Charlotte, N.C. – Stroke-play tri-medalist Erynne Lee, 17, of Silverdale, Wash., won a tough 1-up match over Moriya Jutanugarn, 16, of Thailand during Thursday’s morning second round of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur, being played at the par-72, 6,559-yard Charlotte Country Club.
Her two co-medalists, Rachel Rohanna, 18, of Waynesburg, Pa., and Jaclyn Sweeney, 21, of Andover, Mass., weren’t as fortunate.
Lee, a semifinalist at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur, fell behind early against Jutanugarn, losing four of the first five holes. But she chipped away at Jutanugarn’s lead, eventually squaring the match on No. 11 and taking the lead for good with a par on the 17th hole.
Lee did her best to not focus on the large deficit.
At first it did get into my mind because I was four down through five holes, said Lee. But then my dad and I discussed that there’s still a lot of golf left and anything can happen.
It was the second consecutive close match for Lee, who needed 19 holes to win her first-round match against Isabelle Lendl of Goshen, Conn., on Wednesday.
Coming from down a couple times, it’s a huge confidence builder, said Lee. Especially today coming from 4 down to 1 up through 18, it’s a big, big thing for me.
In her second-round match against Marina Alex, 20, of Wayne, N.J., Rohanna fell behind early and was 3 down after five holes. She came back to square the match and took her only lead at No. 15 after Alex bogeyed. But a bogey by Rohanna a hole later would again square the match, which Alex would win on the first extra hole after another Rohanna bogey.
Rohanna, who shot a championship-record 65 in the first round of stroke play Monday, wasn’t completely disappointed despite the loss.
I know now that whenever I’m down in a match, I can come back, said Rohanna. I’m really glad that I did that yesterday. I actually made a really good comeback today too. This was the first time that I’ve ever done that in match play. It seems like every time I play a match OK I get up in those first four or five holes and I’ll be at least 2 or 3 up. It was completely different this week and I just really fought back hard both days. I’m happy for that experience at least.
Sweeney’s title hopes were ended by Junthima Gulyanamitta, 21, of West Lafayette, Ind. Sweeney won the second hole to take a lead but it proved to be short-lived, as Gulyanamitta won the fourth hole to quickly square the match. Gulyanamitta slowly built a lead and eventually made three consecutive birdies to close out Sweeney, 5 and 3.
Emily Tubert’s hopes of winning the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur in the same year were ended by Sara-Maude Juneau, 22, of Canada. Tubert, 18, of Burbank, Calif., struggled in the second-round match, making six bogeys, allowing Juneau to record a 6-and-4 victory.
She made a couple mistakes and I just took advantage of them, said Juneau, who is playing in her second Women’s Amateur. I made some good shots too. The holes where she made mistakes I took advantage and the holes where she was actually playing well, I was making birdie or something.
But then she got me a little scared at the end. She was coming back and I was just getting tired. I’m glad that I finished with a birdie to seal the deal.
Juneau will face a familiar face in Thursday afternoon’s third round – fellow Canadian Jennifer Kirby, 19. Kirby eliminated another USGA champion, 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior winner Doris Chen, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., 3 and 2.
Kirby and Juneau are teammates on the national Canadian squad and are sharing a hotel room while in Charlotte.
It’s not the first time, said Juneau of facing her teammate. ’I’m just going to go like it was anybody else and just play my game, see what happens.
Another Girls’ Junior champion, 2007 winner Kristen Park, 17, of Buena Park, Calif., did advance with a 2-and-1 victory over Cydney Clanton, 21, of Rockwell, N.C. One of Clanton’s 2010 USA Curtis Cup teammates, Jessica Korda, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., earned a 4-and-3 victory over Candace Schepperle, 22, of Birmingham, Ala. Korda is the lone 2010 Curtis Cup participant still in the field, as Sally Watson, 19, of Scotland, a member of the GB&I Team, lost to Juliana Murcia Ortiz, 22, of Colombia, 7 and 6.
