Medalist Stephanie Kono Posts First-Round Win At 2009 WAPL

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

Kono defeated Emily Powers of Quincy, Ill., 4 and 3.

Sarah Brown advanced with a 2-and-1 win over Glory Jooyoung Yang. (Robert Walker/USGA)

Annie Park, 14, of Levittown, N.Y., the second low qualifier, was upset, 4 and 3, in her first-round match against Kristen Schelling, 19, of Mesa, Ariz.

Also advancing was 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Kimberly Kim, 17, of Hilo, Hawaii. Kiim defeated Mallory Fraiche of Metarie, La., 3 and 1.

Kono, who fired 70-68—138 in qualifying, wielded a hot putter in defeating Powers, who was the last of 64 qualifiers and had to endure two playoff holes Wednesday morning just to make it into the draw. At the third hole, Kono knocked in a 15-foot birdie putt to win the hole, and then sank a 20-footer for another birdie to halve the sixth after Powers had hit her ball close to the hole. Kono won the 13th hole with a 23-foot birdie putt and closed out the match by converting a 10-footer for birdie at No. 15.

“I didn’t hit the ball that close [to the flagstick] today, but I made a lot of putts,” Kono said.

Schelling won a playoff late Tuesday to face Park, then pulled off the biggest upset of the first round. Park had qualified with 70-69—139 compared to Schelling’s 77-75—152. Schelling was one of 11 players who had to endure a twilight playoff on Tuesday to determine who would qualify for the six remaining spots. Schelling’s par at the first playoff hole barely placed her into match play.

“I’m just excited to be playing, quite honestly,” said Schelling. “I’m just glad to have a tee time. I made a par in the dark to get into match play. It was so dark I couldn’t see.”

Park outdrove Schelling by up to 10 yards and has a glowing junior golf résumé. Schelling had already enrolled at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas when she began to hear Park’s name.

“I was impressed,” Schelling said, “but anything can happen in match play.”

Schelling lost only one hole in the match. She birdied the third hole to take a 1-up lead and went 2 up with a birdie at the fifth hole. Park double-bogeyed the ninth hole to give Schelling a 3-up advantage.

Schelling said her play on the par-5 10th hole gave her the momentum to win.

“Annie hit a long drive and a really good second shot and had 40 yards to the flagstick,” Schelling said. “I felt I was kind of in trouble, because 3 up is not a big deal. It can just slip away. But I hit a wedge from 85 yards and it was the perfect yardage.”

When Schelling made her 14-foot birdie putt to go 4 up, “I started to calm down a little bit,” she said. “Now I have another tee time. It’s pretty cool. I’ve never gotten past the round of 32.”

In Thursday’s second round, Kono will face future UCLA teammate Tiffany Lua, 18, of Rowland Heights, Calif. Schelling faces Kate Ackerson, 22, of Allen, Texas. Kim will play Caroline Kim, 21, of Canada.

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

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

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

Round of 64
Upper Bracket

Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii  (138) def.  Emily Power, Quincy, Ill. (152), 4 and 3
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (148) def. Caroline Powers, Bowling Green, Ohio (148), 3 and 1
Kristen Hill, Weston, Fla. (143) def.  Nikki Koller, Lewisburg, Ky. (149), 1 up
Jisoo Park, Korea (149) def. Sara Grantham, Wilsonville, Ala. (143), 21 holes
Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (142) def.  Kristina Nhim, Buena Park, Calif. (151), 2 and 1
 Stefanie Kenoyer, Lighthouse Point, Fla. (148) def. Kayla Mortellaro, Phoenix, Ariz. (147), 2 and 1
Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (142) def. Miki Ueoka, Lihue, Hawaii (150), 2 up
Simone Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (146) def. Candace Schepperle, Birmingham, Ala. (148), 3 and 2
Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass. (141) def. Pennapa Pulsawath, Thailand (152), 2 and 1
Ellen Mueller, Bartlesville, Okla. (148) def.  Ashley Medders, Alma, Ga. (148), 3 and 1
Jennifer Song, La Cañada, Calif. (143) def. Junthima Gulyanamitta, West Lafayette, Ind. (150), 2 and 1
Alexandra Stewart, Peoria, Ariz. (149) def. Kristina Merkle, Honolulu, Hawaii (145), 2 and 1
Alice Kim, Walnut, Calif. (141) def. Gennifer Mendez, North Port, Fla. (152), 19 holes
Victoria Park, Korea (148) def. Seo Hee Moon, Mukilteo, Wash. (147), 1 up
Sarah Brown, Lopatcong Township, N.J. (150) def. Glory Jooyoung Yang, Korea (143), 2 and 1
Casie Cathrea, Livermore, Calif. (145) def. Kamryn Ruffin, Pryor, Okla. (149), 3 and 2

