Nothing Short About Chung's Wizardry Around Greens

Brilliance with putter, wedge has last year's U.S. Girls' Junior runner-up in third round of match play

By David Shefter, USGA           

Bedminster, N.J. – Not much has changed over the past year when it comes to Karen Chung. She can still barely top the 230-yard barrier off the tee and there might be a few amusement rides where she fails to meet the height requirement.

But give the 5-foot-3 Livingston, N.J., resident a wedge or a putter and watch out. Dave Pelz would smile with glee.

It’s that kind of short-game wizardry that carried the 14-year-old Chung to last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior championship match at Hartford Golf Club.

And the artistry was on display again Thursday morning on the New Course at Trump National Golf Club, where Chung dispatched 15-year-old Ginger Howard of Bradenton, Fla., 3 and 2.

Karen Chung might be small, but her short game has come up large the past two years at the U.S. Girls' Junior. The 14 year old from Livingston, N.J., advanced to the third round Thursday with a 3-and-2 win on Trump National Golf Cub's New Course. (John Mummert/USGA)

The second-round match was a rematch of a first-round encounter at the 2008 Girls’ Junior, won by Chung, 3 and 1. Revenge certainly was on Howard’s mind, but her putter wasn’t quite as hot.

Nowhere was this more prevalent than at the 267-yard, par-4 third hole. Howard, who missed an 8-foot birdie putt, nearly drove the green, but Chung took the hole with a 10-foot birdie for a 2-up advantage.

At the sixth, Chung made a winning 15-foot birdie before Howard missed again from 8 feet for a halve. At the seventh, Chung converted from 20 feet for birdie and a 3-up lead.

“The distance, as you can see, I haven’t gotten any longer,” said Chung, estimating she’s added 10 yards off the tee. “I thought I just have to keep up this pace and I’ll get through the round.”

The constant misses eventually did wear on Howard, who stayed in the match with birdies at No. 11 (5 feet) and No. 15 (3 feet).

Even with some verbal encouragement from dad, Howard couldn’t sustain any momentum. Her tee shot at the par-3 14th found the pond and led to a double-bogey 5 and loss of hole. Although she got the hole back at 15, Chung took away any shot of a comeback by drilling a 3-wood approach from 190 yards to 10 feet to set up a match-clinching birdie.

“I just didn’t hit it really right today,” said Howard.

When asked if Chung’s short-game prowess wore her down mentally, Howard added,“It makes you want to stick it close and try to make birdies.”

Because of her diminutive stature, Chung, who faces Victoria Tanco of Argentina Thursday afternoon in the third round, must rely on a steely short game to overcome her power deficiency. She also doesn’t regularly practice at a golf course, so she must work on her game inside a makeshift net that her father built. Sundays are reserved for rounds with dad, but for the most part, Chung rarely plays 18 holes outside of competitions.

“Winters are a real problem,” said Chung’s mom, Ivy. “We are looking at maybe going to Florida this winter. We need to go somewhere warm.”

Even if the putter and wedges stay hot year-round.

David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.