U.S. Junior Amateur 1 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship 73rd Record Book 2021 2 U.S. Junior Amateur Preston Summerhays Wins the 2019 Championship It was only fitting that Preston Summerhays received the flag left himself in the rough between the fairways, with a large from the 17th hole as a memento at the closing ceremony of tree blocking his view. the 72nd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Inverness Club. His performance on the 489-yard par 4 was the difference in “It wasn’t a terrible lie, and I had 174 [yards] to the pin,” said his 2-and-1 victory over Bo Jin in the 36-hole final match. Summerhays. “Going downwind, downhill, it really didn’t play 174, it played 145 to the front edge. I was like, I could get a In the morning 18, Summerhays pulled closer to Jin on the pitching wedge over that tree and land it front edge and roll it dogleg-left hole by purposely hitting his drive down the adja- back. I hit it great and it ended up going to 8 feet.” cent 16th fairway, knocking a wedge to 35 feet, and draining the right-to-left curling putt. In the afternoon, Summerhays Jin then left his approach on the front of the green, skirted hit “the shot of his life,” according to his father and coach, the hole with his long birdie try, then missed the comebacker. Boyd, to set up a match-clinching birdie that gave him the With two putts for the win, Summerhays made birdie to seal Junior Amateur trophy, as well as a berth in the 2020 U.S. the victory. Open Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club. “That’s just a shot of a lifetime at the right time in the biggest “I don’t even know how to explain how it felt,” said tournament,” said Boyd Summerhays, who coaches several Summerhays, 16, of Scottsdale, Ariz., after his victory. “It’s PGA Tour players, including world No. 17 Tony Finau, and just one of my goals being accomplished.” walked the matches with his son. “He’ll never forget that and it’ll give him confidence when he’s in a tough spot. When he Summerhays seemed to have taken control in the seesaw hit it, I texted my wife and said that was the greatest shot of match as it turned to the final nine. He birdied the par-4 10th his life.” and 11th holes to assume a 2-up lead, his largest of the day, thanks in part to a nice break on No. 11, when his wayward “My dad has raised me to let go of bad shots quickly,” said drive ended up on a forward tee for No. 13 and he capitalized Summerhays. “He’s taught me that from a very young age, and by punching a 9-iron to 3 feet. that’s helped me throughout my entire career.” “I think just to get that momentum going on the last nine, that Summerhays jumped ahead with a birdie on the first hole of was a huge part of the match,” said Summerhays, who won his the day, but Jin rebounded to win holes 3 and 4 with pars and second consecutive Utah Amateur last week. “But it clearly retained the lead throughout the morning 18. Summerhays wasn’t over yet.” closed the deficit to 1 hole at the lunch break with back-to- back birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. Summerhays bunkered his approach on No. 13, then left his next shot in the bunker on the way to a bogey as he con- “Bo played great; he made some great putts,” said ceded the hole to Jin. Trailing by only one hole, Jin had a Summerhays. “I just stayed patient. When you’re in the final, solid opportunity to square the match on the 34th hole. He the two players are obviously pretty good. On a course like found the green with his approach on the 398-yard par 4 and this, you can have highs and lows. I knew that eventually I was Summerhays overshot the green, then left his up-and-down going to start playing some better golf.” effort in the rough. Summerhays wedged on to 15 feet, and NOTABLE after Jin hit his first putt to 6 feet, Summerhays curled in his putt for bogey. When Jin’s par try slid by on the low side, the In Summerhays becomes the third U.S. Junior Amateur cham- opportunity slipped past. pion to earn an exemption into the U.S. Open. “I’ve had a goal since freshman year to play in a tour event before I graduate “Bo actually gave me a really nice read for my bogey putt,” high school,” said Summerhays, who is No. 208 in the World said Summerhays. “His putt went by 6 or 7 feet, and I visual- Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). “It’s so cool this tournament ized my putt going in. I hit a great putt and it went in just how gets an exemption. It’s a huge opportunity, and I think that I wanted it to.” opportunity is going to be awesome and amazing in my pro- “The three-putt on 16 was definitely not my best,” said Jin, gression as a player.” 