69th U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, conducted by the United States Golf Association
(OOLTEWAH, Tenn.) – Travis Vick, 16, of Houston, Texas, set a course record with an 8-under-par 64 Monday to take a one-stroke lead on the first day of stroke play in the weather-delayed 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the par-72, 7,326-yard The Honors Course.
“The U.S. Junior Amateur is definitely something special to me and to come out here and fire a low number is something I’ll never forget,” said Vick, who birdied holes 17 and 18 to cap his record-setting round.
The championship was delayed twice due to inclement weather for a total of one hour and 55 minutes and play was finally suspended at 8:51 p.m. EDT due to darkness with 18 players remaining on the course. The first round of stroke play is scheduled to resume on Tuesday at 7:15 a.m., with the second round of stroke play beginning at 7:30 a.m.
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.
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.
Vick, who recorded eight birdies, including five on the inward nine, tied for second in last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur stroke play, one behind medalist Brandon Mancheno after bogeying his final hole at Colleton River Plantation Club.
“There’s a lot of building factors and a ton of learning experiences,” said Vick, a three-sport high school athlete who also competes as a football quarterback/linebacker and a baseball pitcher/third baseman. “I feel like I didn’t make those same mistakes that I did last time.”
Vick, who stuffed a 136-yard pitching wedge to within 3 feet on the final hole, made two round-saving pars on the inward nine. He sank a breaking, downhill 15-foot putt on the par-4 10th and got up and down on No. 13 when he used the green’s back slope to move his chip shot within close range.
Cole Hammer, 16, of Houston, Texas, nearly turned in the same score 20 minutes earlier before settling for a 7-under 65. His 25-foot birdie putt lipped out at the par-5 17th and his 20-footer for birdie on No. 18 slid by the right side of hole.
Hammer, who made a slight adjustment on the practice range prior to registering a bogey-free round, started quickly with birdies on the opening three holes. He made medium-range putts on Nos. 1 and 2 before striking a 4-hybrid to within 6 inches on the 209-yard, par-3 third.
In 2015, Hammer became the third-youngest golfer to play in the U.S. Open, held at Chambers Bay, and also qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Junior Amateur.
“Before last summer, if I was playing in something like this I would have been really nervous and not focused on my game as much as I should be,” said Hammer, who reached the Round of 32 in this championship last year. “It’s given me some awesome experience. It feels a lot more natural.”
Won Jon Lee, 17, of the Republic of Korea, is also a veteran player, having advanced to the semifinals last year. Lee, who started his round on No. 10, reeled off seven consecutive birdies from holes 1 through 7 en route to a 6-under 66. He could have gone lower but missed a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 8 and a short par putt on the par-4 ninth.
“It worked well after I took a break,” said Lee about taking one month off before he earned U.S. Amateur medalist honors in the Memphis, Tenn., sectional qualifier last week. “It gave me time to think about my game.”
Lee holed an uphill 30-foot birdie putt on No. 3 and then delivered approach shots to within tap-in range on Nos. 4 and 5 during his birdie barrage. He struck a 180-yard 6-iron to set up his birdie on the par-4 fifth.
Wei Wei Gao, 17, of the Philippines, made an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth, his final hole, to finish at 5-under 67. Gao’s round was highlighted by the 12th known hole-in-one in U.S. Junior Amateur history when he hit a 4-iron on par-3 third.
“I got to play on a course where Tiger Woods played (1991 U.S. Amateur); that’s really special,” said Gao, who is competing in his first USGA championship. “I just wanted to hit the fairways, hit the greens, do the best that I can.”
Noah Goodwin, 16, of Corinth, Texas, totaled eight birdies, but his good work was erased when an unplayable lie led to a triple-bogey 8 on the par-5 11th and he double-bogeyed No. 18. His first-round 71 did provide some valuable course knowledge.
“It’s about patience; it was a mentally taxing round,” said Goodwin, who advanced to the Round of 16 last year and is No. 36 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™. “It just lets me know that birdies are to be made out there if you play smart.”
Eugene Hong, 16, of Sanford, Fla., and a 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur semifinalist, carded a 71. Ryan Grider, 17, of Lewisville, Texas, and John Pak, 17, of Scotch Plains, N.J., a pair of 2015 Junior Amateur quarterfinalists, shot 72 and 73, respectively. Andrew Orischak, 17, of Hilton Head Island S.C., and last year’s Junior Amateur runner-up, turned in a 3-over 75.
The Honors Course is hosting its fifth USGA championship.
OOLTEWAH, Tenn. -- Results from Monday's suspended first round of stroke play at the 2016 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship, played at the 7,326-yard, par-72 The Honors Course.
