Minnesotans Park and Sigel Earn Spots at U.S. Junior Amateur Championship

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By Nick Hunter
nhunter@mngolf.org


  OWATONNA, Minn. – Joey Park opened the first round of the 2015 U.S. Junior Amateur Sectional Qualifier with an even par 71 Thursday at Owatonna Country Club, but birdied the final hole of his second round to card a 69 and earn medalist honors as well as a spot in the championship next month.

The qualifying field was comprised of 66 players who were competing for just three qualifying spots to this year’s tournament, which will be played July 20-25 at Colleton River in Bluffton, S.C.

Park, Lake Elmo, Minn., finished the day at 2-under par 140 and will be joined by Walker Lee, Houston, Texas, who carded a 1-under par 141, as well as Ben Sigel, Minnetonka, Minn., who carded a 2-over par 144 to grab the final qualifying spot.

“I’m very happy with today, because the last few tournaments I haven’t played that well so this was a nice surprise,” Park said after 36 holes.

“I started out kind of slow with a couple of pars, but I birdied three to get some momentum,” Park said of his opening round. “I was putting pretty well, making some good comeback putts and I struck the ball really well.”

During the morning session Thursday, Park rolled in his birdie chance at the third before giving a stroke back at the fourth hole with a bogey. Park responded with a birdie at the fifth to get back to 1-under and would make the turn at 2-under after a birdie at the par-5 eighth hole.

He opened the back nine with his fourth birdie of the round, but followed it with a bogey at the 11th to remain at 2-under. Park rolled in six consecutive pars before stumbling to an even par finish with a double-bogey at the 17th, shooting 71.

During the afternoon session Thursday, Park started with a bogey on the opening hole and added another at the fifth before a big shift in momentum by chipping in for birdie at the par-5 eighth hole and would make the turn at 1-over.

Park’s short game shined again at the 12th hole as he chipped in for birdie again to get back to even par for the round. Park quickly moved to 2-under with back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th but gave a stroke back with a bogey at the 17th.

Sticking his tee shot to 12 feet at the par-3 18th hole, Park drilled his downhill birdie putt to finish the day at 2-under par 140 to earn a spot in his first USGA championship.

“The second round I started slow again but chipping in [on No. 8] gave me some momentum. I made some birdies and started to get in a groove and ended up playing really well after that,” Park said.

Houston, Texas native Walker Lee broke a course record during the opening round Thursday as he carded a 7-under par 64 during the opening round before shooting a 77 during the second round to finish second at 1-under par 141, punching his ticket to South Carolina next month.

“I got off to a hot start—I was 4-under through five and that really set the pace,” Lee said of his first round Thursday. “It gave me some confidence because I knew I had some easier holes coming so I just stayed patient.”

Lee started on the 10th hole and birdied four of his first five holes before adding another at the par-4 17th to make the turn at 5-under par 30. He would add three more birdies on his back nine before a bogey on the final hole of the opening round put him at 66.

“I was hitting it close and making a bunch of putts,” he said. “I birdied three in a row, but after the birdie at eight to get to 5-under, I knew I had a chance to go really low.”

He already owns the record at Champions Golf Club, his home course in Houston.

Lee started the second round on the 10th hole and opened with a bogey, but responded with a birdie at the 11th.

He ran into troubles late on the front nine as he played the final five holes at 5-over par. Lee would roll in back-to-back birdies to start the back nine and limit the damage as he got back to 4-over, but made bogey at the third.

Lee pulled back to 4-over for the day with another birdie at the par-4 fifth, but he would finish the day with a double-bogey at the eighth to shoot 77 for the round and finish the tournament in second at 141.

“The second round was a struggle. I was playing pretty good, then on my fifth hole I shanked one into the woods and that kind of got in my head and couldn’t get it back from there,” Lee said.”

“I’m really excited, I’ve qualified for the [Texas State Amateur] before, but nothing like this—I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

Sigel opened the qualifier with a pair of birdies before finishing his front nine of the opening round with two bogeys and a double to make the turn at 3-over. Over the final nine holes Sigel would make just one bogey with eighth pars to shoot 4-over par 75.

Beginning the second round with a birdie on his second hole, Sigel pulled even for the round with a bogey at the 14th. A birdie at the 17th put him at 1-under heading to the final nine holes.

Sigel rolled in six pars before making bogey at the sixth hole to slip to 4-over for the tournament. But he would finish strong with back-to-back birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to shoot 69 and secure his spot in the championship next month, finishing third at 144.

Ben Frazzini, Medina, Minn., finished as first alternate, carding a 5-over par 147, while Parker Reddig, Minneapolis, Minn., finished as second alternate, shooting a 6-over par 148.