Travis Vick Takes Medalist Honors at U.S. Junior Amateur as Tournament Shifts to Match Play

(usga.org) OOLTEWAH, Tenn. – Travis Vick, 16, of Houston, Texas, shot an even-par 72 Tuesday to earn medalist honors in the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the par-72, 7,326-yard The Honors Course. Vick, who fired a course-record 64 in Monday’s first round of stroke play, finished at 8-under-par 136.
Vick, who was one stroke short of claiming co-medalist honors last year after bogeying the final hole, broke away from a tight pack when he eagled the par-5 second, his 11th hole. He rifled a 211-yard 4-iron over the flag and then sank a breaking 20-foot putt.
“It’s just a humbling feeling,” said Vick, who finished three strokes clear of Min Woo Lee, 17, of Australia, and Eugene Hong, 16, of Sanford, Fla. “All the best players come here from every which way you can think of, so to come out on top, it’s really special.”
The U.S. Junior Amateur consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Saturday, July 23, starting at 8 a.m. EDT.
Vick, a three-sport high school athlete who also plays football and basketball, bogeyed two of his opening three holes but steadied himself on No. 13 when he sank a 20-footer for par after missing the green to the left with his tee shot. After his eagle later returned him to even par on the round, he got up and down for another par on No. 3 and hit a 141-yard gap wedge to within 4 feet for a birdie on the par-4 seventh.
“It boosted my momentum,” said Vick about his eagle putt on No. 2. “It just changed my entire mindset. Being able to hit a crisp iron shot and a good putt was a humongous motivator.”
Lee was one of 18 players who finished their first round earlier in the day after play was suspended for darkness due to two weather delays on Monday. Lee, who shot 4-under 68 in the opening round, had a 71.
Lee, the younger brother of 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion and LPGA Tour player Minjee Lee, bogeyed three holes early in his round but regrouped with five birdies over the next nine holes. He jump-started his play by hitting a 165-yard 8-iron to within 12 feet to set up a birdie on No. 9 and made a 6-foot putt for another birdie on the par-5 11th.
“I knew I had to get my head back in it,” said Lee, who won last year’s Western Australia Amateur. “I am very happy with the way I finished.”
Hong posted a 4-under 68 to move up the leader board and into a tie for second at 5-under 139. Hong started his second round by holing out from a greenside bunker on the par-4 10th, his first hole, and then sank a long par putt on No. 12. He followed with birdies on Nos. 13, 15 and 17.
“I made a lot of par putts and birdie putts and that’s made a big difference for me,” said Hong, who advanced to last year’s semifinals at Colleton River Plantation Club.
Won Jun Lee, 17, of the Republic of Korea, and Matthew Sharpstene, 17, of Asheville, N.C., each posted a 36-hole score of 4-under 140. Lee, who was a semifinalist last year, had three birdies and five bogeys en route to a 74. He recorded 6-under 66 in the first round. Sharpstene rebounded from an opening-round 74 with his own 66. He converted a 35-foot eagle chip from just off the green at the par-5 17th, his eighth hole, and added seven birdies.
Sharpstene, who is competing in his first USGA championship and is the son of a club professional, sank a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 1 and made another two-putt birdie on the par-5 second.
“I didn’t expect to play that well, but I am happy,” said Sharpstene, a rising high school senior who was sixth in this year’s Class 4A state championship. “I putted a lot better today. I gave myself a lot of good looks at birdie and executed well.”
Cole Hammer, 16, of Houston, Texas, slumped to a second-round 78 after blistering the course with a 7-under 65 on Monday. Hammer, who still reached the match-play bracket with total of 1-under 143, combined for one double bogey and seven bogeys, including three consecutive on the inward nine.
“My speed on my putts got way off,” said Hammer, who played in last year’s U.S. Open, U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur. “I had three three-putts on the back nine and did not play well coming in. It was all speed.”
Andrew Orischak, the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur runner-up, and Brandon Mancheno, last year’s stroke-play medalist, each advanced safely to match play with two-round totals of 4-over 148.
Orischak, 17, of Hilton Head Island, S.C., shot rounds of 75 and 73. Mancheno, 16, of Jacksonville, Fla., rallied to get above the cut line. He began his second round with a 7-over 43 on the outward nine, but recovered with an eagle on No. 11 and followed by converting back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13. He carded a 75 to go with a first-round 73.
Thirteen players who tied for 58th place at 7-over 151 will play off for the final seven match-play berths. The playoff will start on Wednesday at 7:15 a.m. on the 10th hole.
