KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Co-medalist Mari Chun, a 17-year-old
from Hawaii, survived two close matches Thursday and advanced to
the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links.
Chun, who will enter Stanford this fall, had a five-hole lead
over Hannah Jun, a junior at UCLA, after seven holes. Jun stormed
back to get within one after 16 holes, but Chun won the third-round
match 1-up.
In the morning match, Chun didn't take her first lead over Renee
Skidmore of Everett, Wash., until the 17th hole and won 1-up when
they both parred No. 18 at Swope Memorial Golf Course.
Jun birdied Nos. 9, 15 and 16 and eagled 12 in pursuit of Chun.
"She was playing some unbelievable golf," Chun said. "When
she made an eagle, I made a birdie. It was in a sense we were
playing the best golf possible. I was sinking some putts. It pretty
much evened out. I knew she was pretty good and could pull it off.
She got closer on the back nine.
"It wasn't like winning a hole with a par, but at the end you
needed a birdie."
Chun will meet 14-year-old Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., in the
quarterfinals on Friday morning. The semifinals are Friday
afternoon and the 36-hole final is Saturday.
Angela Park, the other co-medalist, lost 1-up to Juli Wightman
of Brigham Young in her second-round match. Park bogeyed No. 8,
which allowed Wightman to take the lead for good. The two matched
scores for the next 10 holes, including birdies on 18.
"I hit a 5-iron within a foot on No. 18 and she was inside
me," Wightman said. "That's how it was all day. It was
neck-and-neck every hole until the last shot."
Wightman, the freshman of the year in the Mountain West
Conference, will face Ya-Ni Tseng, a 16-year-old from Taiwan who
beat Michelle Wie in last year's finals, in the quarterfinals.
Tseng defeated Stephanie Ruiz of Edmond, Okla., 2 and 1 in the
third round.
The 15-year-old Wie is competing in the U.S. Amateur Public
Links in Lebanon, Ohio. She won two matches Thursday to advance to
the quarterfinals. The winner of the men's event is traditionally
invited by Augusta National to the Masters.