17, of the People’s Republic of China, who was attempting Both Summerhays and runner-up Bo Jin, who is No. 777 in to become the first alternate to win the Junior Amateur. “It the WAGR, earned exemptions into the 119th U.S. Amateur broke way more than I thought. I was just trying to go for my Championship at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club. Both play- two-putt, but I hit a bad putt.” ers also had sisters (Grace Summerhays and Jiarui “Joyce” It appeared that Jin would have another chance to tie Jin) who competed the following week in the 71st U.S. Girls’ Summerhays on the next hole, No. 17. Jin drove into the fair- Junior Championship next week at SentryWorld in Stevens way and Summerhays again opted to play his tee shot down Point, Wis. the adjacent 16th fairway. This time, he missed his target and U.S. Junior Amateur 3 72nd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship Qual. Round of 64 Round of 32 Round of 16 Quarterfinal Round Semifinal Round Score Wednesday, July 17 Thursday, July 18 Thursday, July 18 Friday, July 19 Friday, July 19 (138) William Moll, Houston, Texas Moll (150) Josh Bartels, Lincoln, Neb. 5 and 3 Sosa Par: 35-36—71 (147) Jackson Van Paris, Pinehurst, N.C. 4 and 2 Sosa Yardage: 7,339 (147) Jacob Sosa, Austin, Texas 19 holes Ramachandran Entries: 3,496 (144) Deven Ramachandran, San Rafael, Calif. 3 and 2 Ramachandran (148) Tom McKibbin, Northern Ireland. 4 and 3 Ramachandran (144) Yuxin Lin, People’s Republic of China 1 up Lin (148) JT Herman, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 1 up Jin (141) Bo Jin, People’s Republic of China 1 up Jin (149) Andi Xu, People’s Republic of China 5 and 4 Jin (145) Jack Wall, Brielle, N.J. 3 and 2 Wall (148) Ben Brogdon, Little Rock, Ark. 2 and 1 Jin (141) Brian Ma, Milpitas, Calif. 2 up Ma (149) Gaven Lane, Argyle, Texas 3 and 2 Ma (145) Nathan Han, Somers, N.Y. 3 and 2 Han (148) Jack Townsend, San Diego, Calif. 1 up Jin (139) Luke Potter, Encinitas, Calif. 1 up Potter (150) Deven Patel, Johns Creek, Ga. 4 and 3 Claycomb (146) Zach Jones, Highland, Utah 19 holes Claycomb (147) Canon Claycomb, Bowling Green, Ky. 1 up Martin (143) Alex Vogelsong, Palm City, Fla. 1 up Vogelsong (149) Brett Sodetz, Henderson, Nev. 5 and 3 Martin (144) James Imai, Brookline, Mass. 1 up Martin (148) Garrett Martin, San Antonio, Texas 4 and 3 Chinn (139) Michael Thorbjornsen, Wellesley, Mass. 4 and 2 Thorbjornsen (150) Phichaksn Maichon, Thailand 5 and 4 Jackson (146) Palmer Jackson, Murrysville, Pa. 1 up Jackson (148) Gordon Sargent, Birmingham, Ala. 3 and 1 FINAL Chinn Saturday, July 20 (143) Noah Kumar, Sarasota, Fla. 19 holes Kumar Preston Summerhays (149) Matthew Garside, Bettendorf, Iowa 1 up def. Chinn Bo Jin, (144) Kelly Chinn, Great Falls, Va. 5 and 4 Chinn 2 and 1 (148) Jeevan Sihota, Canada 5 and 4 4 U.S. Junior Amateur July 15-20, 2019, Inverness Club, Toledo, Ohio Semifinal Round Quarterfinal Round Round of 16 Round of 32 Round of 64 Qual. Friday, July 19 Friday, July 19 Thursday, July 18 Thursday, July 18 Wednesday, July 17 Score William Mouw, Chino, Calif. (138) Mouw 6 and 4 Jake Beber-Frankel, Miami, Fla. (150) Myers 1 up Jack Morris, Franklin, Tenn. (147) Myers 2 and 1 Bronson Myers, Columbia, S.C. (147) Duangmanee 1 up George Duangmanee, Fairfax, Va. (143) Duangmanee 21 holes Kevin Sze, Saratoga, Calif. (149) Duangmanee 3 and 2 August Meekhof, Eastmanville, Mich. (144) Greer 2 and 1 Joshua Greer, Australia (148) Pagdin 2 and 1 Brett Roberts, Coral Springs, Fla. (141) Curran 2 and 1 Sean Curran, New Lenox, Ill. (150) Moldovan 2 and 1 Maxwell Moldovan, Uniontown, Ohio (146) Moldovan 3 and 2 Cade Breitenstine, Akron, Ohio (148) Pagdin 4 and 3 Karl Vilips, Australia (142) Moriyama 4 and 2 Yuki Moriyama, Japan (149) Pagdin 19 holes Joseph Pagdin, England (145) Pagdin 4 and 3 Holden Wisener, Dallas, Texas (148) Summerhays 4 and 3 Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. (138) Castillo 1 up Drew Salyers, Howard, Ohio (150) Yamawaki 6 and 5 Kento Yamawaki, Japan (146) Yamawaki 5 and 4 James Song, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.