Defending Champion Brian Harman Wins First Match At U.S. Junior Amateur

  

San Francisco - Defending champion Brian Harman, 17, of Savannah, Ga., won two of the first three holes and never trailed en route to a 5 and 4 victory over Glenn Northcutt, 17, of Dothan, Ala. in the first round of match play at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship Wednesday at The Olympic Club.

 

Second-seeded Matt Savage of Louisville, Ky., won his match, 1 up. (John Mummert/USGA)

Harman, a 5-foot-7

135-pound lefty, closed out his match by winning three of the last four holes and finish at the equivalent of two under par for his round. He was one of the 32 winners who advanced to Thursday's second round of match play. He will face Kyle Stanley, 16, of Gig Harbor, Wash.

 

The Championship runs through Saturday's 18-hole final match.

 

"I like head-to-head type play," said Harman, who is trying to follow in the footsteps of Tiger Woods, the only player to win consecutive Junior Amateur titles. Woods won three in a row from 1991-93. The Junior Amateur is held for qualified golfers age 17 and younger.

 

"A lot of people are looking to beat me," said Harman. "But somebody else has to play good to beat me. I'm striking the ball really well."

 

Among the other winners were 2003 U.S. Open qualifier Tom Glissmeyer, 17, of Colorado Springs, Colo., and native Koreans Sung Kang, 17, of Carrollton, Texas and 14-year-old Steve An, of Daly City, Calif. Glilssmeyer made a 25-foot putt for birdie on the final hole to close out David May, 17, of Auburn, N.Y., 1 up.

 

Tom Glissmeyer of Colorado Springs, Colo., clinched his win with a birdie on the last hole (John Mummert/USGA)

"That's the first putt I made all week," said a fist-pumping Glissmeyer. "I saw some of my A-game coming in and I'm excited about tomorrow."

 

Another 14-year-old who advanced was David Chung of Fayetteville, N.C., the youngest player left in the field, weighing just 105 pounds. He was the equivalent of even par and had the most one-sided win of the day, 5 and 4, over Greg Forest, 17, of Palm City, Fla.

 

Juan Pablo Candela of Colombia made his long international trip more worthwhile with his win. And Matt Savage, 17, of Louisville, Ky., the second seed of the 64 golfers who advanced to match play, won a close match, 1 up.

 

"He's playing pretty solid," Savage said of Harman. "He's the best junior golfer in the country, and he's the one to beat at every tournament. But he's not unbeatable. Hopefully, I get to play him, and we'll just see what happens." If the two each win four more matches, they would meet in the 18-hole Championship final on Saturday.

 

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 Wednesday's first round of match play at 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, at the par 35-35--70, 6,790-yard Olympic Club (Lakeside Course):

 

Upper Bracket

Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (133) def. Glenn Northcutt, Dothan, Ala. (152), 5 and 4.

Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (149) def. Marc Gladson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (150), 2 up.

Steve An, Daly City, Calif. (147) def. Philip Chauncey, Durham, N.C. (151), 19 holes.

Jake Yount, Danville, Calif. (147) def. Lance Lopez, Missouri City, Texas (151), 5 and 4.

Tyler Obermueller, River Falls, Wis. (152) def. Daniel Lim, Gilroy, Calif. (145), 3and 2.

Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C. (149) def. Andrew Nottenkamper, Boynton Beach, Fla. (151), 4 and 3..

Daniel Woltman, Beaver Dam, Wis. (146) def. Marshall Pickett, Wilmington, N.C. (152), 4 and 2.

Sihwan Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (149) def. Ben Fox, Studio City,Calif. (151), 2 and 1.

Roberto Galletti Jr, Clayton, Calif. (143) def. Brad Valois, Warwick, R.I. (152), 1 up.

Juan Pablo Candela, Colombia (149) def. Ryan Blue, Athens,Ga. (150), 2 and 1.

Chris Rockwell, Owings Mills, Md. (151) def. Chris Jensen, Los Altos, Calif. (146), 3 and 2.

Kyle Takesue, Cerritos, Calif. (148) def. James Dalthorp III,Los Angeles, Calif. (151), 4 and 3.

Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (152) def. Lucas Lee, LosAngeles, Calif. (143) 19 holes.

