U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kimberly Kim won a pair of matches yesterday in the U.S. Women's Amateur, advancing to the quarterfinals.
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2 from Hawaii advance
Ayaka Kaneko and Kimberly Kim are in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Amateur
NORTH PLAINS, Ore. » Pahoa's Kimberly Kim and Honolulu 16-year-old Ayaka Kaneko of Honolulu were among the eight winners yesterday who advanced to today's quarterfinal round at the U.S. Women's Amateur.
Stanford's Mari Chun (Kamehameha) fell 4 and 2 to Carlota Ciganda of Spain earlier in the day in the Round of 32.
Kaneko defeated Arizona State's Jennifer Osborn, 2 and 1 and Kim advanced by beating Australian Alison Whitaker, 3 and 2 to reach the final eight. In the Round of 32 Kim beat Lauren Espinosa of Texas 1 up. Kaneka beat Chinese Taiwan's Pei-Lin Yu 2 up.
Jennie Lee, who helped Duke to a national championship this year, advanced with a victory over Sydnee Michaels.
Lee, a member of the U.S. team that won the Curtis Cup, defeated Michaels, an incoming freshman at UCLA, 2 and 1. Lee never trailed on the sunny but windy Witch Hollow course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club west of Portland.
"I tried very hard to take it hole by hole," she said. "Even though I was up, the match could have turned at any moment."
Lee was the lone remaining member of the Curtis Cup team that advanced to the quarterfinals. The U.S. won the biennial competition against a team from Britain and Ireland last month at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort on the southern Oregon coast.
The 36-hole championship will be played Sunday.
Earlier in the day, Lee defeated Curtis Cup teammate Paige Mackenzie, the medalist in stroke play qualifying. She revitalized herself with a nap between rounds.
She said she has felt like she's gotten better since the NCAA championships, where Duke won it's second consecutive team title.
"I think nationals was a turning point for me," she said, wearing a Blue Devils cap. "I felt really good heading into my summer, I felt I could reach."
Last year's Amateur was won by 17-year-old Morgan Pressel.