Medalist Kono, Kimberly Kim, Schelling Reach WAPL Third Round

Devens, Mass. – Medalist Stephanie Kono, 19, of Honolulu, Hawaii, advanced to Thursday afternoon’s third round of match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,267-yard, par-72 Red Tail Golf Club.

Medalist Stephanie Kono moved into the third round of the WAPL by beating future college teammate Tiffany Lua, 2 and 1. (John Mummert/USGA)

Kono defeated Tiffany Lua, 18, of Rowland Heights, Calif., 2 and 1, in this morning’s second round. Kono versus Lua was a rematch from the 2007 WAPL when Kono beat Lua, the medalist that year, in the first round.

The Kono-Lua match see-sawed until the 12th hole when Kono began a three hole stretch of match-play wins. She won the 12th with a par and then went 2 up with a birdie at No. 13. A winning par at No. 14 gave the UCLA sophomore a 3-up lead. Lua, who will join Kono on the UCLA campus this fall, got a hole back with a par at the 15th, but the match ended on the 17th green.

Both Kono and Lua were WAPL semifinalists in 2008.

Kono will meet Jisoo Park, 14, of Korea one of the afternoon round-of-16 matches. Park defeated Kristen Hill, 19, of Weston, Fla., in 19 holes.

Hill was one hole down when she made a clutch par at the 18th hole to extend the match. On the 19th, Park made a birdie from 5 feet to win the match after Hill missed from 20 feet.

 Kristen Schelling, 19, of Mesa, Ariz., advanced by defeating Kate Anderson, 22, of Allen, Texas, 1 up. Schelling will go against Sun Gyoung Park of Vail, Ariz., in the afternoon.

The 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, Kimberly Kim, 17, of Hilo, Hawaii, defeated Caroline Kim, 21, of Canada, 2 and 1. Kimberly Kim will meet Sara-Maude Juneau of Canada in the third round. Juneau defeated  Taylor Barrett, 21, of York, S.C., 5 and 4.

Also advancing to the third round was local favorite Brittany Altomare of Shrewsbury, Mass., and 2008 WAPL runner-up Jennifer Song of La Cañada, Calif. Altomare, who is headed to the University of Virginia in the fall, eliminated Ellen Mueller of Bartlesville, Okla., 3 and 2, while Song, the NCAA Freshman of the Year this past season for the University of Southern California, ousted 17-year-old Alexandra Stewart of Peoria, Ariz., 5 and 4. Song and Altomare were matched up in the third round on  Thursday afternoon.

The Women’s Amateur Public Links, one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, concludes with a scheduled 36-hole final on Saturday.

Story written by Rhonda Glenn, manager of communications for the USGA. E-mail her with questions or comments at rglenn@usga.org.