Ada, Mich. (July 19) – Defending champion Jordan Spieth, Stephen Behr and Davis Womble all shot 5-under-par 67 to lead the field after the first day of stroke play at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, being conducted at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, Mich.
Spieth found himself in a familiar position after his first-round play. His bogey-free round included five birdies, plus a near-miss that he converted for par at the par-4 18th hole. A veteran of three Junior Amateur Championships, the 16-year-old from Dallas is the only one of the three leaders with any USGA championship experience.
Behr, 17, of Florence, S.C., who has committed to attend Clemson University, amassed seven birdies offset by two bogeys. He recently won the South Carolina Golf Association Junior Championship.
The course out there is just perfect, Behr said. It feels like you can’t make a bad shot because you have perfect fairways, a perfect lie.
Womble, a 16-year-old from High Point, N.C., holed out for birdie from the shortside bunker on the 18th hole (his ninth) to make the turn at 31, 5-under par. His front-nine birdie and bogey balanced out to keep him five under for the round. While he was disappointed not to have a bogey-free round, Womble was able to put his day into perspective.
I didn’t really have any [goals], honestly. Just to have fun, I guess, Womble said. I’m glad I played well so that I don’t have to play as well tomorrow and still feel pretty sure that I’m gonna make it. Although, of course I’d like to be the medalist for the 36-hole stroke play.
The field will be trimmed to the low 64 scorers after tomorrow’s round, with six rounds of match play to follow. The scheduled 36-hole championship final is set for Saturday.
A quartet of players find themselves one stroke off the leaders. Shugo Imahira, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., made an eagle 3 on the par-5, 539-yard seventh hole, but two bogeys and one double bogey kept him from joining the leaders. Imahira advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J.
Bobby Wyatt, a 17-year-old from Mobile, Ala., who recently joined Spieth as a recipient of the 2010 Byron Nelson International Junior Golf Award, carded five birdies en route to his 4-under total.
Out here, the rough is so thick around the greens that fairways and greens is really the key, Wyatt said. As long as you give yourself opportunities, it’s going to bode well, because the greens are rolling so good that if you hit a good putt, it’s going to go in.
Imahira and Wyatt are joined at four under by Curtis Thompson, 17, of Coral Springs, Fla., and Wyndham Clark, 16, of Greenwood Village, Colo. Thompson, who is playing in his fourth U.S. Junior Amateur, is the younger brother of PGA Tour player Nicholas Thompson and the older brother of Alexis Thompson, who won the 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship and tied for 10th at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open. Clark led his Valor Christian High School team to the 2009 Colorado Class 4A high school championship and also captured the individual title.
The U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, established in 1948 for male golfers under the age of 18, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Story written by Christina Lance, coordinator of championship communications for the USGA.