Lower Bracket

Kristen Schelling, Mesa, Ariz. (152) def. Annie Park, Levittown, N.Y. (139), 4 and 3
Kate Ackerson, Allen, Texas (148) def. Mary Mattson, Ijamsville, Md. (148), 3 and 2
Sun Gyoung Park, Vail, Ariz. (149) def. Karen Chung, Livingston, N.J. (143), 2 up
Jennifer Hahn, Henderson, Nev. (149) def. Martina Gavier, Argentina (144),  4 and 2
Caroline Kim, Canada (141) def. Courtney Gunter, Matthews, N.C. (151), 3 and 2
Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (147) def.  Mallory Fraiche, Metairie, La., 3 and 1
Sara-Maude Juneau, Canada (142) def. Carly Werwie, Kenosha, Wis. (150), 20 holes
Taylor Barrett, York, S.C. (148) def. Briana Mao, Folsom, Calif. (146), 2 up
Whitney Neuhauser, Charlottesville, Va. (140) def. Paula Reto, South Africa (152), 5 and 4
Angela Villela, Pacoima, Calif. (148) def. Kim Kaufman, Clark, S.D. (148), 4 and 3
Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (143) def. Madison Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. (150), 3 and 2
Katie Burnett, Brunswick, Ga. (149) def. Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (145), 2 and 1
Joanna Coe, Mays Landing, N.J. (141) def. Mary Carmody, Cortland, N.Y. (152), 3 and 2
Yueer Cindy Feng, Orlando, Fla. (148) def. Becca Huffer, Denver, Colo. (147), 3 and 1
Leanne Bowditch, Australia (142) def. Sarah Whitney, Hingham, Mass. (150), 4 and 3
Aimee Neff, Carmel, Ind. (146) def. Cassie Boles, Lakeland, Fla. (149), 3 and 2

Devens, Mass – Pairings and starting times for 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 (All times EDT):

Round of 32
Upper Bracket

7:30 a.m.: Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (138) vs. Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (148)
7:39 a.m.: Kristen Hill, Weston, Fla. (143) vs. Jisoo Park, Korea (149)
7:48 a.m.: Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (142) vs. Stefanie Kenoyer, Lighthouse Point, Fla. (148)
7:57 a.m.: Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (142) vs. Simone Hoey, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (146)
8:06 a.m.: Brittany Altomare, Shrewsbury, Mass. (141) vs. Ellen Mueller, Bartlesville, Okla. (148)
8:15 a.m.: Jennifer Song, La Cañada, Calif. (143) vs. Alexandra Stewart, Peoria, Ariz. (149)
8:24 a.m.: Alice Kim, Walnut, Calif. (141) vs. Victoria Park, Korea (148)
8:33 a.m.: Sarah Brown, Lopatcong Township, N.J. (150) vs. Casie Cathrea, Livermore, Calif. (145)

Lower Bracket

8:42 a.m.: Kristen Schelling, Mesa, Ariz. (152) vs. Kate Ackerson, Allen, Texas (148)
8:51 a.m.: Sun Gyoung Park, Vail, Ariz. (149) vs. Jennifer Hahn, Henderson, Nev. (149)
9 a.m.: Carolina Kim, Canada (141) vs. Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (147)
9:09 a.m.: Sara-Maude Juneau, Canada (142) vs. Taylor Barrett, York, S.C. (148)
9:18 a.m.: Whitney Neuhauser, Charlottesville, Va. (140) vs. Angela Villela, Pacoima, Calif. (148)
9:27 a.m.: Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (143) vs. Katie Burnett, Brunswick, Ga. (149)
9:36 a.m.: Joanna Coe, Mays Landing, N.J. (141) vs. Yueer Cindy Feng, Orlando, Fla. (148)
9:45 a.m.: Leanne Bowditch, Australia (142) vs. Aimee Neff, Carmel, Ind. (146)