Defending Champ Harman Advances To Third Round Match At U.S. Junior Amateur

 

This wonderful bunker shot at the 18th allowed defending champ Brian Harman to escape with a 1 -up win in round two.  (John Mummert/USGA)

San Francisco - Defending champion Brian Harman, 17, of Savannah, Ga., built a 2-up lead and hung on, using a terrific bunker shot on the final hole to earn a 1-up win over Kyle Stanley, 17, of Gig Harbor, Wash., to advance to Thursday afternoon's third round of match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Olympic Club.

 

"I tried to give it away," said Harman, who finished over par (+2) for the first time in four rounds this week. "At every tournament, there is a match that you don't win 5 and 4. I hope this is my close one; the one I have to really worry about.

 

"That was probably the best bunker shot I've ever had, or close to it," continued Harman, talking about his approach that found a semi-buried lie before the 5-foot-7 lefty blasted out to three feet from the hole.

 

Both players made par 4s on the final hole, keeping Harman alive in his quest to become only the second to win back-to-back Junior Amateur titles. The other was Tiger Woods, who won the Junior Amateur from 1991-93.

 

The biggest winners in the morning's second round were Matt Savage, 17, of Louisville, Ky., and Sung Kang, 17, of Korea, each of whom won by wide margins. Savage beat Andrew Carroll, 17, of Little Rock, Ark., 6 and 5, and Kang beat fellow Korean James Lee, 6 and 5. Kang had the best round, going the equivalent of 5-under for his 13 holes.

 

Another Korean-native who advanced was 14-year-old Steve An, who is visiting in nearby Daly City, Calif., for the summer. An won the last two holes to beat Californian Jake Yount, 2 up. And 14-year-old and 105-pound David Chung of Fayetteville, N.C., holed a 40-foot putt on the final hole to close out Randy Lowry, 17, of Spring, Texas, 1 up.

 

Play continues with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Friday. The 18-hole championship final is scheduled for Saturday. The winner receives an exemption into the 2004 U.S. Amateur in August plus an exemption from local qualifying for the next three U.S. Opens.

 

The Junior Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

 

  

Story written by Craig Smith, director of media relations at the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at csmith@usga.org.

 

 

San Francisco - Results of Thursday's second round of match play at 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, at the par 35-35--70, 6,790-yard Olympic Club (Lakeside Course) (All times PDT)

 

Second Round

Upper Bracket

Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (133) def. Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (149), 1 up.

Steve An, Daly City, Calif. (147) def. Jake Yount, Danville, Calif. (147), 2 up.

Tyler Obermueller, River Falls, Wis. (152) def. Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C. (149), 2 and 1.

Sihwan Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (149) def. Daniel Woltman, Beaver Dam, Wis. (146), 3 and 2.

Juan Pablo Candela, Colombia (149) def. Roberto Galletti Jr, Clayton, Calif. (143), 2 and 1.

Kyle Takesue, Cerritos, Calif. (148) def. Chris Rockwell, Owings Mills, Md. (151), 3 and 1.

Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (152) def. Mark Silvers, Savannah, Ga. (150), 19 holes.

Kevin O'Connell, Cary, N.C. (151) def. Alex Martin, Middletown, Ohio (146), 3 and 1.

 

Lower Bracket

Matt Savage, Louisville, Ky. (141) def. Andrew Carroll, Little Rock, Ark. (150), 6 and 5.

David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C. (148) def. Randy Lowry, Spring, Texas (147), 1 up.

Robby Ormand, Austin, Texas (149) def. Charlie Harris, Fresno, Calif. (144), 4 and 3.

Robert Riesen, Pinehurst, N.C. (151) def. Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. (146), 3 and 2.

Sung Hoon Kang, Korea (142) def. James Lee, Korea (149), 6 and 5.

Bradley Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. (147) def. Seann Harlingten, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (148), 1 up.

Erik Flores, Grass Valley, Calif. (152) vs. Ji Moon, Ellicott City, Md. (150), 3 and 2.

Timothy McKenney, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148) def. Tom Glissmeyer, Colo. Springs, Colo. (151), 1 up.

 

 

Thursday's Third Round Pairings (Times are PDT)

1:00 p.m. - Harman vs. An

1:10 p.m. - Obermueller vs. Kim

1:20 p.m. - Candela vs. Takesue

1:30 p.m. - Curran vs. O'Connell

1:40 p.m. - Savage vs. Chung

1:50 p.m. - Ormand vs. Riesen

2:00 p.m. - Kang vs. Johnson

2:10 p.m. - Flores vs. McKenney