9/08/2012

World No.1 Lydia Ko and medalist Hyo-Joo Kim have safely advanced to the second round of match play in the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship on the 5954m, par-72 course at The Country Club.

Ko, the low amateur in last month’s U.S. Women’s Open, defeated Oregon’s Amy Beth Simanton 4 and 3.

The 20-year-old Simanton got off to a fast start with a birdie to win the first hole, but never again led in the match. At the second, Ko pulled all-square with a 1m birdie putt and went 1 up with a 4m putt for birdie at the fourth.

Ko’s pars won the sixth and seventh holes and she made a 5m putt for birdie to win the eighth and go 4 up. After an exchange of holes, Ko went 5 up with a birdie at the 13th and clinched the win on the 15th hole.

“My long game was fine and my putting felt good,” Ko said. “Although I misread a few putts, my stroke was good. In fact, everything was good.”

Meanwhile Kim overwhelmed American 14-year-old Megan Khang 7 and 6. Kim got off to a fine start, mastering the earlier holes that had bedeviled her in stroke-play qualifying. On the fifth, sixth and seventh, the hardest holes on the course, she made three birdie putts in the 7m range.

 “My putter was working well today,” Kim said through an interpreter, her caddie, Euna Pak, a player who withdrew after the first qualifying round because of an elbow injury. “I’m happy with how I played today. With a match coming up tomorrow, I’ll try to get some rest.”

Also advancing were Amy Anderson, the 2009 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion and a member of the 2012 USA Curtis Cup Team, and Ariya Jutanugarn, 16, of Thailand, who won the 2011 U.S. Girls’ Junior. 

Match-play rounds continue throughout the week with a 36-hole final scheduled for Sunday.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, of which 10 are strictly for amateurs.

Other notables to advance include 2012 USA Curtis Cup Team members Austin Ernst and Lisa McCloskey, as well as 2012 Women’s Amateur Public Links runner-up Ashlan Ramsey and 2008 Girls’ Junior runner-up Karen Chung.

Results

Cleveland – Results from Wednesday’s first round of match play at the 2012 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship, being conducted at the 6,512-yard, par-72 course at The Country Club:

Upper Bracket
Hyo-Joo Kim, Korea (136) def. Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. (149), 7 and 6
Isabelle Lendl, Goshen, Conn. (146) def. Whitney Hillier, Australia (146), 2 and 1
Cyna Rodriguez, Philippines (143) def. Ani Gulugian, Irvine, Calif. (148), 1 up
Nicole Zhang, Canada (144) def. Jaclyn Jansen, Effingham, Ill. (148), 6 and 5
Natalie Gleadall, Canada (141) def. Grace Na, Alameda, Calif. (149), 2 and 1
Jayvie Marie Agojo, Philippines (145) def. Emily Childs, Alameda, Calif. (147), 1 up
Maia Schechter, Takoma Park, Md. (149) def. Alina Ching, Honolulu, Hawaii (141), 4 and 3
Su-Hyun Oh, Australia (144) def. Holly Clyburn, England (147), 4 and 2
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (149) def. Alison Lee, Valencia, Calif. (139), 1 up
Jaye Marie Green, Boca Raton, Fla. (146) def. Jenna Hague, Canada (145), 6 and 4
Lisa McCloskey, Houston, Texas (142) def. Haley Millsap, Pace, Fla. (149), 2 and 1
Lauren Diaz-Yi, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (144) def. Jennifer Kirby, Canada (148), 22 holes
Madeleine Sheils, Boise, Idaho (149) def. Sierra Brooks, Sorrento, Fla. (140), 3 and 1
Ashlan Ramsey, Milledgeville, Ga. (145) def. Harin Lee, Bayside, N.Y. (147), 6 and 5
Marijosse Navarro, Mexico (149) def. Kelly Shon, Port Washington, N.Y. (142), 3 and 2
Lee Lopez, Whittier, Calif. (148) def. Casey Grice, College Station, Texas (144), 1 up

Lower Bracket
Lydia Ko, New Zealand (137)def. Amy Beth Simanton, Lake Oswego, Ore. (149), 4 and 3
Amy Anderson, Oxbow, N.D. (146) def. Moriya Jutanugarn, Thailand (145), 1 up
Celine Boutier, France (143) def. Mathilda Poulsen, Australia (148), 4 and 3
Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J. (148) def. Brooke Mackenzie Henderson, Canada (144), 4 and 3
Diana Fernandez, Paraguay (149) def. Brogan McKinnon, Canada (141), 19 holes
Jessica Vasilic, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (147) def. Yueer Feng, People's Republic of China (145), 4 and 3
Paula Reto, South Africa (141) def. McKenzie Neisen, New Prague, Minn. (149), 6 and 5
Bronte Law, England (147) def. Chirapat Jao-Javanil, Thailand (144), 3 and 2
Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (139) def. Jennifer Yang, Korea (149), 3 and 1
Bethany Wu, Diamond Bar, Calif. (145) def. Samantha Swinehart, Lancaster, Ohio (146), 2 and 1
Breanna Elliott, Australia (143) def. Casey Danielson, Osceola, Wis. (149), 3 and 2
Ashlee Dewhurst, Australia (144) def. Alexandra Papell, Boca Raton, Fla. (148), 6 and 5
Sarah Beth Davis, Victoria, Texas (149) def. Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif. (141), 3 and 2
Austin Ernst, Seneca, S.C. (147) def. Dottie Ardina, Philippines (145), 4 and 3
Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (149) def. Minjee Lee, Australia (141), 5 and 4
Elisabeth Bernabe, Anaheim Hills, Calif. (144) def. Demi Frances Runas, Torrance, Calif. (147), 1 up