-- USGA Photo
Kansas City, Mo. – Co-medalist Mari Chun and defending champion Ya-Ni Tseng both won second round matches Thursday morning at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.
Chun, 17, defeated Renee Skidmore of Everett, Wash., 1 up. with her first lead coming after the 17th hole.
"I was not putting well but she was,” Chun said. “We both didn’t give each other breaks. It was more like struggling and trying to hang on.”
Chun, who will attend Stanford on a golf scholarship this fall, was a co-medalist at the 2004 Girls’ Junior. She has played in three USGA championships and been co-medalist twice.
Tseng, 16, of Chinese Taipei moved on with a 4-and-3 victory over Mariko Shimozaki of Kihei, Hawaii. She took her first lead with a birdie on the 5th and then birdied 9, 12 and 13 for the victory.
"I held it tight,” said Tseng, who slept with her putter again. “I felt more confidence but not more pressure. My driver and irons were good and my putter did work.”
Juli Wightman of Chicopee, Mass., stunned Angela Park of Torrance, Calif., 1 up.
"We were shot for shot the whole match” said Wightman, 19. “I tried not to focus on how good of a player she was and kept playing my game.”
Wightman won the 8th hole with a par for her last lead. The players then matched scores for 10 more holes, including a pair of birdies on the 18th. Park never led in the match.
Park, whose Korean parents met in Brazil where her mother runs an embroidery factory, was a semifinalist at the 2004 WAPL, losing to 2003 champion Michelle Wie.
Quarterfinalists are exempt from qualifying for the 2006 WAPL at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colo.
The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of match play are Friday. The championship concludes with the 36-hole final on Saturday.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links is one of 10 national championships for amateurs conducted annually by the USGA. The Association also conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open.
Kansas City, Mo. – Results for Thursday’s second round of match play at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links played at Swope Memorial Golf Course (6,047 yards, par 71):
Second Round
Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (136) def. Renee Skidmore, Everett, Wash. (148), 1 up
Hannah Jun, San Diego, Calif. (145) def. Rachel Smith, Powell, Tenn. (150), 2 up
Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. (143) def. Kwan-Chih Lu, Chinese Taipei (147), 1 up
Shannon Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D. (146) def. Ashley Grier, Hagerstown, Md. (143), 5 and 4
Elizabeth Dotson, White Bluff, Tenn. (148) def. Christi Athas, Eldora, Iowa (152), 1 up
Courtney Mahon, Kansas City, Mo. (146) def. Ashley Tait, Littleton, Colo. (150), 3 and 1
Eun Jung Lee, Korea (141) def. Heather Rose, Chillicothe, Ohio (147), 1 up
Karen Quinn, Australia (151) def. Ali Griffin, Edmond, Okla. (149), 2 and 1
Juli Wightman, Chicopee, Mass. (148) def. Angela Park, Torrance, Calif. (136), 1 up
Kailin Downs, Bend, Ore. (145) def. Angela Oh, Maple Shade, N.J. (150), 4 and 2
Ya-Ni Tseng, Chinese Taipei (152) def. Mariko Shimozaki, Kihei, Hawaii (147), 4 and 3
Stephanie Ruiz, Edmond, Okla. (149) def. Jenny Suh, Fairfax, Va. (143), 2 and 1
Marina Choi, Los Angeles, Calif. (139) def. Annika Welander, Winnetka, Ill. (148), 4 and 3
Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif. (145) def. Kelly Jacques, Longmont, Colo. (150), 5 and 4
Tiffany Chudy, Miramar, Fla. (142) def. RemiJin Camping, Hollywood, Fla. (149), 20 holes
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (151) def. Noriko Nakazaki, Hanover Park, Ill. (146), 1 up