Two Medalists Defeated In First Two Rounds Of Match Play;
Defending Champion Advances at 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior

Fort Worth, Texas – Two medalists were eliminated after the completion of the first two rounds of match play Wednesday in the 56th U.S. Girls' Junior at the picturesque 6,256-yard, par-71 Mira Vista Golf Club course.

Sixteen-year-old Mari Chun of Pearl City, Hawaii, lost in the first round to Stephanie Sherlock of Canada, 2 and 1, while 2002 champion In-Bee Park, 16, of Henderson, Nev., fell in 22 holes to Hsiao-Ching Lu, 16, of Chinese Taipei, after making a phenomenal comeback on the back nine.

Chun and Park had shared medalist honors, at 4-under 138, with 17-year-old Julieta Granada of Paraguay. Granada advanced to the third round by beating 17-year-old Nanette Hill of Pelham Manor, N.Y., 2 and 1.

With another scorching day that topped out at 97 degrees, Granada refreshed with a nap between the first and second rounds.

“It felt like a new day,” said Granada, who has lost in the quarterfinals the last two years. “I know the feeling of losing, but I don't want that to happen again.”

Paula Creamer, irritated with herself after the second round Wednesday, said she is determined to concentrate harder going forward. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

Park didn't want to experience that feeling, either, but it happened despite erasing a four-hole deficit after 12 holes. Lu, who lost to 17-year-old Jane Park of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in the first round of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, parlayed a 4-under 31 on the front into a 4-up lead.

Park charged back, winning the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th holes to square the match. She drove the green on the 307-yard, par-4 16th to within 50 feet of the hole, guiding the first putt to a foot.

On No. 18 Lu thought she had won, throwing her right arm up in exultation while her ball seemed to disappear in the hole before it popped out.

On the first hole of the playoff, Park had a miraculous up and down to stay alive. Sending her approach shot down a hill near a street curb, and with no visibility to the hole, Park managed to hit the flagstick before sinking an 8-footer.

“It was a marvelous recovery,” said Lu, who had missed three short putts to win coming down the stretch.

Said Park, the medalist three years in a row: “I had to make the up and down to tie at least. It was really, really hard. I was focused.”

Park could have won on the 20th hole (No. 2), but missed a 2-foot putt.

“I hit it too hard,” said Park, a finalist from last year. “It was too fast. I thought I'd make it for sure. I was just overconfident.

“Match play isn't like stroke play. I'm disappointed, but I have next year too. It's really hard [to win].”

Overconfidence almost sent home 17-year-old Paula Creamer of Pleasanton, Calif. She grinded to a 1-up victory over Taylore Karle, 14, of Scottsdale, Ariz., closing her out on No. 18 when the Curtis Cupper knocked a 12-footer close. Karle, staring at a 40-foot putt of her own, couldn't convert and conceded.

“I think after the first match is when people really start settling down – you know what's going to happen here or there,” said Creamer, who lost to In-Bee Park in last year's semifinal. “Once you get done with that, I think it's pretty comforting for myself.  I took this match a little bit for granted, and I will not make that mistake again. … I want to win this tournament bad.”

Defending champion Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, 17, of Toms River, N.J., advanced to the third round with a 3-and-1 victory over Lauren Espinosa, 17, of Hickory Creek, Texas. Wuesthoff is attempting to become the third repeat champion of the event, joining Judy Eller (1957-58) and Hollis Stacy (1969-71).

Meanwhile 16-year-old Morgan Pressel, a quarterfinalist last year and semifinalist in 2001, won the first three holes to take an early lead against Stephanie Sherlock, 17, of Canada, before winning 5 and 4.

“I think it's a huge advantage” to jump out to an early lead, said Pressel. “Then you're not always fighting, it's not as hard mentally on you. You can play more conservatively and watch what your opponent does first, and play to the safe part of the green.”

A quarterfinalist from last year and 2004 USA Curtis Cup member, Jane Park dispatched 14-year-old Lila Barton of Dallas, Texas, 4 and 2.

In another notable match, this year's U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion Ya-Ni Tseng, 15, of Chinese Taipei lost to 14-year-old Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif., 2 and 1. And Maria Jose Uribe, 14, of Colombia, the last player added to the field when Carmen Bandea withdrew late last week, moved on by beating 15-year-old Megan Grehan of Mamaroneck, N.Y., 1 up.

The third and quarterfinal rounds of the 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship will be played Thursday.  The semifinal matches are on Friday, and the 18-hole championship final is scheduled for Saturday.

The U.S. Girls' Junior is one of 13 national championships for individuals conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by Ken Klavon, USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org .

