Ko KOs top seed Kang at US girls' championship
 

NEWS RELEASE FROM USGA

TULSA, Oklahoma – Naomi Ko, 17, of Canada, defeated U.S. Girls’ Championship medallist (leading qualifier) and 2015 U.S. Women’s Open low amateur Megan Khang by one hole in Thursday morning’s second round of match play before eliminating Alyaa Abdulghany, 2 and 1, in the afternoon’s Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals of the 2015 championship at Tulsa Country Club.

“It was a big confidence booster,” said Ko about her victory over Khang. “Someone actually asked me if I felt like an underdog going into the match, and I kind of did, but I knew I had a chance because anything can happen in match play.”

Playing in her second US girls’ championship  and first since she missed the cut in 2012, Ko is the 2014 British Columbia girls’ champion and will play for North Carolina State University in the autumn.

Ko’s quarter-final opponent is 15-year-old Eun Jeong Seong, who she met for the first time Thursday in the clubhouse during a weather delay that pushed the start of play to 9:30 a.m. Seong, from South Korea, defeated Aubree Jones and Chakansim Khamborn, both by 6-and-5 margins.

In 2014, Seong was the runner-up and stroke-play medallist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.

Joining Ko and Seong in the quarter-finals are Annika Cedo, of the Philippines; Jayna Choi, of Collierville, Tennessee; Evelyn Arguelles, of Mexico; Mika Liu, of Beverly Hills, California.; Angel Yin, of Arcadia, California; and Andrea Lee, of Hermosa Beach, California.

Mika Liu, the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion, utilized her trademark putting skills in defeating Kelly Sim, 3 and 2, and Aneka Seumanutafa, 2 and 1, Thursday. 

Liu, an IMG Academy student who has verbally committed to play for Stanford University, will next face 17-year-old Arguelles, who won by one hole against Kathleen Scavo in the Round of 16.

Lee,, 16 also committed to Stanford for 2016, arrived in Tulsa less than two hours before her Monday tee time from a silver medal-winning performance at the Pan American Games in Toronto.
 SECOND ROUND

Upper Bracket
Naomi Ko, Canada (144) def. Megan Khang, Rockland, Mass. (132), 1 up
Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif. (145) def. Lauren Hartlage, Elizabethtown, Ky. (141), 20 holes
Chakansim (Fai) Khamborn, Thailand (145) def. Malia Nam, Kailua, Hawaii (138), 3 and 2
Eun Jeong Seong, Republic of Korea (145) def. Aubree Jones, Covington, Tenn. (138), 6 and 5
Annika Cedo, Philippines (144) def. Muni He, People's Republic of China (136), 21 holes
Gina Kim, Chapel Hill, N.C. (141) def. Jessica Mangrobang, Chula Vista, Calif. (139), 2 and 1
Jayna Choi, Collierville, Tenn. (143) def. Yu Sang Hou, Chinese Taipei (137), 5 and 4
Karah Sanford, Escondido, Calif. (142) def. Lucy Li, Redwood City, Calif. (139), 1 up

Lower Bracket
Kathleen Scavo, Benicia, Calif. (147) def. Ellie Slama, Salem, Ore. (144), 3 and 2
Evelyn Arguelles, Mexico (145) def. Adeena Shears, Elizabeth, W.Va. (145), 3 and 2
Mika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif. (138) def. Kelly Sim, Republic of Korea (143), 3 and 2
Aneka Seumanutafa, Frederick, Md. (146) def. Courtney Dow, Frisco, Texas (142), 2 and 1
Yujeong Son, Republic of Korea (144) def. Jaravee Boonchant, Thailand (136), 3 and 2
Angel Yin, Arcadia, Calif. (140) def. Maria Balcazar, Mexico (145), 4 and 3
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (137) def. Sabrina Iqbal, San Jose, Calif. (143), 6 and 4
Marni Murez, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (142) def. Maria Fassi, Mexico (139), 2 and 1
THIRD ROUND

Upper Bracket
Naomi Ko, Canada (144) def. Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif. (145), 2 and 1
Eun Jeong Seong, Republic of Korea (145) def. Chakansim (Fai) Khamborn, Thailand (145), 6 and 5
Annika Cedo, Philippines (144) def. Gina Kim, Chapel Hill, N.C. (141), 4 and 3
Jayna Choi, Collierville, Tenn. (143) def. Karah Sanford, Escondido, Calif. (142), 2 up

Lower Bracket
Evelyn Arguelles, Mexico (145) def. Kathleen Scavo, Benicia, Calif. (147), 1 up
Mika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif. (138) def. Aneka Seumanutafa, Frederick, Md. (146), 2 and 1
Angel Yin, Arcadia, Calif. (140) def. Yujeong Son, Republic of Korea (144), 5 and 3
Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif. (137) def. Marni Murez, Manhattan Beach, Calif. (142), 7 and 6