THE WOODLANDS, Texas – In Wednesday’s round of 32 of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the 7,177-yard, par-72 Nicklaus Course at The Club at Carlton Woods, four players who commanded the top seeds after stroke play won matches, along with a number of players who entered this first of two consecutive two-round days riding hot streaks.
Co-medalists Sean Crocker, of Zimbabwe, and Sam Horsfield, of England, each scored 3-and-2 victories over their respective opponents, John Augenstein, of Owensboro, Ky., and Won Jun Lee, of the Republic of Korea. The third and fourth seeds, meanwhile, each advanced by a 5-and-4 margin as Davis Riley, of Hattiesburg, Miss., defeated Ashwin Arasu, of San Diego, and Will Grimmer, of Cincinnati, scooted past Cole Madey, of West Linn, Ore.
The match between Crocker and Augenstein, a semifinalist in the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur, was highly anticipated, and didn’t disappoint.
The front nine flip-flopped the whole way, said Crocker. He went 1 up on the first hole, I birdied 3 and 4 to go 1 up, then he birdied 5 and 6 to go 1 up, and finally I birdied 7 through 9 to go 2 up. Then he had a few bad holes on the back nine and I kind of took control of the match from there.
Crocker, who was born in Zimbabwe but lives in Westlake Village, Calif., will face close friend Sahith Theegala, of Chino Hills, Calif., in Thursday afternoon’s round of 16.
Horsfield never trailed in his match against Lee. He won the first hole with a par, Lee won the second hole to pull to all square, and Horsfield won three out of four holes from 7 through 10 to take a 3-up lead and march on to victory. He will face Zach Murray, one of two Australians remaining in the field, in a round-of-16 match.
A few players who are making a name for themselves at this U.S. Junior after coming in as relatively unknown kept their strong play going through the round of 32. Anton Serafini, of Lake Mary, Fla., defeated Eric Bae, of Cary, N.C., 2 and 1; Joshua McCarthy, of Danville, Calif., beat Dwight Cauthen, of Columbia, S.C., 4 and 3; and Will Dickson, of Providence, R.I., got past John Pak, of Scotch Plains, N.J., also by 4 and 3.
Dickson has had a rotating cast of caddies this week, and when his caddie from yesterday’s round-of-64 victory over Cameron Young, of Scarborough, N.Y., couldn’t make it back today, Dickson had a familiar face on the bag – Young.
I guess we’re pretty good friends now, said Dickson with a smile. He knew my situation and he asked if I wanted him to caddie for me, so, we were probably the most talented pair on the course today.
Dickson will face five-time U.S. Junior participant and No. 8 seed William Zalatoris in Thursday afternoon’s round of 16. Zalatoris dispatched Zecheng Dou, of the People’s Republic of China, 3 and 2.
Other notables advancing to the round of 16 include Andy Zhang, of the People’s Republic of China, who defeated Tony Gil, of Canada, 5 and 3, and Curtis Luck, of Australia, who beat Tanner Owens, of Milton, Tenn., 4 and 2. Luck and Murray are two members of the Australian national team who are benefiting from the team’s presence this week at the nearby TPC at the Woodlands, where Golf Australia holds an annual camp and training session. Among those who were out supporting their countrymen at the U.S. Junior were 2013 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Brady Watt.
The round of 16 began at 1 p.m. CDT, and by the end of the day, only the quarterfinalists will be left to continue their quest for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship Trophy.
Live scoring for all matches will be available at www.usga.org.
Greg Midland is the director of editorial and multimedia content for the USGA. Email him at gmidland@usga.org.
67th U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Results
THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Results from Thursday morning’s round of 32 at the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, conducted at The Club at Carlton Woods’ Nicklaus Course (7,177 yards, par 72):
Sean Crocker, Zimbabwe (137) def. John Augenstein, Owensboro, Ky. (146), 3 and 2
Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, Calif. (147) def. Nathan Jeansonne, Keithville, La. (142), 4 and 3
William Zalatoris, Plano, Texas (140) def. Zecheng Dou, People’s Republic of China (144), 3 and 2
Will Dickson, Providence, R.I. (148) def. John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J. (144), 4 and 3
Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio (138) def. Cole Madey, West Linn, Ore., 5 and 4
Anton Serafini, Lake Mary, Fla. (148) def. Eric Bae, Cary, N.C. (143), 2 and 1
Joshua McCarthy, Danville, Calif. (149) def. Dwight Cauthen, Columbia, S.C. (147), 4 and 3
Curtis Luck, Australia (141) def. Tanner Owens, Milton, Tenn., 4 and 2
Sam Horsfield, England (137) def. Won Jun Lee, Republic of Korea (146), 3 and 2
Zach Murray, Australia (143) def. Philip Barbaree, 3 and 2
Andreas Halvorsen, Norway (148) def. Joshua Sedeno, Roseville, Calif., 2 up
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (143) def. David Snyder, McAllen, Texas, 2 and 1
Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (138) def. Ashwin Arasu, San Diego, Calif. (145), 5 and 4
Aaron DeNucci, Clive, Iowa (148) def. Bryce Hendrix, Greenville, N.C. (143), 2 and 1
Doc Redman, Raleigh, N.C. (144) def. Braden Thornberry, Olive Branch, Miss. (140), 4 and 3
Andy Zhang, People's Republic of China (143) def. Tony Gil, Canada (141), 5 and 3
Pairings
THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Pairings for Thursday afternoon’s round of 16 at the 2014 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, conducted at The Club at Carlton Woods’ Nicklaus Course (all times Central Daylight Time):
1:00 p.m. Sean Crocker, Zimbabwe (137) vs. Sahith Theegala, Chino Hills, Calif. (147)
1:10 p.m. William Zalatoris, Plano, Texas (140) vs. Will Dickson, Providence, R.I. (148)
1:20 p.m. Will Grimmer, Cincinnati, Ohio (138) vs. Anton Serafini, Lake Mary, Fla. (148)
1:30 p.m. Joshua McCarthy, Danville, Calif. (149) vs. Curtis Luck, Australia (141)
1:40 p.m. Sam Horsfield, England (137) vs. Zach Murray, Australia (143)
1:50 p.m. Andreas Halvorsen, Norway (148) vs. Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (143)
2:00 p.m. Davis Riley, Hattiesburg, Miss. (138) vs. Aaron DeNucci, Clive, Iowa (148)
2:10 p.m. Doc Redman, Raleigh, N.C. (144) vs. Andy Zhang, People’s Republic of China (143)