Quarterfinals set at AJGA Polo Junior
11/23/2016 | by American Junior Golf Association
see also: View results for Polo Junior Classic, Bethpage State Park - Black Course
Rolex Junior Players of the Year Noah Goodwin and Paphangkorn Tavatanakit are both headed to the quarterfinals
PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL (November 23, 2016) -- Rolex Junior Players of the Year Noah Goodwin and Paphangkorn Tavatanakit are both headed to the quarterfinals after two solid rounds of match play Wednesday at the AJGA Polo Golf Junior Classic at PGA National Resort & Spa.
Since the event came to PGA National Resort & Spa in 2009, the only Rolex Player of the Year to also win the Polo Golf Junior Classic was Ariya Jutanugarn in 2012. In the Boys Division, Jordan Spieth in 2009 and Anthony Paolucci in 2010 made it the farthest into the semifinals. In the history of the event, only 15 Rolex Junior Players of the Year have won the event, and only one time have both Rolex Junior Players of the Year won in the same year (1991).
Goodwin advanced to the Round of 32 as the 26th-seed, one shot clear of the cut line. His morning round was the only match to extend beyond 18 holes, with the junior from Corinth, Texas, winning in 19 holes over seven-seed Luis Carrera of Mexico City, Mexico. The afternoon round was a matchup of Wyndham Cup West teammates, with Goodwin pulling out the 3&2 win over Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, California.
Jacob Bergeron of Slidell, Louisiana, finished 4&2 over Brandon Gillis of Nashua, New Hampshire. Bergeron is an LSU commit in his first AJGA match play experience. After advancing to match play through the 7-for-3 playoff Tuesday, Gillis pulled an upset over two-seed Karl Vilips 3&2 in the Round of 32 before falling short of the quarterfinals.
Sixteen-seed Noah Norton of Chico, California, defeated the stroke-play medalist Joseph Pagdin of the United Kingdom 2&1 in the Round of 16. Norton, the defending PING Invitational champion, defeated 17-seed Devondeep Bling in the morning 3&2.
The other quarterfinalists include: eight-seed Davis Shore of Knoxville, Tennessee; 13-seed Ryan Grider of Lewisville, Texas; 12-seed Brandon Mancheno of Jacksonville, Florida; 30-seed Won Jun Lee of Wesley Chapel, Florida; and six-seed Kaiwen Liu of San Diego, California.
Tavatanakit started the morning with a 2&1 win over 31-seed Mathilde Claisse of Poissy, France, on the Fazio course. The UCLA commit from Bangkok, Thailand, cruised to a 5&3 win over Ashley Menne of Surprise, Arizona, in the Round of 16, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in her career.
Frida Kinhult of Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, pulled two upsets and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Polo Golf Junior Classic for the first time. After falling short in the Round of 32 last year, Kinhult, as the 29-seed, won 8&7 over four-seed Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina. Kinhult then defeated 13-seed Yujeong Son of Norman, Oklahoma, 2&1.
Stroke-play medalist Hye-Jin Choi of Gimhae-si, South Korea, continued her brilliance in match play this year with a 6&5 win over Beatrice Wallin of Olofstorp, Sweden, and a 4&2 win over 16-seed Auston Kim of St. Augustine, Florida. Choi finished as a semifinalist at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in July and is making her AJGA debut this week.
Quarterfinal matches will run from 7:30-8:40 a.m. off No. 1 tee of the Champion course.
About the Polo Junior Classic
Sixty-four top junior golfers will be invited to compete in a round-robin style match play event. Based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings, an equal field of 32 boys (Polo Division) and 32 girls (Liberty Division) will be divided into eight groupings of four...
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