Lizette Salas, 21, of Azusa, Calif., earned a 2-and-1 victory over Amira Alexander, 16, of Alpharetta, Ga., in dramatic fashion, making a hole-in-one with a 9-iron on the par-3, 119-yard 17th hole to close out the match.
I just wanted to hit a really good shot on 17, said Salas, who lost in the second round to USC teammate and eventual champion Jennifer Song a year ago. That’s a good hole for me. It just went in. I’m just excited to go past round two. I’ve lost the last two times of match play in round two. We’ll see how far I can go. It’s kind of good to end on that. As a [college] senior, it’s my last amateur event. I got a hole-in-one at the U.S. [Women’s] Am, so I’m excited.
The 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur continues with the third round Thursday afternoon. The quarterfinal matches are on Friday, the semifinals are on Saturday and the 36-hole championship final will be played Sunday.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Story written by Beth Murrison, USGA Manager of Championship Communications. For questions or comments, contact her atbmurrison@usga.org .
Charlotte, N.C. – Results following Thursday’s second round of match play at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the 6,559-yard, par-72 Charlotte Country Club:
Round of 32
Upper Bracket
Marina Alex, Wayne, N.J. (147) def. Rachel Rohanna, Waynesburg, Pa. (138), 19 holes
Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (145) def. Cydney Clanton, Rockwell, N.C. (145), 2 and 1
Jennifer Kirby, Canada (146) def. Doris Chen, Bradenton, Fla. (143), 3 and 2
Sara-Maude Juneau, Canada (143) def. Emily Tubert, Burbank, Calif. (148), 6 and 4
Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (147) def. Corrine Carr, Pinehurst, N.C. (150), 5 and 4
Jungeun Han, Korea (144) def. Ariya Jutanugarn, Thailand (145), 3 and 2
Juliana Murcia Ortiz, Colombia (147) def. Sally Watson, Scotland (142), 7 and 6
Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (144) def. Gabriella Then, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (148), 5 and 3
Lower Bracket
Junthima Gulyanamitta, West Lafayette, Ind. (147) def. Jaclyn Sweeney, Andover, Mass. (138), 5 and 3
Calle Nielson, Nashville, Tenn. (149) def. Aimee Neff, Carmel, Ind. (149), 6 and 5
Stephanie Sherlock, Canada (146) def. Caroline Hedwall, Sweden (142), 19 holes
Kelly Shon, Port Washington, N.Y. (146) def. Nicole Vandermade, Canada (144), 2 and 1
Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (138) def. Moriya Jutanugarn, Thailand (147), 1 up
Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (145) def. Amira Alexander, Alpharetta, Ga. (148), 2 and 1
Lisa McCloskey, Houston, Texas (142) def. Kristin Walla, Aspen, Colo. (147), 3 and 1
Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (144) def. Candace Schepperle, Birmingham, Ala. (145), 4 and 2
Charlotte, N.C. – Pairings for Thursday’s third round of match play at the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the 6,559-yard, par-72 Charlotte Country Club:
Round of 16
Upper Bracket
1 p.m. Marina Alex, Wayne, N.J. (147) vs. Kristen Park, Buena Park, Calif. (145)
1:10 p.m. Jennifer Kirby, Canada (146) vs. Sara-Maude Juneau, Canada (143)
1:20 p.m. Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (147) vs. Jungeun Han, Korea (144)
1:30 p.m. Juliana Murcia Ortiz, Colombia (147) vs.Danielle Kang, Thousand Oaks, Calif. (144)
Lower Bracket
1:40 p.m. Junthima Gulyanamitta, West Lafayette, Ind. (147) vs. Calle Nielson, Nashville, Tenn. (149)
2:15 p.m. Stephanie Sherlock, Canada (146) vs. Kelly Shon, Port Washington, N.Y. (146)
2:25 p.m. Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (138) vs. Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (145)
2:35 p.m. Lisa McCloskey, Houston, Texas (142) vs. Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (144)