No. 52 Seed Kim Birdies 35th and 36th Holes to Win U.S. Junior Am

CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The final for 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship was played Saturday and Sunday, and what it demonstrated was that you simply cannot predict these things.

Tommy Morrison, the 6-foot-10-inch Texan who earned medalist honors Monday and Tuesday with a 66-69--135, got through the first three rounds of match play and was the favorite to win it all. But then he lost to Will Hartman, 1 down in the quarters. Hartman was the No. 8 seed, and two other seeds from the top 8 -- No. 6 Joshua Bai and No. 7 Billy Davis -- made it to the quarterfinals, as well. All three of them had been playing well all week.

In the end, however, it was the No. 52 seed, Bryan Kim, an 18-year-old from Brookeville, N.Y., who barely avoided having to go through a playoff just to get iinto the match play portion of the tournament, who won it. And he did it in impressive fashion, birdying the last two holes and finishing 36 holes at 6 under in a 2-up victory over the No. 6 seed, Bai.

Two Minnesotans made it to match play. Torger Ohe, a junior to be at Edina, tied Kim in stroke-play qualifying. Not only did they tie with 144s, they both shot 74 in the first round at the Daniel Island Club's Ralston Creek Course and 70 in the second round at the Beresford Creek Course, which put them in a tie for 44th place. Jake Birdwell, the Minnesota state Class AAA high school champion, qualified with 145 (77-68) and had to survive a 14-for-7 playoff to earn his spot as the No. 58 seed in match play. But the Spring Lake Park senior to be -- and University of Illinois recruit for 2024 -- lost his Round of 64 match to No. 7 Davis.

Ohe, who finished third in AAA at the state high school tournament, was the No. 48 seed for the Junior Am, and he won two matches, 4&3 over No. 17 Simon Hovdal and 5&4 over No. 16 Carson Kim. Then he ran into Morrison in the Round of 16, and Morrison dismissed him 3&2.

Hartman, in turn, was beaten 2&1 by Kim on Friday in the semifinals, and Davis lost to Bai 3&1.

Weather was a problem for Saturday's final, which turned into a Saturday/Sunday final. Kim, who will be a freshman at Duke this fall, was leading 1 up after 25 holes when thunderstorms forced a suspension of play. Kim was 5 under par at that point. After play resumed Sunday morning, Bai birdied No. 8 (386 yards, par 4) to get to 5 under himself (that counts some concessions) and level the match, and he went 1 up when he won the 245-yard, par-3 ninth with a par. Kim won the 29th hole of the match (No. 11, 584, par 5), and he went 1 up when he won the par-3 12th with a par. In the first 18, Bai had won the 284-yard, par-4 14th wtih an eagle 2, and he won it again with a birdie Sunday morning.

That leveled things once again, and they halved the 182-yard, par-3 15th with bogeys, the first hole that they both bogeyed in the entire match. But after they both parred the 16th, Kim took the lead by hitting a 113-yard wedge shot to 7 feet at the 376-yard, par-4 17th and making the putt for a birdie. He closed Bai out 2 up with a conceded birdie at the 557-yard, par-5 18th.


U.S. Junior Amateur

At Daniel Island Club

Ralston Creek Course (par 72, 7,351 yards)

& Beresford Creek Course (par 71, 7,029 yards

Charleston, S.C.

Match play

(All matches are being played at Ralston Creek Course)

Round of 64

No. 1 Tommy Morrison def. No. 64 Johnnie Clark 2&1

No. 63 David Liechty def. No. 2 Andrew Gregory 3&2

No. 3 Tyler Sanford def. No. 62 Ratchanon Tk Changananuwat 6&4

No. 61 Henry Guan def. No. 4 Ethan Fang 1 up

No. 5 Kelvin Hernandez def. No. 60 James Mcnair 3&1

No. 6 Joshua Bai def. No. 59 Brooks Simmons 5&4

No. 7 Billy Davis def. No. 58 Jake Birdwell 2&1

No. 8 Will Hartman def. No. 57 Stanley Lin 5&4

No. 48 Torger Ohe def. No. 17 Simon Hovdal 4&3


Round of 32

No. 1 Morrison def. No. 32 Chi Chun Chen 1 up

No. 34 Rowan Sullivan def. No. 63 Liechty 3&2

No. 30 Hunter Stetson def. No. 3 Sanford 2&1

No. 36 Chase Kyes def. No. 61 Guan 5&4

No. 28 Pongsapak Laopakdee def. No. 5 Hernandez 1 up

No. 6 Bai def. No. 27 Boston Bracken 21 holes

No. 7 Davis def. No. 39 Carson Brewer 5&3

No. 8 Hartman def. No. 40 Jay Leng 4&3

No. 48 Ohe def. No. 16 Carson Kim 5&4


Round of 16

No. 1 Morrison def. No 48 Ohe 3&2

No. 34 Sullivan def. No. 48 Chase Nevins 2 up

No. 51 Zeqian Fang def. No. 30 Statson 3&1

No. 52 Bryan Kim def. No. 36 Kyes 3&2

No. 21 Edan Cui def. No. 28 Laopakdee 21 holes

No. 6 Bai def. No. 22 Joseph Buttress 2&1

No. 7 Davis def. No. 55 Bryson Hughes 2&1

No. 8 Hartman def. No. 56 Carson Looney 2&1


Quarterfinals

No. 8 Hartman def. No. 1 Morrison 1 up

No. 52 Kim def. No 21. Edan Cui 1 up

No. 6 Bai def. No. 51 Zeqian Fang 2 up

No. 7 David def. No. 34 Rowan Sullivan 6&4


Semifinals

No. 52 Kim def. No. 8 Hartman

No. 6 Bai def. No, 7 Davis 3&1


Final

No. 52 Kim def. No. 6 Bai 2 up


Stroke play

1. Tommy Morrison 66B-69R--135

2. Andrew Gregory 66R-70B--136

3. Tyler Sanford 70B-67R--137

T4. Joshua Bai 66R-72B--138

T4. Kelvin Hernandez 70R-68B--138

T4. Will Hartman 66B-72R--138

T4. Billy Davis 69R-69B--138

T4. Ethan Fang 67B-71R--138

T44. Torger Ohe 74R-70B--144

T58. Jake Birdwell 77R-68B--145 (made par on first exta hole and advanced from 14-for-7 playoff)

Missed cut (145)

Andrew Ramos 79R-74B--153

Andrew Ballou 78B-81R--159