*Play was suspended at 8:51 p.m. EDT due to darkness with 18 players remaining on the course
**There were two weather delays that totaled one hour and 55 minutes
Travis Vick, Houston, Texas - 33-31--64
Cole Hammer, Houston, Texas - 32-33--65
Won Jun Lee, Republic of Korea - 30-36--66
Wei Wei Gao, Philippines - 31-36--67
Brendan Gonzalez, Orange, Calif. - 36-33--69
Reid Davenport, Austin, Texas - 37-33--70
Austin Coggin, Vestavia Hills, Ala. - 33-37--70
Fred Lee, Australia - 34-36--70
Ben Epperly, West Des Moines, Iowa - 37-34--71
Joseph Chun, Republic of Korea - 35-36--71
Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas - 32-39--71
Joey Moore, Billings, Mont. - 38-33--71
Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. - 33-38--71
Eugene Hong, Sanford, Fla. - 36-35--71
Brandon Gillis, Nashua, N.H. - 35-36--71
Frankie Capan, North Oaks, Minn. - 38-33--71
James Song, Canada - 34-37--71
Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas - 38-34--72
Kaito Onishi, Japan - 36-36--72
Hunter Eichhorn, Carney, Mich. - 36-36--72
Shon Katahira, Hilo, Hawaii - 37-35--72
Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, Fla. - 36-36--72
Wocheng (Aden) Ye, People's Republic of China - 36-36--72
Paul Chaplet, Costa Rica - 37-35--72
Cullan Brown, Paducah, Ky. - 38-34--72
Chase Furey, Los Angeles, Calif. - 38-35--73
Manuel Girona, Spain - 39-34--73
Joaquin Niemann, Chile - 37-36--73
John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J. - 35-38--73
Ryan Hall, Knoxville, Tenn. - 37-36--73
Adrien Pendaries, France - 37-36--73
Brent Ito, Ardsley, N.Y. - 35-38--73
Mark Turner, Gloucester, Mass. - 34-39--73
Daniel Kim, San Jose, Calif. - 40-33--73
Kyle Vance, Audubon, Pa. - 37-36--73
Joe Highsmith, Lakewood, Wash. - 36-37--73
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. - 35-38--73
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. - 37-36--73
Sam Meek, Canada - 38-35--73
Ethan Choi, Canada - 37-36--73
Carson Ownbey, Candler, N.C. - 38-36--74
Mason Andersen, Chandler, Ariz. - 40-34--74
Kyle Robinson, Fayetteville, Ark. - 40-34--74
Wells Padgett, Wichita, Kan. - 37-37--74
Nicholas Lyerly, Salisbury, N.C. - 37-37--74
Teddy Zinsner, Alexandria, Va. - 35-39--74
Khan Lee, Canada - 39-35--74
Shuai Ming (Ben) Wong, People's Republic of China - 34-40--74
Jack Rhea, Jonesborough, Tenn. - 34-40--74
Arjun Puri, India - 36-38--74
Matthew Sharpstene, Asheville, N.C. - 37-37--74
Ryan Grauman, Alamo, Calif. - 34-40--74
Jack Parrott, Columbia, S.C. - 37-37--74
Tommy Kuhl, Morton, Ill. - 35-39--74
Elijah Turner, Highland, Utah - 38-36--74
Garrett Martin, San Antonio, Texas - 37-37--74
Steve Sugimoto, San Diego, Calif. - 39-36--75
Andrew Orischak, Hilton Head Island, S.C. - 39-36--75
A.J. Ewart, Canada - 39-36--75
Nicolas Cassidy, Johns Creek, Ga. - 37-38--75
Craig Ronne, Klamath Falls, Ore. - 40-35--75
Ryan McCoy, Temecula, Calif. - 35-40--75
Runchanapong Youprayong, Thailand - 38-37--75
Will Kurtz, Hudson, Ohio - 38-37--75
Will Dickson, Providence, R.I. - 38-37--75
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. - 39-36--75
Galven Kendall Green, Malaysia - 38-37--75
Johnny Travale, Canada - 39-36--75
Griffin Barela, Lakewood, Colo. - 39-37--76
Crosby Guercio, Dallas, Texas - 36-40--76
Nate Stember, Portland, Ore. - 37-39--76
Austin Barbin, Elkton, Md. - 38-38--76
Brendan Hansen, Spring Lake, N.J. - 36-40--76
Chris Nido, Palmetto Bay, Fla. - 38-38--76
