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Weblog
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Girls' Junior Post-Script
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Another U.S. Girls' Junior Championship is now in the books, and our champion is Amy Anderson of Oxbow, N.D. Not exactly a hotbed of golf, but the state has now produced four USGA champions, including 1984 U.S. Mid-Amateur winner Michael Podolak, who is a member at Oxbow Country Club, where Anderson plays.
Here are some other interesting facts about our champion:
- She will attend North Dakota State in the fall on a golf/academic scholarship.
- She scored 31 out of a possible 36 on the ACT, which is another college boards exam that many students take over the SAT.
- She can play the piano and violin
- Her competitive golf season consists of three months, June, July and August, although she can play for five months before it gets too cold.
- She does do some indoor work in the offseason to stay sharp
- Her golf coach is actually an amateur (Dale Helm), who lives an hour away in Mayville. Mayvill is north of Fargo while Oxbow is 10 miles south of Fargo.
- She also is actively involved in church activities.
- She was home-schooled and graduated a year early so she could start college with her brother Nathan. Nathan also is a strong golfer and served as her caddie this week at Trump National Golf Club.
Anderson now will drive with her family to Ohio for next week's PGA Junior Championship, but is unsure if she'll go home from there or compete in the U.S. Women's Amateur. She now has a two-year exemption into that championship (2009 and 2010).
It's a tough one to turn down considering it's one of the great amateur events in the world. Then again, Anderson never has been one to play much golf outside of North Dakota, so you never know.
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Final Day
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We are down to just two competitors at the U.S. Girls' Junior and we couldn't have two more contrasting individuals. You have the much ballyhooed Kimberly Kim, who at 14 in 2006 became the youngest U.S. Women's Amateur champion in history. This will be her four USGA amateur championship final, but first in the U.S. Girls' Junior. She is a two-time runner-up at the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship (2006 and 2009) and was a member of the victorious 2008 USA Curtis Cup team. She also was a member of the 2006 USA Women's World Amateur Team Championships squad. This is her sixth and final Girls' Junior. She is headed to the University of Denver in the fall.
Then you have Amy Anderson from the small town of Oxbow, N.D. She is playing just her second USGA championship, having reached the second round of match play at last year's Girls' Junior. She is 17 and headed to North Dakota State in the fall. She scored a 31 on her ACT, but she doesn't have the golf resume of Kim. She doesn't compete in AJGA events nor does she travel the country each and every summer. But this week she has shown mettle and the flair for the dramatic, holing out a chip on No. 18 in her semifinal match on Friday to force extra holes.
Either way, the storylines are remarkable.
The weather looks to be ideal for the final. The sun is up this morning and the forecast calls for a cool start and then warming up like yesterday. There is a 20 percent chance of a show this afternoon. It looks like a great day for golf.
A quick update on players who have reached three different USGA amateur championship finals.
Hall-of-Famer Carol Semple Thompson has played in three (U.S. Women's Amateur, U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and USGA Senior Women's Amateur.
So has Philadelphia legend Jay Sigel (U.S. Junior Amateur, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid-Amateur).
Here are a two more: Danny Green (U.S. Amateur, U.S. Mid-Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links.
Vicki Goetze (U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, U.S. Girls' Junior and U.S. Women's Amateur)
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Friday, July 24, 2009
Got A Loop?
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Kimberly Kim’s biggest concern after advancing to Saturday’s 36-hole U.S. Girls’ Junior championship had nothing to do with her swing or putting. She really needed a caddie and was trying to find cell-phone numbers for any of the competitors who had not departed Trump National Golf Club for their homes or another competition.
On Friday, Kim used fellow competitor Annie Park of Levittown, N.Y. Park was unsure she would work the afternoon semifinals, but was persuaded to stick around. However, she was not available on Saturday.
“Can you get me some numbers?” Kim asked USGA media representatives following her phone press conference.
Apparently the problem was solved late Friday as information surfaced that she had found a caddie.
At the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, Kim used fellow Hawaiian Cyd Okino during the match-play portion. Okino had missed the cut.
Kim is shooting for some major history on Saturday. Although six players have previously won the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur titles, none has ever done it by winning the Women’s Amateur crown first. Kim took that title in 2006 at Pumpkin Ridge, becoming at age 14 the youngest winner of that event.
Notables who own the double included Hall-of-Fame JoAnne Gunderson Carner, Kelli Kuehne and Pat Hurst. Carner is the only player to have added the U.S. Women’s Open to both of those titles.
It could be quite a remarkable achievement for the 17-year-old Hawaiian.
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Dream Continues
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Amy Anderson's run at the U.S. Girls' Junior is right out of a Hollywood script. Small-town girl comes to the big party with all of the stars and possibly walks away with the big silver trophy.
Seriously, it's quite amazing. Her hometown of Oxbow, N.D., doesn't even have a restaurant. It's 10 miles south of Fargo, so we're not talking about some farm in the middle of nowwhere. But the only reason the town exists, Anderson said, is because they built a private golf course (Oxbow C.C.) and put homes around it.