Results

Fort Worth, Texas – Results from the first and second rounds of match play Wednesday at the 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at the 6,256-yard, par-71 Mira Vista Golf Club:

Round of 64

Upper Bracket

Julieta Granada, Paraguay (138) def. Megan McChrystal, Stuart, Fla. (155), 6 and 4

Nannette Hill, Pelham Manor, N.Y. (150) def. Sommer Scholl, Riverside, Calif. (150), 1 up

Laura Luethke, Clovis, Calif. (146) def. Stefanie Page, The Woodlands, Texas (154), 4 and 3

Sooji Cho, Glendale, Calif. (154) def. Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (146), 1 up

Amanda Blumenherst, Scottsdale, Ariz. (143) def. Lucy Nunn, Lawton, Okla. (155), 5 and 3

Esther Choe, La Quinta, Calif. (148) def. Allison Goodman, San Diego, Calif. (152), 1 up

Jennie Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (143) def. Kristina Wong, Vestal, N.Y. (155), 1 up

Mallory Hetzel, Summerville, S.C. (148) def. Jacqui Concolino, Orlando, Fla. (152), 20 holes

Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (140) def. Kristen Schelling, Mesa, Ariz. (155), 7 and 6

Taylore Karle, Scottsdale, Ariz. (149) def. Jenny Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. (151), 5 and 3

Grace Woo, Burbank, Calif. (145) def. Sophia Choi, Chandler, Ariz. (154), 3 and 2

Mallory Blackwelder, Versailles, Ky. (154) def. Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (147), 4 and 2

Jennie Arseneault, Grinnell, Iowa (141) def. Kendra Little, Eugene, Ore. (155), 1 up

Selanee Henderson, Apple Valley, Calif. (149) def. Lorie Warren, Hendersonville, Tenn. (151), 1 up

Jennifer Hong, Windermere, Fla. (154) def. Ashley Freeman, Belleville, Ill. (144), 4 and 2

Tiffany Joh, San Diego, Calif. (148) def. Kelsey Meyer, Chesterfield, Mo. (154), 6 and 4

Lower Bracket

Stephanie Sherlock, Canada (155) def. Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (138), 2 and 1

Morgan Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. (150) def. Taylor Siebert, Selma, Calif. (151), 4 and 2

Megan Grehan, Mamaroneck, N.Y. (146) def. Ayaka Kaneko, Honolulu, Hawaii (154), 7 and 6

Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia (147) def. Songyi Yi, San Diego, Calif. (154), 5 and 3

Taylor Leon, Dallas, Texas (142) def. Jennifer Osborn, Huntington Beach, Calif. (155), 3 and 2

Angela Oh, Maple Shade, N.J. (148) def. Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (152), 3 and 2

Jane Park, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (143) def. Emily Mason, Highland, Calif. (155), 6 and 5

Lila Barton, Dallas, Texas (148) def. Whitney Neuhauser, Barboursville, Va. (153), 19 holes

In-Bee Park, Henderson, Nev. (138) def. Jennifer Cassidy, Dalton, Ga. (155), 3 and 2

Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (150) def. Sarah Salvo, Glendale, Calif. (151), 6 and 4

Amanda Wilson, Hilo, Hawaii (146) def. Alexandrea Schulte, Broken Arrow, Okla. (154), 4 and 3

Marika Lendl, Goshen, Conn. (154) def. Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif. (147), 4 and 3

Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (142) def. Sofia Janer, Colombia (155), 5 and 4

Lauren Espinosa, Hickory Creek, Texas (152) def. So-Hyun Park, Bradenton, Fla. (149), 2 up

Ya-Ni Tseng, Chinese Taipei (144) def. Stephanie Connelly, Pasadena, Md. (155), 6 and 5

Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (148) def. Lauren Mielbrecht, Gulf Stream, Fla. (154), 3 and 2

Round of 32

Upper Bracket

Granada def. Hill, 2 and 1

Cho def. Luethke, 1 up

Choe def. Blumenherst, 3 and 2

Lee def. Hetzel, 5 and 3

Creamer def. Karle, 1 up

Woo def. Blackwelder, 6 and 5

Henderson def. Arseneault, 3 and 2

Hong def. Joh, 20 holes

Lower Bracket

Pressel def. Sherlock, 5 and 4

Uribe def. Grehan, 1 up

Leon def. Oh, 5 and 4

Park def. Barton, 4 and 2

Lu def. Park, 22 holes

Lendl def. Wilson, 2 and 1

Wuesthoff def. Espinosa, 3 and 1

Harigae def. Tseng, 2 and 1

Pairings

Fort Worth, Texas – Pairings for the third round of match play Thursday at the 2004 U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at the 6,256-yard, par-71 Mira Vista Golf Club:

Round of 16

Upper Bracket

8:00 a.m.          Julieta Granada, Paraguay (138) vs. Sooji Cho, Glendale, Calif. (154)

8:10 a.m.          Esther Choe, La Quinta, Calif. vs. Jennie Lee, Huntington Beach, Calif. (143)

8:20 a.m.          Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (140) vs. Grace Woo, Burbank, Calif. (145)

8:30 a.m.          Selanee Henderson, Apple Valley, Calif. (149) vs. Jennifer Hong, Windermere, Fla. (154)

Lower Bracket

8:40 a.m.          Morgan Pressel, Boca Raton, Fla. (150) vs. Maria Jose Uribe, Colombia (147)

8:50 a.m.          Taylor Leon, Dallas, Texas (142) vs. Jane Park, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. (143)

9:00 a.m.          Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (150) vs. Marika Lendl, Goshen, Conn. (154)

9:10 a.m.          Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, Toms River, N.J. (142) vs. Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (148)

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