TRUCKEE, Calif. – John Augenstein, 15, of Owensboro, Ky., won two matches, including a second-round victory against stroke-play medalist Jim Liu, 17, of Smithtown, N.Y., on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the 7,740-yard, par-72 Martis Camp Club.
The remaining three third-round matches were completed on Friday morning after play was suspended due to darkness on Thursday at 8:25 PDT. Play was suspended twice for a total of more three hours on Thursday due to dangerous weather.
Augenstein, who is playing in his first USGA championship, defeated Liu, the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and last year’s runner-up, in 20 holes. In the third round, he made a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to edge Brian Carlson, 17, of Madison, Conn., 1 up.
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The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played on Friday, and the championship is scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Saturday, starting at 7 a.m.
The U.S. Junior Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Augenstein, the youngest player remaining in the championship, twice took a 1-up lead against Carlson with pars, on Nos. 13 and 15. But he hit his tee shot short on the par-3 17th, which led to a bogey, and the match was all square. On the 18th, Carlson was in trouble most of the hole after driving in the left rough. Augenstein’s approach shot rolled to 5 feet left of the flagstick. His birdie caught the right edge and circled into the bottom of the hole. In the second round, Augenstein outlasted Liu with a par on the 20th hole, after twice making birdies on the inward nine to square the match.
Sam Horsfield, 16, of England, won with ease for the third consecutive round. He defeated Aaron Terrazas, 16, of Mexico, 6 and 5. He recorded an 8-and-7 victory in the second round after opening match play with a 7-and-6 decision. His dominance has no precedent in a post-World War II USGA championship.
Horsfield, who has made 14 birdies in 36 holes of match play through three rounds, captured six of eight holes on the outward nine to take control against Terrazas. His 6-iron approach set up a two-putt birdie on the par-5 fourth and he chipped in from 15 feet for his third birdie of the round on the par-5 seventh. Horsfield, who reached the Round of 16 at last week’s U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and won the Florida State Amateur by 11 strokes in June, made pars on Nos. 8 and 9 to end that stretch.
I am hitting it a lot farther, said Horsfield, who burst on the national scene last summer by advancing to match play at the U.S. Amateur Public Links and Junior Amateur and qualifying for the U.S. Amateur. I probably gained 30 yards [off the tee] and have been going to the gym two or three times a week, which has helped my fitness. It helps with [long] courses like this.
Cameron Young, the second seed, and Scottie Scheffler, the third seed, each advanced through the second round. Young, 16, of Scarborough, N.Y. defeated Tyson Reeder, 16, of Edmond, Okla., 3 and 2. Scheffler, 17, of Dallas, recorded a 1-up victory over Maverick McNealy, 17, of Portola Valley, Calif. Young and Scheffler were all square in each of their suspended third-round matches, which will begin at 7 a.m. on Friday.
Davis Riley, the fifth seed, won two matches to reach the quarterfinal round. The 16-year-old from Hattiesburg, Miss., defeated Trevor Phillips, 2 and 1, in the third round. Riley, a three-time medalist at the state high school championship, advanced to the Round of 32 last year.
Doug Ghim, 17, of Arlington Heights, Ill., was a 4-and-3 winner over Corey Eddings, the seventh seed, in advancing to the quarterfinals. Ghim made the Round of 16 at last year’s Junior Amateur. Zecheng Dou, 16, of the People’s Republic of China, dispatched fourth-seeded Zachary Bauchou, 17, of Forest, Va., 2 and 1, in third-round play. Dou had to overcome an 8-over-par 80 on the first day of stroke-play qualifying with a second-round 70 to make the match-play bracket.
In the longest match this week, second-seeded Cameron Young, of Scarborough, N.Y., outlasted George Cunningham, of Tucson, Ariz., in 24 holes. Young made a birdie on the 24th hole, the par-4 sixth, to win the match.
Scottie Scheffler, of Dallas, the No. 3 seed, also survived an extra-hole match, defeating Justin Suh, of San Jose, Calif., in 19 holes. Suh forced extra holes with a birdie at the par-4 18th.
On Thursday, the first suspension lasted 1 hour, 53 minutes and the second was 1 hour, 14 minutes.
Brian DePasquale is a manager of championship communications for the USGA. Email him at bdepasquale@usga.org.
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Results of Thursday's second and third rounds of match play at the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at 7,740-yard, par-72 Martis Camp Club.
Round of 32Upper Bracket
John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. (147) def. Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. (136), 20 holes
Brian Carlson, Madison, Conn. (149) def. Brad Dalke, Hobart, Okla. (149), 1 up
Sam Horsfield, England (141) def. Nick Hardy, Northbrook, Ill. (146), 8 and 7
Aaron Terrazas, Bluffton, S.C. (142) def. Sean Crocker, Zimbabwe (146), 22 holes
Zachary Bauchou, Forest, Va. (140) def. Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, Calif. (147), 1 up
Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China (150) def. Ryan Ruffels, Australia (145), 3 and 2
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (140) def. Luis Gagne, Costa Rica (147), 5 and 4
Trevor Phillips, Inman, S.C. (150) def. Daniel Connolly, San Francisco, Calif. (145), 3 and 2
Lower Bracket
Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. (138) def. Tyson Reeder, Edmond, Okla. (147), 3 and 2
George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. (144) def. Jeffrey Swegle, West Des Moines, Iowa (149), 4 and 2
Corey Eddings, Roseville, Calif. (141) def. Jooho Lee, Canada (148), 3 and 2
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. (150) def. William Gordon, Davidson, N.C. (146), 2 and 1
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (139) def. Maverick McNealy, Portola Valley, Calif. (147), 1 up
Justin Suh, San Jose, Calif. (149) def. Corey Shaun, Encinitas, Calif. (149), 3 and 1
Nick Heinen, Edmond, Okla. (148) def. Jorge Antonio Garcia, Venezuela (141), 3 and 2
P.J. Samiere, Kailua, Hawaii (146) def. Wilson Furr, Jackson, Miss. (142), 2 up
Round of 16Upper Bracket
John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. (147) def. Brian Carlson, Madison, Conn. (149), 1 up
Sam Horsfield, England (141) def. Aaron Terrazas, Bluffton, S.C. (142), 6 and 5
Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China (150) def. Zachary Bauchou, Forest, Va. (140), 2 and 1
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (140) def. Trevor Phillips, Inman, S.C. (150), 2 and 1
Lower Bracket
Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. (138) def. George Cunningham, Tucson, Ariz. (144), 24 holes
Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. (150) def. Corey Eddings, Roseville, Calif. (141), 4 and 3
Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (139) def. Justin Suh, San Jose, Calif. (149), 19 holes
P.J. Samiere, Kailua, Hawaii (146) def. Nick Heinen, Edmond, Okla. (148), 3 and 1
TRUCKEE, Calif. – Pairings for Friday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at 7,740-yard, par-72 Martis Camp Club. (All times PDT)
Quarterfinal RoundUpper Bracket
7:30 a.m. -- John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. (147) vs. Sam Horsfield, England (141)
7:40 a.m. – Zecheng Dou, People's Republic of China (150) vs. Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (140)
Lower Bracket
8:40 a.m. – Cameron Young, Scarborough, N.Y. (138) vs. Doug Ghim, Arlington Heights, Ill. (150)
8:20 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Dallas, Texas (139) vs. P.J. Samiere, Kailua, Hawaii (146)