Defending
Champion Park in Semifinals
Fairfield, Conn. – Defending champion In- Bee Park, 15, of Eustis, Fla., moved
on to the semifinal round of the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship
after beating Hsiao-Ching Lu, 15, of Chinese Taipei, 6 and 5 in their
quarterfinal match. Park recorded five birdies in just 13 holes at the
6,303-yard, par-71 Brooklawn Country Club to continue her bid to become
only the second player in history to repeat as Girls’ Junior champion.
Park’s opponent in the semifinals will be Paula Creamer, 16, of Pleasanton, Calif., who competed in the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open and beat Julieta
Granada, 16, of Paraguay, 1 up, in their morning match.
The
other semifinal match will pit 13-year-old Mina Harigae, of Monterey, Calif., against Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, 17, of Toms River, N.J. Harigae,
the reigning two-time California State Women’s Amateur champion, fought
off Morgan Pressel, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., by making birdie at
the 19 th hole to win the most tightly contested match of the quarterfinal
round. Pressel, who knocked 13-year-old Michelle Wie, of Honolulu,
Hawaii, out of the championship, was bidding to join Creamer as the
second player in the semifinals that played in the 2003 U.S. Women’s
Open.
Wuesthoff,
who was born in Korea, closed out 13-year-old Esther Choe, of La Quinta,
Calif., 3 and 2, in the final match of the quarterfinals. Wuesthoff
is playing in her fifth Girl’s Junior and her play this week marks the
furthest she has ever advanced in the championship.
Park,
the two-time medalist, has only once taken a match past the 14 th hole,
winning early round matches twice by a margin of 6 and 5, and once by
5 and 4. She is displaying the consistency and form that led her to
become the second youngest champion in Girls’ Junior history last year
at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, N.J.
“I
was hitting my driver far and straight and hit my irons very close (to
the hole) and my putting was okay,” said Park, whose approach has been
a blueprint for success in this championship.
As
for her thoughts about repeating as champion Park noted, “I have thought
about it. If I will defend it, that would be great. I feel a lot better
than last year. I have a lot of confidence going into the semifinals.”
Park’s
coach Charlie Woo dismissed any worries about running out of room in
the family trophy case. “If we have to, we will make another one,” he
said.
The
back and forth match between Paula Creamer and Julieta Granada was all
square heading into the 396-yard, par-4 17th hole, with both players
having held the lead at two separate times. Granada, who competed for
Paraguay in the 2000 World Amateur Team Championship, was short of the
green in two, while Creamer found the middle of the putting surface
with her approach. Granada failed to get up and down for par; Creamer
converted a two-putt for par and headed to last hole with a 1-up lead.
Granada
was, again, unable to save par from short of the green on the 395-yard
18th, and though Creamer finished the round with a bogey, that score
was good enough to halve the hole and win the match. Creamer will square
off against Park in the first semifinal match, and admits that she needs
to step up her game this afternoon in order to compete.
“In-Bee
is a great player. I definitely didn’t play that great; I left a lot
of shots out there and missed too many greens,” she said. “If I play
the way I did it’s going to be a struggle, but I think I can step it
up. It’s going to have to be a lot better this afternoon.”
Pressel,
playing in her fourth Girls’ Junior, had advanced to at least the third
round in each of her last three appearances, including a semifinal showing
in 2001 when she lost to eventual champion Nicole Perrot. Harigae, despite
her lack of length, continued to show her brilliant short-game touch.
For the first time in the championship, Harigae reached the par-4 first
hole in regulation when she recorded the birdie to close out Pressel.
It was the second straight extra-hole match for Harigae, who eliminated
long-hitting Brittany Lang, of McKinney, Texas, in the third round
on Thursday afternoon. She is competing in her first Girls’ Junior and
has also qualified for the upcoming Women’s Amateur.
“I
just play my own game,” said Harigae, “and as my dad always told me,
‘Always be up, never be down.’”
Wuesthoff
came into the championship having already competed in one LPGA Tour
event this summer. She was one of two Monday qualifiers for the Shop
Rite Classic in Atlantic City, N.J. In four matches, Wuesthoff, who
tied Wie for the second-lowest total in the stroke-play portion of the
championship (1-under 141) has only been extended past the 16 th hole
once.
The
U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship is one of 13 championships conducted
annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly
for amateurs. The U.S. Girls’ Junior is open to female amateur golfers
who have not reached their 18 th birthday prior to the end of the championship
and have a USGA Handicap Index of 18.4 or better.
Fairfield,
Conn. – Results of today’s quarterfinal round of match play from the
2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the 6,303-yard, par-71 Brooklawn
Country Club:
In-Bee
Park, Eustis, Fla. (140) def. Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (153),
6 and 5
Paula
Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (142) def. Julieta Granada, Paraguay
(145), 1 up
Mina
Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (148) def. Morgan Pressel, Boca Raton,
Fla. (150), 19 Holes
Sukjin-Lee
Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (141) def. Esther Choe, La Quinta, Calif.
(146), 3 and 2
Fairfield,
Conn. – Pairings for Friday’s semifial round of match play at the 2003
U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, played at the 6,303-yard, par-71 Brooklawn
Country Club (all times are Eastern):
1:30
pm In-Bee Park, Eustis, Fla. (140) vs. Paula Creamer, Pleasanton,
Calif. (142)
1:45
pm Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (148) vs. Sukjin-Lee
Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (141)
