North Plains, Ore. – Jennie Lee, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif., became the lone USA Curtis Cup player remaining in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship when she defeated Sydnee Michaels, 18, of Temecula, Calif., at the 6,380-yard, par 71 Witch Hollow Course of Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Lee won, 2 and 1, advancing to Friday’s quarterfinal round of match play. Her Curtis Cup teammate, Paige Mackenzie went to the sidelines after a 4-and-3 loss to Lee in the morning’s second round.

“There’s a little bit of sadness,” said Mackenzie, the qualifying medalist who was playing in her last amateur tournament before turning professional. “At the same time, I made a good showing. I’d like to look forward to the future.”

After knocking off Paige Mackenzie and Sydnee Michaels Thursday, Jennie Lee earned a ticket to the quarterfinal round Friday. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

Lee was never down in her match with Michaels. She won the second hole with a par and after an exchange of holes was still 1 up going into the 17th. Lee’s par on the 419-yard par 4 ended the match.

“My dad told me, ‘You need to be up on the first nine, that’s the most important thing because it gives you so many options,’” Lee said. “So, that was the advantage for me.”

Katharina Schallenberg, 26, of Germany, also advanced to the quarterfinal after defeating Esther Choe, 17, of Scottsdale, Ariz., 2 up. Choe was one hole down going into the 18th. Preparing to play her fifth shot, Choe inadvertently replaced a divot, improving her stance, which is against the Rules of Golf. She suffered loss of hole and the match was over.

Several of the younger players in the field advanced. Lindy Duncan, 15, of Plantation, Fla., defeated Hana Jang, 14, of Korea, 6 and 5. Jang suffered severe nose bleeds and play was stopped on the 11th hole and on the 13th hole, where paramedics were called in. Duncan won the match on the 13th.

“I hoped Hana would finish the match,” said Duncan. “She played really well and she’s a really scrappy player.”

Duncan and Kimberly Kim, 14, of Pahoa, Hawaii, are the youngest players still in the field. Kim, runner-up in the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, defeated Alison Whitaker, 20, of Australia, 3 and 2. It was a significant victory for the 14-year-old Kim. Whitaker was a semifinalist in the Women’s Amateur last year.

“It feels like an honor,” said Kim. “First, I just wanted to make the cut to make my family happy.”

In other third-round action, Ayaka Kaneko, 16, of Honolulu, Hawaii, defeated Jennifer Osborn, 19, of Huntington Beach, Calif., 2 and 1. Stacy Lewis, 21, of The Woodlands, Texas, defeated Maria Jose Uribe, 16, of Columbia, 2 up. Spain’s representative, Carlotta Ciganda, 16, was defeated by Jennie Arseneault, 18, of Grinnell, Iowa, 2 up, and Eileen Vargas, 21, of Columbia, edged four-time California Women’s Amateur Champion, Mina Harigae, 16, of Monterey, Calif., 1 up.

In Friday’s quarterfinal matches, Lee faces Schallenberg, Kaneko takes on Lewis, Arseneault plays Duncan and Vargas will play against Kim.

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. E-mail her with questions or comments at rglenn@usga.org.

Results

North Plains, Ore. – Results from the second and third rounds 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.