Fisher Vollendorf, Fayetteville, Ark. - 40-36--76
Connor Nolan, Corona, Calif. - 38-38--76
Aman Gupta, Concord, N.C. - 40-36--76
Carter Cook, Cornelius, N.C. - 35-41--76
Devondeep Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. - 38-38--76
Patrick Welch, Providence, R.I. - 39-38--77
William Rand, New York, N.Y. - 39-38--77
Brady Pevarnik, Latrobe, Pa. - 38-39--77
Ryan Burnett, Lafayette, Calif. - 37-40--77
Cecil Wegener, Ridgeland, Miss. - 39-38--77
Joey McCarthy, Cincinnati, Ohio - 37-40--77
Ethan Farnam, Crystal Lake, Ill. - 41-36--77
Easton Paxton, Riverton, Wyo. - 39-38--77
Oliver Whatley, Potomac, Md. - 40-37--77
Rishi Kejriwal, Austin, Texas - 42-35--77
Isaac Prine, Parkersburg, W.Va. - 37-40--77
Calvin Sierota, Melbourne, Fla. - 40-38--78
Sam Jean, Greenwood, Ind. - 39-39--78
Nicholas Pham, Huntington Beach, Calif. - 41-37--78
Alexander Vogelsong, Palm City, Fla. - 41-37--78
Zachary Burch, Lubbock, Texas - 40-38--78
Benjamin Sayers, Wildwood, Mo. - 38-40--78
Youxin (Robin) Wang, People's Republic of China - 36-42--78
Miguel Montelongo, Peoria, Ill. - 38-40--78
Yuxin Lin, People's Republic of China - 38-40--78
Michael Childress, Salisbury, N.C. - 38-40--78
Brice Wilkinson, Madison, Miss. - 38-40--78
Jake Forgay, Augusta, Ga. - 38-40--78
Andrew McInerney, Natick, Mass. - 40-39--79
Nicklas Staub, Boynton Beach, Fla. - 41-38--79
Miles Smith, Little Rock, Ark. - 38-41--79
Trueman Park, Chandler, Ariz. - 39-40--79
Connor Johnson, Richmond, Va. - 41-38--79
Trey Fessler, Otsego, Minn. - 40-39--79
Colby Patton, Fountain Inn, S.C. - 40-39--79
Lane Wallace, Yukon, Okla. - 39-41--80
Justin Kim, Rome, Ga. - 44-36--80
Matt Tolan, Eau Claire, Wis. - 39-41--80
Jacob Hanzel, Sewell, N.J. - 39-41--80
Jordan Plunkett, Sterrett, Ala. - 42-38--80
Connor Burgess, Lynchburg, Va. - 41-39--80
Trevor Olkowski, Grand Junction, Colo. - 39-42--81
Tim Bunten, Concord, N.C. - 41-40--81
Ben Carr, Columbus, Ga. - 44-37--81
Charlie Toman, Chardon, Ohio - 39-42--81
Louis Olsakovsky, Pittsburgh, Pa. - 40-41--81
Spencer Tibbits, Vancouver, Wash. - 43-38--81
Puwit Anupansuebsai, Thailand - 44-37--81
Cullen Plousha III, Carlsbad, Calif. - 41-41--82
Drew Brockwell, Chesterfield, Va. - 43-39--82
Trey Davis, Olivehurst, Calif. - 43-39--82
Alexander Pak, San Clemente, Calif. - 43-39--82
Jake Bryson, Canada - 41-41--82
Jimmy Dales, Northville, Mich. - 40-42--82
Reese Ramsey, Austin, Texas - 43-40--83
Luis Miguel Castro, Philippines - 40-43--83
Travis Mancill, Hilton Head Island, S.C. - 44-40--84
Anton Serafini, Lake Mary, Fla. - 43-41--84
Ryan Gerard, Raleigh, N.C. - 40-45--85
Justin Gums, Lodi, Calif. - 45-41--86
Jansen Smith, San Angelo, Texas - 47-40--87
Matthew Minerva, Elmsford, N.Y. - 46-41--87
Andrew Walker, Battle Creek, Mich. - 45-45--90
Jack Maguire, Ridgefield, Conn. - 50-42--92
(Did Not Finish)
Ashkaan Hakim, San Ramon, Calif.
Cole Ponich, Farmington, Utah
Daniel Thompson, Phoenix, Ariz.
Norman Xiong, Canyon Lake, Calif.
Zackary Kaneshiro, Aiea, Hawaii
Michael Holtz, Godfrey, Ill.
Jack Wall, Brielle, N.J.
Colten Cordingley, Rexburg, Idaho
Lincoln Johnson, Chaska, Minn.
Garrick Higgo, South Africa
Jonathon Cachon, Weston, Fla.
Pieter Degroot, Potomac, Md.
Jack Boczar, Canton, Mich.
Chase Allison, Waco, Texas
Peter Chung, Dacula, Ga.
Min Woo Lee, Australia
Sampson-Yunhe Zheng, People's Republic of China
Joseph Levitan, Saint Simons Island, Ga.
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