Ada, Mich. – Results from the first round of stroke play on Monday at the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, being played at the 7,111-yard, par-72 Egypt Valley Country Club:
Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas - 33-34--67
Stephen Behr, Florence, S.C. - 34-33--67
Davis Womble, High Point, N.C. - 36-31--67
Wyndham Clark, Greenwood Village, Colo. - 33-35--68
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. - 35-33--68
Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala. - 36-32--68
Shugo Imahira, Bradenton, Fla. - 31-37--68
Kyle Kochevar, Glen Ellyn, Ill. - 36-33--69
Marcel Puyat, Philippines - 36-33--69
Wilson Bateman, Canada - 35-34--69
Cody Proveaux, Leesville, S.C. - 34-35--69
Brandon Ng, Canada - 36-33--69
Branson Davis, Mckinney, Texas - 33-36--69
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. - 33-36--69
George Rohde, Cincinnati, Ohio - 35-35--70
Brian Jung, Canada - 35-35--70
Sam Straka, Valdosta, Ga. - 36-34--70
Michael Bernard, Huber Heights, Ohio - 36-34--70
Ben Warnquist, Rockville, Md. - 35-35--70
Joey Petronio, Orlando, Fla. - 37-33--70
Charlie Saxon, Tulsa, Okla. - 34-36--70
J D Tomlinson, Gainesville, Fla. - 35-35--70
Emiliano Grillo, Argentina - 34-36--70
Richard Jung, Canada - 36-35--71
Adam Ball, Richmond, Va. - 38-33--71
Denny McCarthy, Burtonsville, Md. - 36-35--71
Grayson Murray, Raleigh, N.C. - 36-35--71
Bryson Dechambeau, Clovis, Calif. - 39-32--71
Max Carter, Lake Oswego, Ore. - 38-33--71
McCabe Buege, Rogers, Minn. - 35-36--71
Carl Jonson, Bainbridge Island, Wash. - 37-35--72
Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. - 34-38--72
Lee McCoy, St Petersburg, Fla. - 36-36--72
Devon Purser, Clearfield, Utah - 36-36--72
David Flynn, Elk Grove Village, Ill. - 37-35--72
Andrew Ariens, Mansfield, Texas - 37-35--72
Anthony Paolucci, Del Mar, Calif. - 38-34--72
Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif. - 34-38--72
Matthew Mabrey, Little Rock, Ark. - 35-38--73
Charles Martin, Lagrange, Ga. - 37-36--73
Austin Smotherman, Loomis, Calif. - 35-38--73
Zachary Wright, Phoenix, Ariz. - 38-35--73
Matthew Fliss, Bellflower, Calif. - 33-40--73
William Zalatoris, Plano, Texas - 38-35--73
Nicholas Scott, Englewood, Ohio - 38-35--73
Peter Kim, Metuchen, N.J. - 38-35--73
Paul Smith, Turlock, Calif. - 37-36--73
Gavin Hall, Pittsford, N.Y. - 38-35--73
Ben Crancer, Kirkwood, Mo. - 38-35--73
Dylan Baker, Eden Prairie, Minn. - 37-36--73
Andrew Lister, Haymarket, Va. - 38-35--73
Alex Jones, DeWitt, Mich. - 36-37--73
Oliver Schniederjans, Powder Springs, Ga. - 38-35--73
Kevin Lee, Dacula, Ga. - 37-37--74
Chris Houston, Gilford, N.H. - 36-38--74
David Lee, Houston, Texas - 35-39--74
Scott Wolfes, St Simons Island, Ga. - 36-38--74
Brandon Kida, Layton, Utah - 37-37--74
Andrew Bieber, Shaker Heights, Ohio - 36-38--74
Kyle Wilshire, Georgetown, Ky. - 36-38--74
Cody Cox, Milford, Pa. - 36-38--74
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas - 39-35--74
Aaron Kunitomo, Lahaina, Hawaii - 35-39--74
Tyler Carlson, Clarkston, Wash. - 37-37--74
Robby Shelton, Wilmer, Ala. - 37-37--74
Dan Slavin, Waban, Mass. - 39-35--74
Wesley Gosselin, Knoxville, Tenn. - 36-38--74
Cameron Wilson, Rowayton, Conn. - 35-39--74
Walker Huddy, Studio City, Calif. - 36-38--74
Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz. - 37-37--74
Jonathan Diianni, Kernersville, N.C. - 36-38--74
Damon Salo, New Ipswich, N.H. - 38-36--74
Jamison Randall, Cumberland, R.I. - 36-39--75
Connor Black, Katy, Texas - 39-36--75
