Defending Champ Harman Advances To Quarterfinals Of U.S. Junior Amateur

 

Sung Kang of Korea is one of top players remaining in the Junior field (John Mummert/USGA)

San Francisco - Defending champion Brian Harman, 17, of Savannah, Ga., built early leads and managed to win a pair of close matches Thursday, advancing to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Junior Amateur at The Olympic Club.

 

Harman is seeking to become only the second golfer to win back-to-back Junior Amateur titles. The other was Tiger Woods, who won the Junior Amateur from 1991-93.

 

Harman used a terrific bunker shot on the final hole to earn a 1-up win over Kyle Stanley, 17, of Gig Harbor, Wash., in his second round match. He birdied hole 15 to take the lead for good in his 2-and-1 third round win over 14-year old Steve An of Korea.

 

Harman's next opponent will be Korean-born Sihwan Kim, 15, of Fullerton, Calif., who edged Tyler Obermueller 17, of River Falls, Wisc., in his third match, 1 up.

 

"It's getting a lot tougher and a lot of people are looking to beat me" said Harman, a confident 5-foot-7 lefty. "I don't like to lose, and I want to take that trophy back home."

 

The others winning two matches to reach the quarterfinals were Juan Pablo Candela, 16, of Colombia; Jon Curran, 17, of Hopkinton, Mass.; David Chung, 14, of Fayetteville, N.C.; Robert Riesen, 17, of Pinehurst, N.C.; Sung Kang, 17, of Korea; and Tim McKenney, 16, of Scottsdale, Ariz.

 

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 at Winged Foot (N.Y.) Golf Club plus an exemption from local qualifying for the next three U.S. Opens.

 

Curran, who survived a playoff just to be among the low 64 golfers to advance to match play, was the hottest golfer of the day. The Massachusetts Junior Player of the Year for 2003 and 2004 was the equivalent of six under par through his 12 holes of the third round match, when he won 7 and 6.

 

Kang, who was the 2003 Junior Amateur qualifying medalist and has won seven tournaments in his native Korea, nearly equaled Curran in the morning, when he was five under at the time his second round match ended on the 13th hole, winning 6 and 5.

 

The surprise of the day was the play of the 5-foot-5 105-pound Chung, who yielded at least 50 yards to every opponent's tee shot.

 

"My goal was the quarterfinals and I reached that," said the soft-spoken Chung, sporting a bucket hat for good luck. "I felt like I had a chance to go pretty far."

 

The quarterfinalists earned exemptions into next year's Junior Amateur, provided they are still age 17 or younger.

 

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) def. Ji Moon, Ellicott City, Md. (150), 3 and 2.

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

 

Third Round

Harman def. An, 2 and 1.

Kim def. Obermueller, 1 up.

Candela def. Takesue, 19 holes.

Curran def. O'Connell, 7 and 6

 

Chung def. Savage, 1 up.

Riesen def. Ormand, 2 and 1.

Kang def. Johnson, 2 and 1.

McKenney def. Flores, 3 and 2.

 

 

San Francisco - Pairings for Friday's quarterfinal 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)

 

8:00 a.m. - Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (133) vs. Sihwan Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (149)

8:10 a.m. - Juan Pablo Candela, Colombia (149) vs. Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (152)

8:20 a.m. - David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C. (148) vs. Robert Riesen, Pinehurst, N.C. (151)

8:30 A.M. - Sung Kang, Korea (142) vs. Timothy McKenney, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148)