Chen Wins 2010 United States girls' championship

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Village of Pinehurst, North Carolina – Doris Chen came to the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at The Country Club of North Carolina with a single goal – to take home the trophy. After earning a 3-and-2 victory over Katelyn Dambaugh of Goose Creek, South Carolina, in the scheduled 36-hole championship final Saturday at the 6,331-yard Dogwood, it was mission accomplished.
The 17-year-old Chen of Bradenton, Florida, who lost in the semi-finals a year ago, knew she had the game to claim the championship. But it took a change in her mindset to finally lift her to the top.
“This afternoon I really played in a different way than before,” said Chen, who usually has a stoic demeanor on the course. “In the first round I was very serious. In the second round I was very relaxed.”
In the morning 18, Chen made a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh for a 2-up lead. But Dambaugh cut into the lead
Katelyn Dambaugh's putter let her down a little in the championship match. (John Mummert/USGA)
with a birdie on No. 10 and squared the match with a par on No. 13. Two holes later, Dambaugh took her first lead of the match when Chen had trouble getting out of a fairway bunker.
After the lunch break, Dambaugh increased her lead to 2 up with a par on the 19th hole. But her lead evaporated in the searing heat when she lost holes 24 and 25.
“I was feeling great,” said the 15-year-old Dambaugh. “I don’t know what happened. I hit a couple of bad shots, and for some reason, started getting down on myself. I started getting really tired.”
Exhaustion was understandable for both players, with temperatures nearing 100 and a heat index well above that. During the break between rounds, Chen took her mother’s umbrella, hoping to find some relief from the sun.
Using a steady short game, Chen started to chip away at Dambaugh’s lead. She made an 8-footer for birdie on the 23rd hole and squared the match when Dambaugh found trouble off the tee a hole later. But Dambaugh wasn’t done. She again took the lead on No. 28 when she stuck her approach shot from the rough to 4 feet and made her birdie putt, her second of the match on that hole. But it would be her last lead of the day.
Bogeys by Dambaugh on the next two holes allowed Chen to turn a 1-down deficit to a 1-up advantage. But Chen was careful not to get ahead of herself.
“I didn't think of that in the afternoon,” said Chen. “Even in the afternoon when I got back, 1 up, 2 up, I didn't feel like I was winning. I was just hitting my golf shots. I didn't really think about, ‘Oh, maybe I can win this.’ ”
Whether she thought it or not, victory was about to be hers. Chen made a 10-footer for birdie to win No. 32 and won the next hole on another bogey by Dambaugh. Chen made a 25-foot birdie putt on the final hole to put an exclamation point on the victory.
But Dambaugh, who was playing in her first USGA championship, did not leave disappointed.
“It’s amazing,” she said of her experience at CCNC. “I never even thought about getting this far. I’m so pleased with how I played. I’m just so blessed to even be here.”
The 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association each year, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
*Report written by Beth Murrison, USGA Manager of Championship Communications. For questions or comments, contact her at bmurrison@usga.org.

Jim Lui (younger than Tiger) wins US boys' championship
Ada, Michigan - Jim Liu, of Smithtown, New York became the youngest champion in the history of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship with his 4 and 2 victory over Justin Thomas, of Goshen, Ky., in Saturday’s final match held at Egypt Valley Country Club.
The 14-year-old Liu, who was born on Aug. 9, 1995, broke by more than seven months the previous championship record held by Tiger Woods, who was 15 years, 6 months and 28 days old when he won the 1991 championship.
“It is an honour to be just a part of the list of champions,” Liu said. “But to break Tiger's record is just a big plus. I have never thought I would do it, but it just happened to be my year this year.”
It certainly was Liu’s week on the hilly Egypt Valley course. After he quietly made his way through the stroke-play cut, Liu went on a tear through the match-play bracket, with only two of his matches going the full 18 holes.
“The first two rounds I either hit the ball good or I putted well,” Liu said. “I just didn't do it in the same round. After stroke play, I started to do it in the same round. I think that's just a matter of time and luck.”
Saturday’s final was no different, though the morning rain did dampen Liu’s start. After play was delayed 30 minutes due to the overnight rain that had soaked the Egypt Valley course, Thomas opened the morning’s portion of the match by quickly building a 2-up lead through the first three holes. Liu was able to stay close to Thomas through the constant rain, tallying his first birdie of the championship match on the fourth hole, and eventually was able to square the match with a birdie on the par-3 eighth hole – a birdie that was quite nearly an ace.
Liu started the back nine of the morning round with another birdie and never looked back from there. He shot the equivalent of 8 under par (with the usual match-play concessions) for the morning round, and then cruised through the afternoon round, shooting the equivalent of 1 under par, and ultimately closed the match out on the 34th hole.
While Thomas did not take home the victory, he did not roll over for the steamrolling Liu. Thomas parried Liu’s first-round 8 under with a 5 under of his own. However, his struggles with the putter proved to be his downfall
“I played well enough to win, but it was just a couple putts here and there,” Thomas said. “There’s not many times you shoot 5 under in your first 18 and you’re 3 down. It was fun, but it’s unfortunate to lose.”
Thomas, who affectionately refers to Liu as “Slim Jim,” was able to pare his opponent’s lead down to one hole on two occasions on the afternoon’s second nine, the last occurring after he birdied the 31st hole. However, Liu quickly pushed back and won the next three holes to wrap up the match.
“This being my only year, it was unfortunate to get to the finals and not get it done, but I didn’t lose it, I got beat,” Thomas said. “I can’t be upset about that. It’s upsetting that I didn’t win, but it’s not upsetting that I didn’t lose it. I just got beat. He played great golf and deserves it.”
With their appearances in the final match, Liu and Thomas both received exemptions into the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship, being held August 23-29 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

+Story written by Christina Lance, coordinator of championship communications for the USGA.

Result of Saturday’s championship final match over 36 holes at the 7,111-yard, par-72 Egypt Valley Country Club:

Jim Liu, Smithtown, New York State (qualifying total 144) bt Justin Thomas, Goshen, Kentucky (qualifying total 136), 4 and 2