"No restaurants, no gas station," said Anderson, who will play Kimberly Kim in Saturday's 36-hole final.
Earlier this week, Anderson's exploits led off the sports segment on the local news in Fargo. She was asked Friday afternoon if reaching the final in the most prestigious girls championship.
She only could laugh.
What she did get for reaching the final is an exemption into next month's U.S. Women's Amateur. But Anderson is unsure if she'll accept. She's scheduled to play the PGA Junior Championship next week in Ohio and then drive home to North Dakota. Playing in the Women's Amateur would require a slight detour to St. Louis.
"You'll have to ask my dad," said Anderson.
"We'll need to talk it over," he said from the back room of the media center.
No matter what happens on Saturday, Anderson's week at the Girls' Junior is something she'll never forget.
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Update From The Course
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Just returned to the media room after following some quarterfinal matches for nine holes. The fairways are still extremely wet. I didn't walk too many places where my sneakers did not squeak from the moisture below. However, I have yet to see a drop for casual water.
The USGA-spec greens are still holding up beautifully. Putts are rolling pure, although I have not seen any dramatics yet.
Luz Alejandra Cangrejo leads 1 up at the turn against Kim Kaufman, mainly due to some short-game wizardry. She got up and down for par on holes four, five, six and seven, winning the fifth. She three-putted for bogey at eight and made a terrible chip at nine, but neither miscue cost her a hole. Kaufman missed a 6-foot par putt at No. 8 and lipped out a 5-footer on nine.
Did see quite a few players who have already been eliminated out on the course or practice areas. Ani Gulugian is planning to go into New York City on Saturday for some sightseeing before leaving for Flagstaff, Ariz., and next week's Canon Cup. Alexis Thompson was out on the practice green with a handful of players.
For these kids, there's no such thing as a day off.
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Day 5
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I'm pleased to report that it's not raining. We have some grey clouds, but no precipitation for the start of the U.S. Girls' Junior quarterfinals. And we could actually see some sunshine around noon. But there is a chance for an afternoon shower or thunderstorm. Unbelievably, we have not had a suspension of play this week, despite the rain on Tuesday and Thursday.
Hopefully we can keep the rain away long enough to complete the quarterfinals and semifinals.
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Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sights and Sounds From Day 4
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As I was pulling out of the Trump National G.C. parking lot late Wednesday afternoon, only one player remained on the practice putting green. It was 13 year old Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand.
Guess who eliminated defending champion Alexis Thompson on Thursday? Jutanugarn, who by the way, is the youngest to ever qualify for an LPGA Tour event. She was 11 years, 11 months in 2007 when she made the field at the Honda LPGA Thailand. She tied for 51st.
Despite losing in the second round to Karen Chung, Ginger Howard enjoyed her week at the Girls' Junior, especially since her 13-year-old sister, Robbi, also qualified. Ginger played the role of mentor this week, showing Robbi the ropes of the event, including the pre-championship party and players' dinner. She also helped with pointers on how to play the golf course. Robbi failed to make the cut, but Ginger talked it up to a learning experience.
Saw a couple of players competing Thursday without rain gear on. Victoria Tanco, who won her third-round match over 2008 runner-up Karen Chung, disdained the Gore-tex. Suzie Lee also was not wearing any rain clothes. Lee was ousted by Doris Chen, 6 and 4.
Chen went through a pair of Lees on Thursday. First she beat second seed Erynne Lee, 3 and 1, and then Suzie Lee.
Considering the last three champions have been 13, 14 and 13, you have to like the chances of Jutanugarn...that is if you follow trends. The last 17 year old to win this title was In-Kyung Kim in 2005.
Kimberly Kim, Jennifer Johnson, medalist Amy Anderson and Kimberly Kaufman are all 17. Tanco is 15. Chen and Cangrejo are both 16.
Countries represented in the quarters include the U.S. (Anderson, Kaufman, Johnson and Kim), Chinese Taipei (Chen), Thailand (Jutanugarn), Argentina (Tanco) and Colombia (Cangrejo).
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World According To Kim Kim
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Sit in on a Kimberly Kim post-round press conference and you never know what you might get. Is she serious? Is she joking? Is she just playing with reporters' minds?
Whatever the motive, there's no doubting this 17 year old's talent. The Hilo, Hawaii, native is playing in her sixth U.S. Girls' Junior this week, the most by anyone in the field. She already has won the U.S. Women's Amateur at 14 and played in two U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links finals. Now she's a couple of wins from playing in a third different USGA amateur championship final.
That would put in a category with such luminaries as seven-time USGA champion and Hall of Famer Carol Semple Thompson, who has won a U.S. Women's Amateur, U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and USGA Senior Women's Amateur title. On the men's side, Danny Green has played in the finals of three USGA events: U.S. Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Not even Tiger Woods can say that. He won six straight USGA titles, but they were either U.S. Junior Amateurs (three) or U.S. Amateurs (three).
