Stratham, NH (Sports Network) - Jim Liu and Nicolas Echavarria, two of three
stroke-play medalists, advanced through the second and third rounds of match
play Thursday at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship.
U.S. Open sensation Beau Hossler, on the other hand, dropped out of the
tournament after losing his second-round match.
Liu topped James Riley 2 & 1 during the second round, then beat Eric Ricard 3
& 1 in the third at The Golf Club of New England. Echavarria beat Jake Shuman
4 & 3 in his first match of the day, then took a 2-up victory over Charles Cai
after Cai bogeyed the final two holes.
The third stroke-play medalist, Shintaro Ban, lost his second-round match to
Joo-Young Lee, a 4 & 2 winner. Lee then went on to beat Zachary Bauchou, 3 &
1, in the third round.
Andrej Bevins beat Hossler, who was a surprise contender at Olympic Club last
month, 4 & 2 in the second round. But he was ousted in the third by Andy Hyeon
Bo Shim, who birdied the 19th hole to win that match.
Shim will face Lee in a quarterfinal match Friday, while Liu will face Nicolo
Galletti.
Echavarria's quarterfinal opponent will be Branson Davis, who took a 4 & 2 win
over Derek Bard in his first match Thursday. But Davis barely edged Richard
Hattori in a third-round match that came down to the 18th hole. Davis stumbled
to a bogey, but got the win thanks to Hattori's double bogey.
The final quarterfinal match will be between Maverick McNealy and Matthew
Scobie.
The quarterfinals and semifinals will take place Friday, while the 36-hole
final is set for Saturday.
The Sports Network