Mark Silvers, Savannah, Ga. (150) def. Ben Tewes, Lincoln, eb. (149), 2 and 1.

Alex Martin, Middletown, Ohio (146) def. Zach Barlow, Percy, Ill. (151), 3 and 2.

Kevin O'Connell, Cary, N.C. (151) def. Kent Copeland, Hickory, N.C. (148), 4 and 2.

Lower Bracket

Matt Savage, Louisville, Ky. (141) def. Seath Lauer, Bradenton, Fla. (152), 1 up.

Andrew Carroll, Little Rock, Ark. (150) def. Michael Soowal, Phil adelphia, Pa. (149), 3 and 1.

Randy Lowry, Spring, Texas (147) def. Craig Smith, Springfield, Tenn. (151), 1 up.

David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C. (148) def. Greg Forest, Palm City, Fla. (151), 5 and 4.

Charlie Harris, Fresno, Calif. (144) def. Alex Wagner, St. Charles, Ill., (152), 19 holes.

Robby Ormand, Austin, Texas (149) def. Rickie Fowler, Murrieta, Calif. (150), 2 and 1.

Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. (146) def. Joe Kubick, Lincoln, Neb. (151), 1 up.

Robert Riesen, Pinehurst, N.C. (151) def. Robert Streb, Edmond, Okla. (149), 2 and 1.

Sung Kang, Korea (142) def. Kevin Schultz, Richardson,Texas (152), 4 and 3.

James Lee, Korea (149) def. Cashel Rosier, Grand Ledge, Mich. (150), 19 holes.

Bradley Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. (147) def. Brad Blakley, Mead, Wash. (151), 1 up.

Seann Harlingten, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (148) def. Toby Ragland, Jacksonville, Fla. (151), 3 and 2.

Erik Flores, Grass Valley, Calif. (152) def. Seung-Su Han, Korea (144), 4 and 3.

Daniel Kefale, Woodbridge, Va. (149) def. Ji Moon, Ellicott City, Md. (150), 2 and 1.

Tom Glissmeyer, Colorado Springs, Colo. (151) def. David May, Auburn, N.Y. (146), 1 up.

Timothy McKenney, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148) def. Henry Zaytoun, Raleigh, N.C. (151), 2 and 1.

 

 

San Francisco - Pairings for 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)

Upper Bracket

7:30 am -- Brian Harman, Savannah, Ga. (133) vs. Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (149)

7:39 am -- Steve An, Daly City, Calif. (147) vs. Jake Yount, Danville, Calif. (147)

7:48 am -- Tyler Obermueller, River Falls, Wis. (152) vs. Drew Weaver, High Point, N.C. (149)

7:57 am -- Daniel Woltman, Beaver Dam, Wis. (146) vs. Sihwan Kim, Fullerton, Calif. (149)

8:06 am -- Roberto Galletti Jr, Clayton, Calif. (143) vs. Juan Pablo Candela, Colombia (149)

8:15 am -- Chris Rockwell, Owings Mills, Md. (151) vs. Kyle Takesue, Cerritos, Calif. (148)

8:24 am -- Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (152) vs. Mark Silvers, Savannah, Ga. (150)

8:33 am -- Alex Martin, Middletown, Ohio (146) vs. Kevin O'Connell, Cary, N.C. (151)

Lower Bracket

8:42 am -- Matt Savage, Louisville, Ky. (141) vs. Andrew Carroll, Little Rock, Ark. (150)

8:51 am -- Randy Lowry, Spring, Texas (147) vs. David Chung, Fayetteville, N.C. (148)

9:00 am -- Charlie Harris, Fresno, Calif. (144) vs. Robby Ormand, Austin, Texas (149)

9:09 am -- Matthew Swan, Montgomery, Ala. (146) vs. Robert Riesen, Pinehurst, N.C. (151)

9:18 am -- Sung Hoon Kang, Korea (142) vs. James Lee, Korea (149)

9:27 am -- Bradley Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. (147) vs. Seann Harlingten, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (148)

9:36 am -- Erik Flores, Grass Valley, Calif. (152) vs. Ji Moon, Ellicott City, Md. (150)

9:45 am -- Tom Glissmeyer, Colo. Springs, Colo. (151) vs. Timothy McKenney, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148)