USGA Boys Junior: Florida's Vongvanij is Medalist

18 Jul 2006
see also: U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, Oakland Hills Country Club - North Course
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Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (July 18, 2006) -– Arnond Vongvanij of Bradenton, Fla., shot a 5-under-par 67 Tuesday to claim medalist honors at 8-under-par 136 as the stroke play qualifying portion of the U.S. Junior Amateur concludes Tuesday at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club.

Hawaiian-born Vongvanij, a semifinalist in 2005 who lost to eventual champion Kevin Tway, posted five birdies in a bogey-free round, which followed his 69 on Monday. All of his birdie putts were from 12 feet or less.

“To me, it doesn’t make a difference,” said Vongvanij, 17, of the possibility of winning the stroke-play medal. “I just tried to play two solid rounds and make my way into match play. I happened to play really well and I’m happy with that. (Tuesday), I was focusing on hitting greens. When I hit it close, I made the birdie, but if not, I lagged it up for a two-putt. I’m going to stick with that game plan.”

Vongvanij, who goes by a family nickname of ‘Bank’, held a 1-up lead with three holes to play in last year’s semifinal match with Tway but missed 6-foot putt on the 18th hole to force extra holes.

“This is a really big event and all I’ve been doing in my practice is putting,” said the University of Florida-bound high school senior.

He holds a one-stroke lead over two other 17-year-old junior golf champions – Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, Calif., and Philip Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz., who finished at 7-under 137.“We are all very good friends,” Vongvanij said. “That’s good. Now we are all on different sides (of the match play bracket).

Fowler, the 2006 California state high school champion, joined Vongvanij in shooting the lowest round to this point in the championship at 67.

“It was one of my goals to be on top or one of the medalists,” said Fowler, a three-time California high school player of the year, who advanced to the round of 16 last year. “But, going into match play it doesn’t really mean anything to be medalist. It matters who is holding the trophy at the end of the week; if you are medalist, great.”

“I’m playing real well,” said Francis, who will attend UCLA in the fall. “I’m putting well. Usually if I’m putting well, I’ll score well. My forte is that I strike the ball real well. In the tournaments I’ve won this year (four), the difference in those that I’ve won and haven’t won has been my putting.”

Fowler was humble but matter of fact in assessing his goal of winning this national event: “That’s what my goal is for the summer. I would like to try and get one. It’s my last year. I know it’s Philip’s last year too. All of us are going to be gunning for it.”

Tommy Chunghao Mou of Chinese Taipei, shot 31 on his second nine to tie for the second-best nine-hole score in the championship’s history. He birdied six of his last seven holes and shot 4-under-par 68.

The low 64 scorers qualify for the six rounds of match play, which begins Wednesday and ends with Saturday’s 36-hole championship final. All matches before the final are 18 holes.

The U.S. Junior Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are solely for amateurs.

Story written by Pete Kowalski of USGA Media Relations. E-mail him with questions or comments at pkowalski@usga.org.

* * * *

Final qualifying results from the USGA Junior Amateur, played at the Par-72 Rancho Santa Fe Country Club:

Pos	Name	Hometown	Rd1	Rd2	Tot	+/-
1	Arnond Vongvanij	Bradenton, Fla.	69	67	136	-8
T2	Rickie Fowler	Murrieta, Calif.	70	67	137	-7
T2	Philip Francis	Scottsdale, Ariz.	68	69	137	-7
4	Corey Nagy	Charlotte, N.C.	71	68	139	-5
T5	Sang Yi	Carrollton, Texas	71	69	140	-4
T5	Wesley Graham	Port Orange, Fla.	70	70	140	-4
T7	Joe David	Madison, Tenn.	73	68	141	-3
T7	Sihwan Kim	Buena Park, Calif.	71	70	141	-3
T9	Matthew Pierce Jr	San Juan Capistrano, Calif.	71	71	142	-2
T9	Cody Gribble	Dallas, Texas	68	74	142	-2
T11	Tommy Chunghao Mou	Chinese Taipei	75	68	143	-1
T11	Josh Jones	The Colony, Texas	71	72	143	-1
T11	Sean Maekawa	Paauilo, Hawaii	70	73	143	-1
T11	Peter Uihlein	Bradenton, Fla.	72	71	143	-1
T11	Kevin Tway	Edmond, Okla.	73	70	143	-1
T16	Tadd Fujikawa	Honolulu, Hawaii	74	70	144	Even
T16	Daniel Stanley	Boiling Springs, S.C.	74	70	144	Even
T16	Cory Whitsett	Houston, Texas	71	73	144	Even
T16	Drew Kittleson	Scottsdale, Ariz.	72	72	144	Even
T16	Robbie Ziegler	Canby, Ore.	73	71	144	Even
T16	Chris Hamm	Fredericksburg, Va.	70	74	144	Even
T22	John Hahn	Hudson, Ohio	72	73	145	1
T22	Bo Hoag	Columbus, Ohio	72	73	145	1
T22	John Douglas Archibald	Simi Valley, Calif.	69	76	145	1
T22	Tyler Weworski	Carlsbad, Calif.	73	72	145	1
T22	Harris English	Thomasville, Ga.	75	70	145	1
T27	Danny Lee	New Zealand	73	73	146	2
T27	Andrew Putnam	University Place, Wash.	73	73	146	2
T27	T J Kua	Lihue, Hawaii	75	71	146	2
T27	Aaron Sherry	Ft Myers, Fla.	71	75	146	2
T27	Ajeetesh Sandhu	India	74	72	146	2
T27	Hunter Howell	Raeford, N.C.	77	69	146	2
T27	Jean-Philippe Paiement	Canada	72	74	146	2
T27	Julian Suri	St Augustine, Fla.	74	72	146	2
T27	Brad Schneider	Tampa, Fla.	76	70	146	2
T36	Hyun Seok Lim	Korea	78	69	147	3
T36	Alex Volpenhein	Edgewood, Ky.	75	72	147	3
T36	Wesley Bryan	Chapin, S.C.	72	75	147	3
T36	Mason Jacobs	Metropolis, Ill.	79	68	147	3
T36	Wes Roach	Knoxville, Tenn.	76	71	147	3
T36	Cody Paladino	Kensington, Conn.	75	72	147	3
T42	Jack Fields	Southern Pines, N.C.	72	76	148	4
T42	Eric Mina	Fremont, Calif.	74	74	148	4
T42	Lion An	Alpharetta, Ga.	72	76	148	4
T42	Ravi Patel	Naperville, Ill.	74	74	148	4
T42	Christopher Deforest	Cottekill, N.Y.	71	77	148	4
T42	William Cauley	Jacksonville, Fla.	74	74	148	4
T42	Michael Ballo Jr	Springdale, Conn.	75	73	148	4
T49	Brent Whitehead	Marietta, Ga.	73	76	149	5
T49	Scott Pinckney	Anthem, Ariz.	72	77	149	5
T49	William Miller	Venetia, Pa.	76	73	149	5
T49	Richard Lee	Chandler, Ariz.	77	72	149	5
T49	Joe Monte	Chantilly, Va.	74	75	149	5
T49	Peter Gibbs	Granite Bay, Calif.	72	77	149	5
T49	Morgan Hoffmann	Wyckoff, N.J.	72	77	149	5
T49	Tyler Ichikawa	Los Altos, Calif.	74	75	149	5
T49	Clayton Rotz	Chambersburg, Pa.	71	78	149	5
T58	Clark Palmer	Augusta, Ga.	78	72	150	6
T58	Steve Ziegler	Broomfield, Colo.	76	74	150	6
T58	John Peterson	Fort Worth, Texas	74	76	150	6
T58	Peter Williamson	Hanover, N.H.	79	71	150	6
T58	Kent Bulle	Glasgow, Ky.	75	75	150	6
T58	David Flynn	Elk Grove Village, Ill.	74	76	150	6
T58	Ryan Sirman	Tyler, Texas	78	72	150	6
Failed to Qualify
	Chad Day	Raleigh, N.C.	74	76	150	6
	Bryan Harris	Rancho Mirage, Calif.	78	73	151	7
	Smylie Kaufman	Vestavia, Ala.	74	77	151	7
	Nick Delio	Valencia, Calif.	72	79	151	7
	Derek Ernst	Clovis, Calif.	79	72	151	7
	Brinson Paolini	Virginia Beach, Va.	75	76	151	7
	Tyler Graf	Elm Grove, Wis.	76	76	152	8
	Jordan Smith	Olathe, Kan.	75	77	152	8
	Samuel Chavez	San Mateo, Calif.	74	78	152	8
	Colton Staggs	Tulsa, Okla.	77	75	152	8
	John Kelly	East Longmeadow, Mass.	80	72	152	8
	Mike Coatman	Lincoln, Neb.	77	75	152	8
	Chris Johnson	Columbia, Mo.	72	80	152	8
	Tyler Morris	Encinitas, Calif.	77	75	152	8
	Anthony Aloi	Plainsboro, N.J.	78	74	152	8
	Klinton Krieger	Cheyenne, Wyo.	75	77	152	8
	Spencer Fletcher	Los Altos, Calif.	74	78	152	8
	Cole Fisher	Hot Springs, Ark.	81	72	153	9