The U.S. Junior Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. — Results from Tuesday’s second round of stroke play at the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at the 7,326-yard, par-72 The Honors Course.
Travis Vick, Houston, Texas – 64-72–136
Eugene Hong, Sanford, Fla. – 71-68–139
Min Woo Lee, Australia – 68-71–139
Won Jun Lee, Republic of Korea – 66-74–140
Matthew Sharpstene, Asheville, N.C. – 74-66–140
Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. – 71-70–141
Wei Wei Gao, Philippines – 67-74–141
Joaquin Niemann, Chile – 73-69–142
Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas – 71-71–142
Cullan Brown, Paducah, Ky. – 72-70–142
Reid Davenport, Austin, Texas – 70-73–143
John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J. – 73-70–143
Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas – 65-78–143
Hunter Eichhorn, Carney, Mich. – 72-71–143
Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, Fla. – 72-71–143
Wocheng (Aden) Ye, People’s Republic of China – 72-72–144
Fred Lee, Australia – 70-74–144
Kaito Onishi, Japan – 72-73–145
Paul Chaplet, Costa Rica – 72-73–145
Joey Moore, Billings, Mont. – 71-74–145
Ryan Grauman, Alamo, Calif. – 74-71–145
Ashkaan Hakim, San Ramon, Calif. – 74-71–145
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. – 73-72–145
James Song, Canada – 71-74–145
Nicholas Lyerly, Salisbury, N.C. – 74-72–146
Joseph Chun, Republic of Korea – 71-75–146
Brendan Gonzalez, Orange, Calif. – 69-77–146
Joe Highsmith, Lakewood, Wash. – 73-73–146
Galven Kendall Green, Malaysia – 75-71–146
Chase Furey, Los Angeles, Calif. – 73-74–147
Wells Padgett, Wichita, Kan. – 74-73–147
Teddy Zinsner, Alexandria, Va. – 74-73–147
Adrien Pendaries, France – 73-74–147
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. – 75-72–147
Garrick Higgo, South Africa – 75-72–147
Sam Jean, Greenwood, Ind. – 78-70–148
Andrew Orischak, Hilton Head Island, S.C. – 75-73–148
Brandon Gillis, Nashua, N.H. – 71-77–148
Kyle Vance, Audubon, Pa. – 73-75–148
Jack Parrott, Columbia, S.C. – 74-74–148
Norman Xiong, Canyon Lake, Calif. – 73-75–148
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. – 73-75–148
Sam Meek, Canada – 73-75–148
Devondeep Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. – 76-72–148
Jonathon Cachon, Weston, Fla. – 77-71–148
Sampson-Yunhe Zheng, People’s Republic of China – 74-74–148
Austin Coggin, Vestavia Hills, Ala. – 70-79–149
Nicolas Cassidy, Johns Creek, Ga. – 75-74–149
Nate Stember, Portland, Ore. – 76-73–149
Daniel Kim, San Jose, Calif. – 73-76–149
Frankie Capan, North Oaks, Minn. – 71-78–149
Fisher Vollendorf, Fayetteville, Ark. – 76-73–149
Ben Epperly, West Des Moines, Iowa – 71-79–150
Shuai Ming (Ben) Wong, People’s Republic of China – 74-76–150
Arjun Puri, India – 74-76–150
Runchanapong Youprayong, Thailand – 75-75–150
Tommy Kuhl, Morton, Ill. – 74-76–150
Manuel Girona, Spain – 73-78–151
Andrew McInerney, Natick, Mass. – 79-72–151
Kyle Robinson, Fayetteville, Ark. – 74-77–151
Patrick Welch, Providence, R.I. – 77-74–151
A.J. Ewart, Canada – 75-76–151
Shon Katahira, Hilo, Hawaii – 72-79–151
Jack Rhea, Jonesborough, Tenn. – 74-77–151
Brent Ito, Ardsley, N.Y. – 73-78–151
Cecil Wegener, Ridgeland, Miss. – 77-74–151
Brendan Hansen, Spring Lake, N.J. – 76-75–151
Chris Nido, Palmetto Bay, Fla. – 76-75–151
Joey McCarthy, Cincinnati, Ohio – 77-74–151
Johnny Travale, Canada – 75-76–151
(Failed to Qualify)
Mason Andersen, Chandler, Ariz. – 74-78–152
Miles Smith, Little Rock, Ark. – 79-73–152
Khan Lee, Canada – 74-78–152
Charlie Toman, Chardon, Ohio – 81-71–152
Ethan Farnam, Crystal Lake, Ill. – 77-75–152
Easton Paxton, Riverton, Wyo. – 77-75–152