And don't forget that Kim has also represented the USA in the Curtis Cup (2008) and Women's World Amateur Team Championship (2006). She's quickly playing her way onto another Curtis Cup team, which will be held next June at Essex Country Club in Massachusetts.
Nevetheless, Kim is quite the personality. She didn't use her regular caddie (Cyd Okino) on Thursday because Kim said "she wanted to go shopping." Her substitute was another fellow Girls' Junior competitor, Annie Park.
On how she turned things around on the second nine against Jessica Korda, Kim responded: "I don't know. When I'm down I kind of forget to pay attention and I think that helps."
On her mindset as she began making a comeback from being 3 down: "I was kind of tired. It was so late in the day that you kind of forget you are in a match."
Then she chipped in from 40 feet at 17 for par to keep herself in the match. "It felt like a 100 feet," she said.
In Friday's quarterfinals, Kim faces Jennifer Johnson, 17, of La Quinta, Calif.
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Big Story Back On The Prairie
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Amy Anderson's run here at the 61st U.S. Girls' Junior is quite a story -- both here in Bedminster, N.J., and back in Oxbow, N.D., a small community near Fargo. On the local television news on Wednesday, Anderson's first-round win led off the sports segment of the broadcast.
No word yet how the Sioux Falls, S.D., media is handling the run by Kimberly Kaufman of Clark, S.D.
These two 17 year olds are an anomaly here at the Girls' Junior, where players show up with monogramed bags from various AJGA events or glitzy golf academies. These two golfers don't travel the summer junior golf circuit and rarely venture out of state.
Kaufman, who is headed to Texas Tech in the fall, only tries to qualify for USGA events. Last year she qualified for the U.S. Girls' Junior, U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women's Amateur. This year she qualified for the Girls' Junior and the WAPL, but missed the Women's Amateur. Two more wins, however, will get her an exemption into next month's Women's Am in St. Louis.
Anderson isn't quite sure she would accept the exemption if she advances to the final. She and her parents made the 28-hour drive to New Jersey from North Dakota, stopping in Indiana last week for a small regional tournament. Next week she'll play the PGA Junior Championship in Ohio. Making the Women's Amateur would mean a detour to St. Louis before heading home and preparing for college. She'll attend North Dakota State in the fall.
"It's really nice," said Anderson of her run to the quarterfinals after earning stroke-play medalist honors. "I always thought I was capable of it, but to come out and do it is a totally different thing. I'm ecstatic. Being medalist was the biggest thing. This is way too much fun."
Kaufman echoed those sentiments.
"I am really excited about tomorrow," she said of her quarterfinal match against Luz Alejandra Cangrejo of Colombia. "The more matches you win, the easier it gets. My first match was probably my most difficult. I went 19 holes [against Kaira Martin]."
Kaufman knows family and friends are judiciously following her progression via the Internet. She's already received a ton of text messages.
Imagine what will happen if Kaufman and Anderson meet in Friday's semimfinals.
The entire states of North and South Dakota may shut down.
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It's Back
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Time to put the squeegees on alert again. The rain has returned and it's falling quite hard at the moment. Having walked the New Course at Trump National Golf Club this morning, it's still wet in several spots. The greens, however, have repelled the water quite well, thanks to being built to USGA specs and having a sub-air system that sucks out the moisture like a vacuum.
There are some wonderful third-round matchups for the U.S. Girls' Junior, especially Kimberly Kim facing Jessica Korda. Korda, Kim and Alexis Thompson were grouped together for the first two rounds of the U.S. Women's Open two weeks ago at Saucon Valley. Kim, the 2006 U.S. Women's Amateur champion, failed to make the cut, while Korda tied for 26th, shooting a final-round 69. She also shot a final-round 69 at the 2008 Women's Open to earn a share of 19th and an exemption into the 2009 Women's Open.
Doris Chen of Bradenton, Fla., has a chance to eliminate a pair of Lees. She beat Erynne Lee, 3 and 1, this morning and faces Suzie Lee this afternoon.
Another great matchup features medalist Amy Anderson against 14-year-old Alison Lee, who tied for 26th at the Women's Open, shooting a final-round 70 (one under).
And last year's runner-up, Karen Chung, meets another decorated junior Victoria Tanco of Argentina. Tanco was the 2008 American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year.
Watch out for Ani Gulugian of Irvine, Calif. The 17 year old earned the No. 5 seed after stroke play, including a second-round 70 that was one of only three sub-par rounds on that rainy Tuesday, and thus far has posted 6-and-4 and 5-and-3 wins. Gulugian has been on the road since the first week of July, when she competed in the Rolex Tournament of Champions in Missouri, followed by the U.S. Women's Open, last week's McDonald's Betsy Rawls Girls Championship and this week's Girls' Junior. She'll play in the Canon Cup next week in Flagstaff, Ariz., followed by the U.S. Women's Amateur in St. Louis and conclude the road trip outside of Chicago at the Junior Solheim Cup.
By then, she might be tired of room service.
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