Pressel Ousts Wie,

Advances to Quarterfinals

 

Fairfield, Conn. – Morgan Pressel beat Michelle Wie, 3 and 2, to advance to the quarterfinals of the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. Pressel, 15, of Boca Raton, Fla., carded two birdies and two bogeys in her third-round match with Wie, 13, of Honolulu, Hawaii, who also had two birdies but made four bogeys at the 6,303-yard, par-71 Brooklawn Country Club. Both teenagers made the cut at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open and Wie, the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion, was seeking to become the first competitor to win both the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links championships in the same season.

 

Pressel raced out to an early lead, winning three of the first six

Morgan Pressel was pumped up after taking a 4-up lead with seven holes to play against Michelle Wie. Pressel won the third-round match, 3 and 2. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

holes. Wie captured the 547-yard eventh hole, but Pressel headed into the back nine with a comfortable 3-up lead after making a 15-foot birdie putt to win the 394-yard ninth hole.

 

Wie, who had driven the ball well this week, missed fairways at inopportune times throughout the match. On the 514-yard 11th she pushed her drive to the right and required four more shots to get on the green. Pressel, meanwhile, hit a wedge on to the green with her third shot and, after a two-putt for par, went 4 up in the match, her biggest lead of the day.

 

But Wie did not give up. She birdied two consecutive holes, the 353-yard 13th and 405-yard 14th, to climb back into it, just 2 down with four holes remaining.

 

On the 128-yard 15th, however, she committed her most costly error of the match when she hit her tee shot into a green-side bunker. Short-sided, Wie failed to advance her bunker shot onto the green, and though her third shot, a chip from just off the putting surface, nearly went in the hole, Pressel made par and regained a 3-up lead.

 

Wie needed to win the 320-yard 16th hole to continue the match, but sliced her tee shot into the right rough, making birdie all but impossible. Pressel, whose drive found the fairway, hit her approach to eight feet, and comfortably two-putted to advance to the quarterfinals for the second time in three years. She was a semifinalist in 2001, losing to eventual champion Nicole Perrot.

 

“I played very consistent,” said Pressel, a two-time U.S. Women’s

Michelle Wie came up a bit short of her goal to win the Women's Amateur Public Links and Girls' Junior in the same year. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

Open contestant. “In the Opens youcan’t miss fairways and the rough is pretty thick here, too. So you can’t miss fairways here, either. I missed one fairway all day, which is what you need to do.”

 

Of her play on the day, Wie said, “I feel disappointed … (but) I think everything can be viewed in a positive way. I really like this tournament and I’m happy to come back next year.”

 

An estimated 500 people followed the Pressel-Wie match, something that was fairly commonplace for both players. “I love playing in front of big crowds,” said Pressel. “It’s a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.”

 

Pressel and Wie had never played against each other in a match and Pressel echoed the sentiments of many in the field when she said about playing the much-heralded Wie, “I really wanted to play her. I wanted to see how I would fare. I think a lot of people wanted to play her, because she doesn’t play many junior events.”

 

Joining Pressel in the quarterfinals is defending champion, and this year’s medalist, In-Bee Park, 15, of Eustis, Fla. The Korean-born Park beat Whitney Wade, 17, of Glasgow, Ky., 5 and 4, after posting five birdies in just 14 holes of play. Wade, who strung together seven birdies in her earlier second round match against fellow 2003 U.S. Women’s Open competitor, Naree Song, 17, of Bradenton, Fla., was unable to respond to Park’s torrid pace.

 

“I had a hard time this morning,” said Park, whose second-round opponent took her the full 18 holes. “But I played much better this afternoon. I feel there’s not much pressure on me because I already won last year. But it would be great to win again.”

 

If Park wins, she would become only the second player to win back-to-back Girls’ Junior titles. Hollis Stacy won three consecutive championship from 1969-71. Nancy Lopez also won twice, but in a three-year span.

 

Other notable quarterfinalists include Paula Creamer, 16, of Pleasanton, Calif., who beat Amie Cochran, 17, of Torrance, Calif., 4 and 3. Creamer is one of just two remaining players, along with Pressel, who competed at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Open.

 

Mina Harigae, 13, of Monterey, Calif., knocked off Brittany Lang, 17, of McKinney, Texas, in 19 holes. Harigae, the reigning two-time California State Women’s Amateur champion, made a par on the first playoff hole to beat Lang, who won the prestigious North and South Amateur and Women’s Western Amateur tournaments earlier this year.

 

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 third round of match play from the 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the 6,303-yard, par-71 Brooklawn Country Club:

  

Upper Bracket:

In-Bee Park, Eustis, Fla. (140) def. Whitney Wade, Glasgow, Ky. (149), 5 and 4

Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (153) def. Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz. (147), 4 and 3

Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (142) def. Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif. (148), 4 and 3

Julieta Granada, Paraguay (145) def. Catherina Wang, Sarasota, Fla. (158), 1 up

 

Lower Bracket:

Morgan Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. (150) def. Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii (141), 3 and 2

Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (148) def. Brittany Lang, McKinney, Texas (147), 19 Holes

Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (141) def. Jane Park, Oak Valley, Calif. (148), 4 and 2

Esther Choe, La Quinta, Calif. (146) def. Laura Luethke, Clovis, Calif. (148), 5 and 3

 

 

Fairfield, Conn. – Pairings for Friday’s quarterfinal 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):

 

Upper Bracket:

7:30 am    In-Bee Park, Eustis, Fla. (140) vs. Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (153)

7:40 am    Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (142) vs. Julieta Granada, Paraguay (145)

 

Lower Bracket:   

7:50 am    Morgan Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. (150) vs. Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (148)

8:00 am    Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (141) vs. Esther Choe, La Quinta, Calif. (146)