Andrew Fogg, Greenwood, Ind. - 36-39--75
Taylor Dickson, Gastonia, N.C. - 36-39--75
Justin Keiley, Haiku, Hawaii - 36-39--75
Colby Benton, Cabot, Ark. - 37-38--75
Jeffrey Pearce, Jacksonville, Fla. - 38-37--75
Brian Bullington, Frankfort, Ill. - 38-37--75
Daniel Zuluaga, Colombia - 39-36--75
Jacob Stockl, Clark, N.J. - 38-37--75
Chelso Barrett, Keene, N.H. - 39-36--75
Conor McGovern, Darien, Conn. - 37-38--75
Chad Ramey, Fulton, Miss. - 39-36--75
Matthew Vargo, Philadelphia, Pa. - 38-37--75
Jonathan Garrick, Atherton, Calif. - 39-36--75
Peter Mathison, Jupiter, Fla. - 35-40--75
Joseph Abella, Plano, Texas - 36-39--75
Davis Bateman, Charlotte, N.C. - 36-39--75
Tom Lovelady, Birmingham, Ala. - 40-36--76
John Foster, Canada - 40-36--76
Austin Schreiber, Medina, Ohio - 41-35--76
Jorge Fernandez Valdes, Argentina - 36-40--76
James N Lee, Albuquerque, N.M. - 39-37--76
Sam Chun, Korea - 39-37--76
Khaled Attieh, Saudi Arabia - 37-39--76
Alexander Schauffele, San Diego, Calif. - 39-37--76
Michael Gellerman, Sterling, Kan. - 39-37--76
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. - 41-35--76
Thomas Lim, Moorpark, Calif. - 37-39--76
J J Holen, Castaic, Calif. - 39-37--76
Carlos Miguel Briones, San Lorenzo, Calif. - 37-39--76
Blake Huser, Altoona, Iowa - 39-37--76
Collin Engelhardt, Orlando, Fla. - 39-37--76
McCormick Clouser, Bluffton, Ind. - 39-37--76
Brian Burt, Holt, Mich. - 34-42--76
Scott Sweeney, Lake Charles, La. - 37-39--76
Colin Proctor, Anderson, Ind. - 40-36--76
Patrick Johnston, Minnestrista, Minn. - 38-39--77
E J Tackett, Huntington, Ind. - 38-39--77
Taylor Bromley, Dublin, Calif. - 38-39--77
Camden Price, Tustin, Calif. - 37-40--77
Brandon Liu, St Albans, Mo. - 40-37--77
Charlie Edler, Fair Haven, N.J. - 40-37--77
Brandon Dalinka, Upper Makefield, Pa. - 37-40--77
Peter Gullickson, Spokane, Wash. - 38-39--77
Noori Hyun, Centreville, Va. - 40-37--77
Andrew Wong, Deerfield Beach, Fla. - 38-39--77
Darren Simons, St Marys, Pa. - 37-41--78
Kamrin Allen, Sheridan, Wyo. - 39-39--78
Victor Wiggins, Gastonia, N.C. - 37-41--78
Austin Weatherholt, San Jose, Calif. - 38-40--78
Eric Edmunds, Auburn, N.Y. - 38-40--78
Jonathan Lowrey, Fort Myers, Fla. - 39-39--78
Sam Fidone, Lufkin, Texas - 40-38--78
Austin Vick, Evans, Ga. - 37-41--78
Stewart Jolly, Birmingham, Ala. - 40-38--78
Miles Knutsen, Orono, Minn. - 39-40--79
Jimmy Slovitt, Winnetka, Ill. - 38-41--79
Ty Travis, Eagle, Idaho - 41-38--79
Nicholas Torrance, East Lyme, Conn. - 40-39--79
Nick Tremps, San Antonio, Texas - 42-37--79
Lucas Kim, Canada - 42-37--79
Blake Cannon, Phoenix, Ariz. - 42-37--79
Kyle Jones, Taylor, Ariz. - 41-38--79
Taylor White, Dakota Dunes, S.D. - 37-42--79
William Sellers, Montgomery, Ala. - 37-42--79
Sam DeStefano, Bryan, Texas - 43-37--80
Will Long, Gastonia, N.C. - 40-40--80
Reid Holly, Madison, Miss. - 40-40--80
Charlie Marshall, Lake Forest, Ill. - 44-36--80
Luke Vivolo, Carmel, Calif. - 41-39--80
Myles Sullivan, Canada - 40-40--80
Spencer Sheets, Centennial, Colo. - 40-40--80
Alex Andrews, Kirtland, Ohio - 40-40--80
Noah Walker, Norwell, Mass. - 39-41--80
Jimmy Makloski, Pueblo, Colo. - 39-41--80
Jonathon Thomas, West Point, Utah - 43-37--80
Kristopher Kowalchuk, Canada - 40-41--81
Max Donohue, Sioux Falls, S.D. - 40-42--82
Michael Schmidt, Cincinnati, Ohio - 39-43--82
Caleb Sturgeon, Laurens, S.C. - 42-41--83
Andrew Holloway, Scottsbluff, Neb. - 40-45--85
C J Espino, Castaic, Calif. - 42-47--89
Zach Yinger, Sidney, Ohio - DQ-DQ--DQ