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USGA Women's Amateur: Medalist Upset in Round 2
North Plains, Ore. – Jennie Lee, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif., defeated Paige Mackenzie, 23, of Yakima, Wash., her USA Curtis Cup teammate, 4 and 3, in the second round of match play Thursday in the United States Women’s Amateur at the 6,380-yard, par-71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Mackenzie, the medalist, said this is her last amateur appearance before turning professional.

Sydnee Michaels finds her way out of trouble during her 2-up victory over Alison Walshe. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

“There’s sadness, a little bit, but at the same time I made a good showing,” said Mackenzie, who was favored in the match on the strength of her strong 69-70—139 qualifying score. “I’m looking forward to the future. It’s sad any time there’s a transition but I’m looking forward to qualifying school.”

Lee took a 1-up lead into the back nine and held it through the 12th and 13th holes when Mackenzie frittered away two simple chip shots.

“I failed on two up and downs that were fairly easy,” said Mackenzie, “so I put myself in that situation.”

Lee then won the par-4 14th with a par and the par-3 15th with a birdie to close out the match.

“Her strength is her accuracy and she drove it very well,” Mackenzie said, “then she put it right by the flagstick coming in.”

Katharina Schallenberg, 26, of Germany, defeated Seo-Jae Lee, 17, of Korea, 3 and 2, to advance to this afternoon’s third-round matches. Schallenberg lost the first two holes but showed some sparkling play with birdies on the fourth, fifth and sixth holes to make the turn with a 3-up lead. She lost the 11th to a par, but won the 12th and 14th with pars to take a 4-up lead. Losing the par-3 15th to Lee’s par, Schallenberg hung on to end the match on the 16th.

Esther Choe, 18, of Scottsdale, Ariz., also advanced. In a close match where the players were never separated by more than two holes, Choe birdied the 18th hole to defeat Cydney Clanton, 17, of Concord, N.C., 1 up.

Long-hitting Hana Jang, 14, of Korea, outlasted Ashley Knoll, 21, of The Woodlands, Texas, 2 up. Jang was 1 up going into the 494-yard, par-5 18th hole when she blasted her second shot to within three feet of the green on her second shot. Knoll’s third shot landed to the right of the green in some fluffy rough. She chipped long. Jang putted from the edge and lagged to within three feet. Knoll conceded the birdie putt and the match ended.

The two remaining USGA champions in the field were both eliminated in the second round. Eileen Vargas of Colombia eliminated 2005 U.S. Girls’ Junior winner In Kyung Kim of Korea, 3 and 2. Jennie Arseneault, 18, of Grinnell, Iowa, outlasted reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion Tiffany Joh in 19 holes. Joh, 19, of San Diego, Calif., was trying to become just the second person to win the WAPL and the Women’s Amateur in the same year. Pearl Sinn did so in 1988.

Third-round winners advance to this afternoon’s round of 16. The championship concludes Sunday with a scheduled 36-hole final. The Women’s Amateur 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 USGA Communications. Contact her with questions or comments at rglenn@usga.org.

Results

North Plains, Ore. – Results from the second round of match play Thursday in the United States Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,380-yard, par-71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Round of 32

Upper Bracket

Jennie Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (147) def. Paige Mackenzie, Yakima, Wash. (139), 4 and 3

Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (149) def. Alison Walshe, Westford, Mass. (145), 2 up

Katharina Schallenberg, Germany (143) def. Seo-Jae Lee, Korea (146), 3 and 2

Esther Choe, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148) def. Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (150), 1 up

Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (142) def. Pei-Lin Yu, Chinese Taipei (146), 2 up

Jennifer Osborn, Huntington Beach, Calif. (146) def. Kristen Svicarovich, Hillsboro, Ore. (149), 4 and 2

Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia (147) def. Mi Jung Hur, Korea (142), 4 and 3

Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas (148) def. Candace Schepperle, Birmingham, Ala. (145), 3 and 1

Lower Bracket

Jennie Arseneault, Grinnell, Iowa (147) def. Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif. (141), 19 holes

Carlota Ciganda, Spain (145) def. Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (149), 4 and 2

Hana Jang, Korea (146) def. Ashley Knoll, The Woodlands, Texas (143), 2 up

Lindy Duncan, Plantation, Fla. (144) def. Stacey Kim, Columbus, Ga. (148), 2 up

Eileen Vargas, Colombia (147) def. In Kyung Kim, Korea (141), 3 and 2

Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (149) def. Martina Gillen, Ireland (145), 1 up

Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (146) def. Lauren Espinosa, Hickory Creek, Texas (150), 1 up

Alison Whitaker, Australia (144) def. Margaret Shirley, Roswell, Ga. (148), 20 holes

Pairings

North Plains, Ore. – Pairings for the third round of match play Thursday in the United States Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,380-yard, par-71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Round of 16

Upper Bracket

2:00 p.m. Jennie Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (147) vs. Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (149)

2:10 p.m. Katharina Schallenberg, Germany (143) vs. Esther Choe, Scottsdale, Ariz. (148)

2:20 p.m. Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (142) vs. Jennifer Osborn, Huntington Beach, Calif. (146)

2:30 p.m. Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia (147) vs. Stacy Lewis, The Woodlands, Texas (148)

Lower Bracket

2:40 p.m. Jennie Arseneault, Grinnell, Iowa (147) vs. Carlota Ciganda, Spain (145)

2:50 p.m. Hana Jang, Korea (146) vs. Lindy Duncan, Plantation, Fla. (144)

3:00 p.m. Eileen Vargas, Colombia (147) vs. Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (149)

3:10 p.m. Kimberly Kim, Hilo, Hawaii (146) vs. Alison Whitaker, Australia (144)

ABOUT THE U.S. Women's Amateur

The U.S. Women's Amateur, the third oldest of the USGA championships, was first played in 1895 at Meadowbrook Club in Hempstead, N.Y. The event is open to any female amateur who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 5.4. The Women's Amateur is one of 14 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

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