GOLF
4 from Hawaii win in match play
Stephanie Kono is joined in the next round by Mari Chun, Amanda Wilson and Kimberly Kim
PUEBLO, Colo. » Hawaii went 4-for-4 yesterday in the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship round of 64.
The four Hawaii competitors remaining in the tournament won on the first day of match play to advance to today's round of 32. All won handily.
Stephanie Kono of Honolulu defeated Kelly Jacques of Longmont, Colo., 4 and 2.
Kono plays Karla Murra of Sioux Falls, S.D., in the second round today. The third round is also scheduled for today.
The 32 golfers remaining are trying to make it to Sunday's 36-hole final at Walking Stick Golf Course.
Kono is the reigning Hawaii high school champion.
Pearl City's Mari Chun topped New Zealand's Tamasin Clelland 6 and 5. Chun meets Mina Harigae of Monterey, Calif., today in the second round.
Harigae was a co-medalist along with San Diego's Hannah Jun in the stroke-play portion of the tournament earlier this week. Both had 36-hole totals of 7-under 137.
Harigae, a veteran of 10 USGA tournaments, edged Chelsey Collins of Louisville, Colo., 2 and 1. She knows the co-medalist tag doesn't mean much.
"I've seen the medalist go down many, many times," Harigae said in a story on the USGA Web site. "(My experience) helped a lot, especially on the last four holes. That's when you start grinding and putting the pressure on the other player."
Harigae made a 10-foot putt on the 15th to go 1 up and then Collins missed a 7-footer on the 17th to end it.
Amanda Wilson of Hilo moved on to a match today against Ashley Sholer of Canada after a 4-and-3 victory over Melanie DeLeon of Santa Clarita, Calif.
Another Hilo golfer, Kimberly Kim, won by the largest margin yesterday. She beat Anya Sarai Alvarez of Tulsa, Okla., 7 and 6, and faces Kelly Schaub of Greeley, Colo., today.
Kim and Kono are playing in the U.S. Women's Open next week in Newport, R.I.
Clelland, the New Zealander who was Chun's first-round victim and who plays for the University of Toledo, is amazed at the caliber of play at Walking Stick this week.
"It's really good to be able to push yourself," Clelland said in a story on the USGA Web site yesterday. "Back home ... you are kind of a big fish in a small pond. Here you are like everyone else. The scores at this tournament are just fantastic. I shot 74 on the first day and I was expecting that to be top 10 or 15 and I was like 26th equal, which is a good thing."
Jun, a UCLA junior recovering from a serious neck injury suffered in a car accident six months ago, advanced with a 4 and 3 win over Kristen Schelling of Mesa, Ariz., yesterday.