	Bobby Bode	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	73	80	153	9
	Andrew Loupe	Baton Rouge, La.	75	78	153	9
	Lion Kim	Lake Mary, Fla.	75	78	153	9
	Michael Garden	St Albans, Mo.	76	77	153	9
	Drew Davidson	Canton, Ohio	75	78	153	9
	Josh Anderson	Murrieta, Calif.	78	75	153	9
	Timothy Pawul	East Setauket, N.Y.	80	74	154	10
	Will Hogan	Ozark, Mo.	76	78	154	10
	David Chung	Fayetteville, N.C.	77	77	154	10
	Bryan Pierce	Arroyo Grande, Calif.	77	77	154	10
	Matthew Krembel	Shalimar, Fla.	74	80	154	10
	Tripp McAllister	Lake City, S.C.	79	75	154	10
	Chris Mory	Haslett, Mich.	79	75	154	10
	Tanner Briele	New Bern, N.C.	72	82	154	10
	Tommy Higham	Shelley, Idaho	75	79	154	10
	Blake Redmond	Sugar Land, Texas	70	85	155	11
	Daniel Meggs	Charlotte, N.C.	79	76	155	11
	Payne Gniewek	Trenton, Mich.	79	76	155	11
	Darren Wallace	Canada	76	79	155	11
	Jonathan Randolph	Brandon, Miss.	78	77	155	11
	Dustin Zhang	Canada	83	73	156	12
	Austin Love	Anderson, Calif.	76	80	156	12
	Ramsey Sahyoun	Los Angeles, Calif.	73	83	156	12
	Max Bichsel	Cranbury, N.J.	80	76	156	12
	Davis Lee	Palisades Park, N.J.	80	76	156	12
	Mark Lantz	Indianapolis, Ind.	80	76	156	12
	Robert Galbreath Jr	Huntingdon Valley, Pa.	77	79	156	12
	Kenneth Rucker	Eau Claire, Wis.	79	78	157	13
	Julien Goulet	Canada	77	80	157	13
	Ross Mizell	The Woodlands, Texas	81	76	157	13
	Matthew Hoffenberg	Simi Valley, Calif.	77	80	157	13
	Ben Suarez	Sulphur, La.	79	78	157	13
	Ian McConnell	Riverview, Fla.	81	76	157	13
	Max Buckley	Rye, N.Y.	81	76	157	13
	Johnny Delprete	Palm City, Fla.	82	75	157	13
	Francis Santiago	Lynnwood, Wash.	78	80	158	14
	David Sanders	Mount Laurel, N.J.	78	80	158	14
	Patrick Hanzel	Lincoln, Neb.	78	80	158	14
	Graham Baillargeon	Canada	81	77	158	14
	Jack Paton	Hillsborough, Calif.	81	78	159	15
	Jeremiah Wooding	Riverside, Calif.	81	78	159	15
	Jack Versau II	Coldwater, Mich.	79	80	159	15
	David Gies II	Charlotte, N.C.	79	80	159	15
	Brandon Tomasovich	Greeley, Colo.	78	81	159	15
	Nick Helser	Lancaster, Ohio	83	76	159	15
	Lance Collins	Lead, S.D.	78	81	159	15
	Erich Johnston	Fort Wayne, Ind.	82	77	159	15
	Michael Miller	Aledo, Texas	77	82	159	15
	Evan Emerick	San Diego, Calif.	78	82	160	16
	Riley Pumphrey	Georgetown, Texas	78	82	160	16
	Branden Dalton	Fernley, Nev.	80	81	161	17
	Wes Strang	Bethesda, Md.	80	81	161	17
	Michael Soowal	Philadelphia, Pa.	77	84	161	17
	Ben Freeman	Fargo, N.D.	82	79	161	17
	Eric Steger	Noblesville, Ind.	77	84	161	17
	Michael Jurca	St George, Utah	77	84	161	17
	Alan Lee	Chile	79	83	162	18
	Niko Bain	Glendale, Ariz.	82	81	163	19
	Nick Johnson	Kansas City, Mo.	82	81	163	19
	Kevin Huntington	West Chester, Pa.	80	83	163	19
	Aaron Gauldin	Camp Point, Ill.	84	79	163	19
	Brian Wynia	Sioux Falls, S.D.	82	82	164	20
	Matthew McKown	Van Buren, Ark.	81	83	164	20
	Michael Lee	Corlinth, Texas	79	86	165	21
	Chris Olson	Midlothian, Va.	77	88	165	21
	Davis Mullany	Gt Barrington, Mass.	84	82	166	22
	Isaac Idstein	Canyon Lake, Texas	81	85	166	22
	Michael Kinkopf	Columbus, Ohio	86	80	166	22
	Scott Juhl	Springfield, Va.	83	84	167	23
	Oscar Neubauer	Bethlehem, Pa.	84	83	167	23
	Kent Crymes	Athens, Ga.	81	86	167	23
	Joseph Perkins	Royal City, Wash.	91	79	170	26
	James Ionna	Middletown, Ohio	86	88	174	30
	A J Olson	White Bear Lake, Minn.	92	97	189	45

ABOUT THE U.S. Junior Amateur

While it is not the oldest competition, the U.S. Junior Amateur is considered the premier junior competition, having been around since 1948. The event is open to male golfers who have not reached their 19th birthday prior to the close of competition and whose USGA Handicap Index does not exceed 6.4. The U.S. Junior is one of 14 national championship conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

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