U.S. JUNIOR AMATEUR

Medalist Morrison Among Winners in Round of 64

By Brian DePasquale, USGA

| Jul 26, 2023 | Charleston, S.C.

Medalist Morrison Among Winners in Round of 64

Tommy Morrison made three birdies on the inward nine to post a 2-and-1 victory on Wednesday, advancing to the second round of match play in the 2023 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the par-72, 7,236-yard Daniel Island Club (Ralston Creek Course). Morrison, 18, of Dallas, Texas, the medalist and top seed, defeated Johnnie Clark, 18, of Mesa, Ariz., in the Round of 64.

“There’s a little bit of unnecessary pressure added when you are the first seed,” said Morrison, who advanced to the Round of 16 in this year’s Amateur Championship in England. “I felt I handled it okay. I let a couple of holes get away from me. Johnnie (Clark) hit some quality shots and he earned those holes.”

Morrison, who played this past spring at the University of Texas, gained a 1-up lead on the par-5 11th by taking advantage of his length off the tee. His second shot, a 5-iron, found a greenside bunker and he got up-and-down for birdie. He added another birdie on No. 14 and was conceded a 10-foot birdie putt on the following hole for a 3-up margin.

But Morrison knows he needs to get better moving forward. “I need to stay in my own box the rest of the week, meaning stay in the present and understand where I am at. I did a poor job today of letting my mind wander. That needs to improve because the second that happens things can go downhill quickly. [I am] looking to improve my mindset because I know my golf game is there right now.”

It was ecstasy and agony for two area players following a weather delay of one hour and 57 minutes. Rowan Sullivan, 18, of Charleston, S.C., birdied the 18th and 19th holes to rally against Jon Ed Steed, 17, of Enterprise, Ala. Meanwhile, Matt Moloney, of Daniel Island, S.C., fell in his extra-hole battle with Gerardo Gomez, 17, of Mexico. In addition, Andrew Gregory, of Spartanburg, S.C., lost his match as the No. 2 seed in the bracket.

“We both traded blows in the beginning, then he built a lead when I made some mistakes, but I never gave up,” said Sullivan, who also reached the Round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur. “I knew that my game was there. To win, you have to play the whole match well, so I kept playing.”

Sullivan, who won last year’s Class 3A independent state high school title, trailed by as much as three holes, but drew even when he canned a 20-footer for birdie on the par-5 18th. He secured the match on No. 19, Ralston Creek’s first hole, with a 100-yard approach to within 3 feet to set up the winning putt.

Tyler Sanford, who earned the No. 3 seed with two bogey-free rounds in stroke play, knocked out Ratchanon Tk Chantananuwat, 16, of Thailand, 6 and 4. Chantananuwat, who became the first amateur to win on the Asian Tour since 2009 last December, was No. 26 in World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®, the top-rated player in this field. He survived a stroke-play playoff earlier in the day.

“I knew his background because my cousin sent it to me this morning,” said Sanford, 16, of Montgomery, Texas. “But my mentality was that I beat him in stroke play so I might as well beat him in match play.”

Sanford, who finished fourth in this year’s Class 5A state championship, won three consecutive holes twice throughout the match. He laid up off the tee with a 5-wood on No. 8 and made a 10-footer for birdie and was 4 up after nine holes. Sanford later hit a 7-iron to within 6 feet to set up a birdie on the par-3 12th and closed out the victory on No. 14 when he struck a 70-yard wedge to close range for another birdie.

Bryan Kim, 18, of Brookeville, Md. made the most of his match play bid for the first time in three attempts at the U.S. Junior Amateur. In one of the marquee matches of the first round, he defeated Jackson Byrd, 16, of St. Simons Island, Ga., 6 and 5.

After giving up a late 3-up lead, Pongsapak Laopakdee of Thailand exults after defeating Caolan Burford in 19 holes in the round of 64. (Tom Brenner/USGA)

After giving up a late 3-up lead, Pongsapak Laopakdee of Thailand exults after defeating Caolan Burford in 19 holes in the round of 64. (Tom Brenner/USGA)

Kim went 3 up early when he two-putted for birdie on the par-5 sixth. He later took advantage of another par 5 by hitting his second shot, a 250-yard, 3-iron, to the fringe which led to another birdie. He increased his lead on the par-3 12th with a 5-foot birdie putt on the same hole in made a “7” in the first round of stroke play.

“I never saw myself as a great match-play player,” said Kim, who will attend the Duke University in the fall. “At Wyndham Cup I learned to just keep the pedal down, don’t get complacent especially when you are up. It’s all about momentum. You have to keep the hammer down and win as many holes as you can.”

Carson Looney, 16, of Bethesda, Md., turned in the best comeback of the opening round. He was 3 down with three holes to play but rallied to win in 20 holes against Kihei Akina, 17, of Alpine, Utah. Looney birdied Nos. 17 and 18, including a 20-footer to send the match to extra holes. He would advance to the next round when he lagged his birdie attempt to 12 inches for a winning par.