Colten Cordingley, Rexburg, Idaho – 75-77–152
Oliver Whatley, Potomac, Md. – 77-75–152
Colby Patton, Fountain Inn, S.C. – 79-73–152
Carson Ownbey, Candler, N.C. – 74-79–153
William Rand, New York, N.Y. – 77-76–153
Jacob Hanzel, Sewell, N.J. – 80-73–153
Ryan Hall, Knoxville, Tenn. – 73-80–153
Will Kurtz, Hudson, Ohio – 75-78–153
Cole Ponich, Farmington, Utah – 77-76–153
Will Dickson, Providence, R.I. – 75-78–153
Rishi Kejriwal, Austin, Texas – 77-76–153
Garrett Martin, San Antonio, Texas – 74-79–153
Mark Turner, Gloucester, Mass. – 73-81–154
Zackary Kaneshiro, Aiea, Hawaii – 79-75–154
Elijah Turner, Highland, Utah – 74-80–154
Aman Gupta, Concord, N.C. – 76-78–154
Ethan Choi, Canada – 73-81–154
Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas – 72-83–155
Zachary Burch, Lubbock, Texas – 78-77–155
Ryan Burnett, Lafayette, Calif. – 77-78–155
Connor Burgess, Lynchburg, Va. – 80-75–155
Jake Forgay, Augusta, Ga. – 78-77–155
Connor Johnson, Richmond, Va. – 79-76–155
Griffin Barela, Lakewood, Colo. – 76-80–156
Crosby Guercio, Dallas, Texas – 76-80–156
Drew Brockwell, Chesterfield, Va. – 82-74–156
Lane Wallace, Yukon, Okla. – 80-76–156
Trueman Park, Chandler, Ariz. – 79-77–156
Michael Childress, Salisbury, N.C. – 78-78–156
Daniel Thompson, Phoenix, Ariz. – 75-81–156
Reese Ramsey, Austin, Texas – 83-73–156
Luis Miguel Castro, Philippines – 83-73–156
Ben Carr, Columbus, Ga. – 81-76–157
Justin Kim, Rome, Ga. – 80-77–157
Miguel Montelongo, Peoria, Ill. – 78-79–157
Yuxin Lin, People’s Republic of China – 78-79–157
Spencer Tibbits, Vancouver, Wash. – 81-76–157
Connor Nolan, Corona, Calif. – 76-81–157
Carter Cook, Cornelius, N.C. – 76-81–157
Steve Sugimoto, San Diego, Calif. – 75-83–158
Brady Pevarnik, Latrobe, Pa. – 77-81–158
Benjamin Sayers, Wildwood, Mo. – 78-80–158
Youxin (Robin) Wang, People’s Republic of China – 78-80–158
Brice Wilkinson, Madison, Miss. – 78-80–158
Jack Wall, Brielle, N.J. – 76-82–158
Pieter Degroot, Potomac, Md. – 80-78–158
Peter Chung, Dacula, Ga. – 74-84–158
Calvin Sierota, Melbourne, Fla. – 78-81–159
Nicklas Staub, Boynton Beach, Fla. – 79-80–159
Alexander Pak, San Clemente, Calif. – 82-77–159
Ryan McCoy, Temecula, Calif. – 75-84–159
Puwit Anupansuebsai, Thailand – 81-78–159
Trevor Olkowski, Grand Junction, Colo. – 81-79–160
Cullen Plousha III, Carlsbad, Calif. – 82-78–160
Nicholas Pham, Huntington Beach, Calif. – 78-82–160
Trey Davis, Olivehurst, Calif. – 82-78–160
Craig Ronne, Klamath Falls, Ore. – 75-85–160
Matt Tolan, Eau Claire, Wis. – 80-80–160
Austin Barbin, Elkton, Md. – 76-84–160
Isaac Prine, Parkersburg, W.Va. – 77-83–160
Michael Holtz, Godfrey, Ill. – 83-78–161
Joseph Levitan, Saint Simons Island, Ga. – 84-77–161
Alexander Vogelsong, Palm City, Fla. – 78-84–162
Jimmy Dales, Northville, Mich. – 82-80–162
Anton Serafini, Lake Mary, Fla. – 84-78–162
Tim Bunten, Concord, N.C. – 81-82–163
Jordan Plunkett, Sterrett, Ala. – 80-83–163
Lincoln Johnson, Chaska, Minn. – 81-82–163
Ryan Gerard, Raleigh, N.C. – 85-79–164
Jansen Smith, San Angelo, Texas – 87-78–165
Jack Boczar, Canton, Mich. – 81-84–165
Travis Mancill, Hilton Head Island, S.C. – 84-82–166
Jake Bryson, Canada – 82-84–166
Trey Fessler, Otsego, Minn. – 79-88–167
Matthew Minerva, Elmsford, N.Y. – 87-81–168
Louis Olsakovsky, Pittsburgh, Pa. – 81-87–168
Chase Allison, Waco, Texas – 78-90–168
Jack Maguire, Ridgefield, Conn. – 92-78–170
Andrew Walker, Battle Creek, Mich. – 90-81–171
Justin Gums, Lodi, Calif. – 86-86—172
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. – Wednesday’s pairings and starting times for the first round of match play at the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at the 7,326-yard, par-72 The Honors Course.
