Park Ousts Medalist Kono; Past Women's Am Champ Kim Advances To Quarters

Devens, Mass. – Jisoo Park, 14, of Korea eliminated stroke-play medalist Stephanie Kono, 19, of Honolulu, Hawaii, 1 up, Thursday in the third round of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,267-yard, par-72 Red Tail Golf Club.

Kimberly Kim, 17, the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion from Hilo, Hawaii, also advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals with one of her strongest performances this year. Kim defeated Sara-Maude Juneau of Canada, 2 and 1.

Kimberly Kim rallied for a 2-and-1 victory over Sara-Maude Juneau of Canada in the third round of the 2009 WAPL on Thursday at Red Tail G.C. (John Mummert/USGA)

Jennifer Song, 19, of La Cañada, Calif., runner-up in this championship last year, sent local favorite Brittany Altomare, 18, of Shrewsbury, Mass., to the sidelines, 1 up.

Park trailed in her match with Kono until the 15th hole, where she made a 15-foot birdie putt to square the match. She won the 16th with a par to go 1 up and the players halved No. 17. Kono needed to win the 18th hole to force extra holes, but her birdie putt rolled over the edge and Park safely two-putted for the win.

Park has been in the United States for just two months. She will return to Korea later this summer after playing in next month’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Trump National in Bedminster, N.J., and hopefully the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in early August at Old Warson C.C. in St. Louis. This is her first USGA championship and only her fifth year of playing golf.

Neither Kim nor Juneau led by more than two holes in their match. Juneau was 2 up after the 12th hole. Kim won the 13th with a birdie, and then took the 14th with a conceded eagle-2 after Juneau could not escape after driving into a wooded area.

“I felt like, gee, I’m so tired. Thank you, Lord,” said Kim of the concession.

Kim’s par won the 16th hole. At the 17th, she hit her approach shot to within 2 feet of the hole for a birdie and the win.

Kim was this country’s premier amateur when she was 14 years old. She was the youngest to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur and shot 62 to tie the 18-hole stroke-play record at the 2007 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Concentrating on her school work the past two years, she had virtually disappeared from the winner’s circle until this summer. In May she topped the field at a U.S. Women’s Open sectional qualifier in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Juneau said that as a Canadian resident, she was unaware of Kim’s outstanding record.

“I knew she was a good player, but I didn’t know she had won so many tournaments,” Juneau said.

Park faces Cydney Clanton, 19, of Concord, N.C., in the quarterfinals. Clanton dispatched Lizette Salas, 19, of Azusa, Calif., 1 up. Song, the runner-up in the 2009 NCAA Division I Championship for the University of Southern California, will play Casie Cathrea, 13, of Livermore, Calif. Cathrea is the youngest remaining player in the field. Kim meets 17-year-old Sun Gyoung Park of Vail, Ariz.

Another quarterfinal will feature Sydnee Michaels of Temecula, Calif., against Joanna Coe of Mays Landing, N.J. Coe won the 2008 NCAA Division II individual title as a Rollins College freshman.

All eight quarterfinalists are now fully exempt into the 2010 WAPL.

The quarterfinal and semifinal matches will be played Friday and the 36-hole final is scheduled for Saturday.

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

Devens, Mass – Results from the second round of match play at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur being played at the 6,267-yard, par-72 Red Tail Golf Club:

Round of 32
Upper Bracket

Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (138) def. Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (148), 2 and 1
Jisoo Park, Korea (149) def. Kristen Hill, Weston, Fla. (143), 19 holes
Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (142) def. Stefanie Kenoyer, Lighthouse Point, Fla. (148), 2 and 1
Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (142) def. Simone Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (146), 4 and 3
Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass. (141) def. Ellen Mueller, Bartlesville, Okla. (148), 3 and 2
Jennifer Song, La Cañada, Calif. (143) def.  Alexandra Stewart, Peoria, Ariz. (149), 5 and 4
Alice Kim, Walnut, Calif. (141) def. Victoria Park, Korea (148), 5 and 4
Casie Cathrea, Livermore, Calif. (145) def. Sarah Brown, Lopatcong Township, N.J. (150), 1 up

Lower Bracket

Kristen Schelling, Mesa, Ariz. (152) def.  Kate Ackerson, Allen, Texas (148), 1 up
Sun Gyoung Park, Vail, Ariz. (149) def.  Jennifer Hahn, Henderson, Nev. (149), 4 and 2
Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (147) def. Carolina Kim, Canada (141), 2 and 1
Sara-Maude Juneau, Canada (142) def. Taylor Barrett, York, S.C. (148), 5 and 4
Whitney Neuhauser, Charlottesville, Va. (140) def. Angela Villela, Pacoima, Calif. (148), 19 holes
Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (143) def. Katie Burnett, Brunswick, Ga. (149), 2 and 1
Joanna Coe, Mays Landing, N.J. (141) def. Yueer Cindy Feng, Orlando, Fla. (148), 2 up
Leanne Bowditch, Australia (142) def. Aimee Neff, Carmel, Ind. (146), 4 and 3

Round of 16
Upper Bracket

J. Park def. Kono, 1 up
Clanton def. Salas, 1 up
Song def. Altomare, 1 up
Cathrea def. A. Kim, 2 and 1

Lower Bracket

S.G. Park def. Schelling. 5 and 4
K. Kim def.  Juneau, 2 and 1
Michaels def. Neuhauser, 1 up
Coe def. Bowditch, 19 holes

Devens, Mass. – Starting times and pairings for Friday’s quarterfinal matches of the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship being played at the 6,267-yard, par-72 Red Tail Golf Club (All times EDT):

Quarterfinals
Upper Bracket

8 a.m.:  Jisoo Park, Korea (149) vs. Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (142)
8:10 a.m.: Jennifer Song, La Cañada, Calif. (143) vs. Casie Cathrea, Livermore, Calif. (145)

Lower Bracket

8:20 a.m.: Sun Gyoung Park, Vail, Ariz. (149) vs. Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (147)
8:30 a.m.: Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (143) vs. Joanna Coe, Mays Landing, N.J. (141)