Canada - 85-75--160
Greg Gonzalez, Riverside, Calif. - 77-83--160
Ben Huizinga, Orlando, Fla. - 79-81--160
Levi Valadez, San Antonio, Texas - 82-79--161
Caleb Ramirez, Blythe, Calif. - 79-83--162
Ivan Camilo Ramirez, Colombia - 85-77--162
Camilo Mexsen, Mexico - 81-81--162
Ben Fuller, Birmingham, Ala. - 79-84--163
Tennoshin Ogawa, Japan - 80-83--163
Samuel Sicard, Woodbury, Minn. - 85-78--163
Cody Riecks, Auburn, Calif. - 79-85--164
Carter Mobley, Waynesboro, Ga. - 82-82--164
Adam Button, Brentwood, Tenn. - 87-78--165
Tobin Niblett, Austin, Texas - 84-82--166
Jack Fitzgerald, Wilmington, N.C. - 82-84--166
Kaylor Steger, Sturtevant, Wis. - 78-89--167
Alex Blue, Cocoa Beach, Fla. - 87-81--168
Jon Pick, Canada - 82-86--168
Nicholas Mitter, Brighton, Mich. - 90-78--168
Daniel Ault, Lansing, Mich. - 85-84--169
Jacob Henny, Norwalk, Conn. - 87-86--173
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Pairings and starting times for Wednesday's first round of match play at the 2013 U.S. Junior Championship being conducted at the 7,740-yard, par-72 Martis Camp Club (All times PDT):
Upper Bracket
10:45 a.m. - Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. (136) vs. Matthew Lowe, Farmingdale, N.Y. (151)
8:30 a.m. - Matthew Perrine, Austin, Texas (147) vs. John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. (147)
8:39 a.m. - Alvaro Ortiz, Mexico (144) vs. Brad Dalke, Hobart, Okla. (149)
8:48 a.m - Lucas Herbert, Australia (144) vs. Brian Carlson, Madison, Conn. (149)
8:57 a.m. - Sam Horsfield, England (141) vs. Dean Sakata, Diamond Bar, Calif. (151)
9:06 a.m. - Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill. (146) vs. Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio (148)
9:15 a.m. - Aaron Terrazas, Bluffton, S.C. (142) vs. Wes Artac, Kingwood, Texas (150)
9:24 a.m. - Sean Crocker, Zimbabwe (146) vs. Austin Connelly, Irving, Texas (148)
9:33 a.m. - Zachary Bauchou, Forest, Va. (140) vs. Coleman Self, Greenwood, S.C. (151)
9:42 a.m. - Patrick Murphy, Canada (147) vs. Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, Calif. (147)
9:51 a.m. - Tyler Moore, Escondido, Calif. (143) vs. Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China (150)
10 a.m. - Ryan Ruffels, Australia (145) vs. Theo Humphrey, Greenwich, Conn. (149)
10:09 a.m. - Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (140) vs. Chase Johnson, Barberton, Ohio (151)
10:18 a.m. - Brian Mogg, Sammamish, Wash. (146) vs. Luis Gagne, Costa Rica (147)
10:27 a.m. - William Register, Burlington, N.C. (143) vs. Trevor Phillips, Inman, S.C. (150)
10:36 a.m. - Daniel Connolly, San Francisco, Calif. (145) vs. Jacob Joiner, Albany, Ga. (148)
10:54 a.m. - Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. (138) vs. Matt Echelmeier, Columbia, Mo. (151)
Lower Bracket
11:03 a.m. - Jeremy Wall, Brielle, N.J. (147) vs. Tyson Reeder, Edmond, Okla. (147)
11:12 a.m. - George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. (144) vs. Mitchell Schow, Ogden, Utah (149)
11:21 a.m. - Cheng Jin, People's Republic of China (145) vs. Jeffrey Swegle, West Des Moines, Iowa (149)
11:30 a.m. - Corey Eddings, Roseville, Calif. (141) vs. Will Bernstein, New York, N.Y. (151)
11:39 a.m. - Thaddeus Obecny II, Wheeling, W.Va. (146) vs. Jooho Lee, Canada (148)
11:48 a.m. - Adam Wood, Zionsville, Ind. (142) vs. Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. (150)
11:57 a.m. - William Gordon, Davidson, N.C. (146) vs. Jake Shuman, Needham, Mass. (148)
12:06 p.m. - Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (139) vs. Spencer Painton, Aurora, Colo. (151)
12:15 p.m. - Cole Berman, Rosemont, Pa. (147) vs. Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. (147)
12:24 p.m. - Jack Comstock, Jacksonville, Fla. (144) vs. Corey Shaun, Encinitas, Calif. (149)
12:33 p.m. - Benjamin Griffin, Chapel Hill, N.C. (145) vs. Justin Suh, San Jose, Calif. (149)
12:42 p.m. - Jorge Antonio Garcia, Venezuela (141) vs. Andy Zhang, People's Republic of China (151)
12:51 p.m. - Joshua Seiple, Castle Rock, Colo. (146) vs. Nick Heinen, Edmond, Okla. (148)
1:00 p.m. - Wilson Furr, Jackson, Miss. (142) vs. Keenan Huskey, Greenville, S.C. (150)
1:09 p.m. - P.J. Samiere, Kailua, Hawaii (146) vs. Sam Meuret, Brunswick, Neb. (148)