Note: There will be a 13-for-7 playoff for the final match-play spots at 7:15 a.m., starting on the 10th hole.
Round of 64
(Upper Bracket)
10:45 a.m. – Travis Vick, Houston, Texas (136) vs. To Be Determined (151)
8:15 a.m. – Teddy Zinsner, Alexandria, Va. (147) vs. Adrien Pendaries, France (147)
8:25 a.m. – Wocheng (Aden) Ye, People’s Republic of China (144) vs. Nate Stember, Portland, Ore. (149)
8:35 a.m. – Fred Lee, Australia (144) vs. Nicolas Cassidy, Johns Creek, Ga. (149)
8:45 a.m. – Joaquin Niemann, Chile (142) vs. Tommy Kuhl, Morton, Ill. (150)
8:55 a.m. – Nicholas Lyerly, Salisbury, N.C. (146) vs. Jack Parrott, Columbia, S.C. (148)
9:05 a.m. – Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas (142) vs. Runchanapong Youprayong, Thailand (150)
9:15 a.m. – James Song, Canada (145) vs. Norman Xiong, Canyon Lake, Calif. (148)
10:35 a.m. – Won Jun Lee, Republic of Korea (140) vs. To Be Determined (151)
9:25 a.m. – Galven Kendall Green, Malaysia (146) vs. Sam Jean, Greenwood, Ind. (148)
9:35 a.m. – Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas (143) vs. Fisher Vollendorf, Fayetteville, Ark.(149)
9:45 a.m. – Joey Moore, Billings, Mont. (145) vs. Jonathon Cachon, Weston, Fla. (148)
10:25 a.m. – Matthew Sharpstene, Asheville, N.C. (140) vs. To Be Determined (151)
9:55 a.m. – Joe Highsmith, Lakewood, Wash. (146) vs. Andrew Orischak, Hilton Head Island, S.C. (148)
10:05 a.m. – John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J. (143) vs. Ben Epperly, West Des Moines, Iowa (150)
10:15 a.m. – Ryan Grauman, Alamo, Calif. (145) vs. Devondeep Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. (148)
(Lower Bracket)
10:55 a.m. – Eugene Hong, Sanford, Fla. (139) vs. To Be Determined (151)
11:05 a.m. – Wells Padgett, Wichita, Kan. (147) vs. Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (147)
11:15 a.m. – Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, Fla. (143) vs. Daniel Kim, San Jose, Calif. (149)
11:25 a.m. – Kaito Onishi, Japan (145) vs. Austin Coggin, Vestavia Hills, Ala. (149)
11:35 a.m. – Wei Wei Gao, Philippines (141) vs. To Be Determined (151)
11:45 a.m. – Joseph Chun, Republic of Korea (146) vs. Kyle Vance, Audubon, Pa. (148)
11:55 a.m. – Cullan Brown, Paducah, Ky. (142) vs. Arjun Puri, India (150)
12:05 p.m. – Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. (145) vs. Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. (148)
12:15 p.m. – Min Woo Lee, Australia (139) vs. To Be Determined (151)
12:25 p.m. – Chase Furey, Los Angeles, Calif. (147) vs. Garrick Higgo, South Africa (147)
12:35 p.m. – Hunter Eichhorn, Carney, Mich. (143) vs. Frankie Capan, North Oaks, Minn. (149)
12:45 p.m. – Paul Chaplet, Costa Rica (145) vs. Sampson-Yunhe Zheng, People’s Republic of China (148)
12:55 p.m. – Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. (141) vs. To Be Determined (151)
1:05 p.m. – Brendan Gonzalez, Orange, Calif. (146) vs. Brandon Gillis, Nashua, N.H. (148)
1:15 p.m. – Reid Davenport, Austin, Texas (143) vs. Shuai Ming (Ben) Wong, People’s Republic of China (150)
1:25 p.m. – Ashkaan Hakim, San Ramon, Calif. (145) vs. Sam Meek, Canada (148)