Left-handed Katelyn in US girls' final at first attempt

FROM THE GOLFWEEK WEBSITE
By Julie Williams
PINEHURST, North Carolina – Katelyn Dambaugh may be a new arrival on the USGA scene, but she’s making her presence known at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship. After cruising through the quarter-finals and semi-finals, Dambaugh will meet Doris Chen in the 36-hole final at the Country Club of North Carolina.
So who is this Carolina wunderkind? The petite, grey-green-eyed Dambaugh may not appear to be much of a threat – that is, until she displays her ability to make birdies and get on a run. It’s exactly what she did during her semi-final match Friday afternoon, taking it to Ally McDonald, 7 and 6.
In her first USGA competition appearance, Dambaugh has the opportunity to secure a place in history as the first left-handed player to win a female USGA championship. It’s a spot Dambaugh didn’t expect to find herself in entering the championship this week, but one she’s excited for nonetheless.
“I just wanted to make the cut – that was my goal,” Dambaugh states matter-of-factly. “Now I’m here.”
Dambaugh, from Goose Creek, South Carolina, will be a sophomore at Pinewood Prep this fall, and is poised to become a star on the newly-formed women’s golf team. She walks the course in pink golf shoes and a Duke visor – the headwear complete from signatures from Duke basketball stand-out Demarcus Nelson and LPGA player Brittany Lang. Dambaugh hopes to one day become a Blue Devil, and if she keeps up her current style of play, it doesn’t seem to be out of the question.
Little seems to faze this 15-year-old, who also plays shooting guard for the Pinewood Prep women’s basketball team. It’s possible that said team will show up for Saturday’s final round, which, as Dambaugh’s father Eric stated, might make for a pretty amped-up day.
Though Dambaugh might be lacking in USGA experience, she entered the Girls’ Junior off a run to the semi-finals at the South Carolina Junior Match Play Championship earlier this month. She has her good friend Derek Mills on the bag this week, and, maybe most importantly, a hot putter in her hand.
So far, Dambaugh’s game plan for this championship has worked pretty well, and she sees little reason to change it tomorrow.
“Just go out there like I did today. Just first shot, get it in the fairway and just go one shot at a time.”
RESULTS
Quarter-finals
D Chen bt D Kang 1 hole.
G Park bt M Tumangan 3 and 2.
A McDonald bt V Tanco 1 hole.
K Dambaugh bt S Liu 2 and 1.
Semi-finals
Chen bt Park 4 and 3.
Dambaught bt McDonald 7 and 6.
Liu, Thomas reach US boys' championship final

ADA, Michigan -- Jim Liu of Smithtown, New York will face Justin Thomas of Goshen, Kentucky on Saturday in the championship match of the U.S. Junior Amateur.
The 14-year-old Liu defeated fellow New Yorker Gavin Hall, from Pittsford, by one hole in the quarter-finals on Friday morning on the Classic Course at Egypt Valley Country Club. Liu then won his afternoon semi-final, 3 and 2, over 14-year-old Robbie Shelton of Wilmer, Alabama
The only lead Thomas had in his afternoon match was following the 19th hole, when he defeated Denny McCarthy of Burtonsville, Maryland. The 17-year-old Thomas beat Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island, Georgia, 2 and 1 in the quarter-finals.
Thomas was the only semi-finalist to break par in the tournament's two qualifying rounds.
RESULTS:
Quarter-finals
D McCarthy bt R Jung at 19th.
J Thomas bt S Wolfes 2 and 1.
R Shelton bt A Paolucci 2 and 1.
J Liu bt G Hall 1 hole.
Semi-finals
Thomas bt McCarthy at 19th.
Liu bt Shelton 3 and 2.