Lightning also literally struck for Pongsapak Laopakdee, 18, of Thailand, who recovered from being 3 down in the late going. Laopakdee, who signed to play at Arizona State University in 2023-24, waited out the afternoon weather delay to deliver a 10-foot birdie putt that decided his 19-hole match with Caolan Burford, 18, of Wales. 

What’s Next

The Round of 32 will take place on Thursday at 7 a.m. EDT, followed by the Round of 16 at 1 p.m. Friday’s quarterfinal matches are scheduled for 7 a.m., with the semifinals to follow at noon. The 36-hole final on Saturday will begin at 8 a.m. and continue at approximately 1:30 p.m. Golf Channel will broadcast the semifinal round live from 2 to 4 p.m. EDT and Saturday’s championship match from 3 to 5 p.m. Steve Burkowski will anchor the broadcast.

Charleston's own Rowan Sullivan (right) celebrates with friends following his 19-hole Round of 64 victory. (Tom Brenner/USGA)

Charleston's own Rowan Sullivan (right) celebrates with friends following his 19-hole Round of 64 victory. (Tom Brenner/USGA)

Notable

  • The No. 1 seed in the U.S. Junior Amateur won his first-round match for the 20th consecutive time. The last time the top seed lost was in 2002 when Jarred Texter fell to Shane Sigsbee, 2 up, Atlanta Athletic Club’s Highlands Course.
  • The 14-for-7 playoff for the final spots in the match-play draw lasted one hole and less than one hour. Johnnie Clark, who advanced to the Round of 16 in last year’s Junior Amateur, garnered the 64th and final spot. Jacob Birdwell, who birdied his last two holes in the second round of stroke play to advance to the playoff, made a 12-foot par putt to earn the No. 58 seed. The playoff was conducted on Beresford Creek Course’s par-3 ninth.
  • Fourteen countries were represented in the match bracket. They are: United States (46), Australia (2), Canada (2), People’s Republic of China (2), Chinese Taipei (2), Thailand (2), Chile (1), Republic of Ireland (1), Japan (1), Mexico (1), New Zealand (1), Puerto Rico (1), Sweden (1) and Wales (1). The average age was 17.09.
  • Eric Lee, 18, of Fullerton, Calif., had a 1-up lead through 16 holes but was stung in the Round of 64 by Jack Roberts, 16, of Saint Mary’s, Ga., who birdied the last two holes. Lee advanced to last year’s Junior Amateur semifinals, losing a 20-hole match to eventual champion Wenyi Ding.
  • Henry Guan, who is the youngest player in match play (15 years, 1 month, 3 days), made a 6-foot birdie putt to defeat No. 4 seed Ethan Fang. The Irving, Texas native attends Highland Park High, the same school that produced 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur champion Scottie Scheffler. Guan was the runner-up in last December’s South Beach International Amateur and lost in a playoff to Luke Clanton, a semifinalist in the 2021 U.S. Junior Amateur and quarterfinalist last year.
  • There are 19 players in the U.S. Junior Amateur field who will play in the 123rd U.S. Amateur Championship, held at Cherry Hills Country Club, in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., and Colorado Golf Club, in Parker, Colo., from Aug. 14-20. Tk Chantananuwat and Nicholas Gross earned exemptions. Will Hartman, the No. 8 seed in the Junior Amateur match-play bracket, is among 17 players who qualified for the championship. They other players are: Boston Bracken, Blades Brown, Jackson Byrd, Luke Colton, Josh Duangmanee, Brandon Knight, Chase Kyes, Stanley Lin, Nathan Miller, Jacob Modleski, Kevin Mu, Parker Paxton, Jack Vojtko, William Walsh, Grayson Wood and Yanhan Zhou.

Quotable

“People from my home club (Country Club of Charleston), people that are friends of a friend, people that are Daniel Island Club members. All people that are just nice enough to come watch me. I really appreciate it and I want them to know that that really makes a difference for me. Especially on the last hole when they were clapping for me. That was awesome.” – Rowan Sullivan on the support he received during his first-round match

“Coming off two bogey-free rounds in stroke play and then winning this match, I would say my confidence is pretty high. It’s golf, it can kick your butt anytime and anywhere. I just have to stay focused and gear down.” – Tyler Sanford on where his confidence level is at this point in the championship

“I always think anything can happen. It’s the name of the game for golf, never give up. And it proved to be pretty true today. I never gave up on the mental part of the game. The mental game is 80 percent of golf.” – Carson Looney on how he stayed in the match despite being 3 down with three holes to play

“In a way I am thankful it did. I was very unprepared today. I made a rookie mistake and didn’t bring an umbrella in the summer and in Charleston, South Carolina. The club felt like it was going to slip out of my hands. I am thankful the delay happened so I could reset and have a better mindset.” – Tommy Morrison on if the weather delay affected his match.

“The hardest shots in golf are the ones you can’t control, the ones that are unpredictable. I knew the grass was going to be like that around the bunker. I tried to hit a good shot and hope for the best. My hands were shaking [on the par putt], I was happy I started it on line.” – Ratchanon Tk Chantananuwat on converting and up-and-down for par on the first stroke-play playoff hole

Brian DePasquale is the USGA’s senior manager of championship communications. Email him at bdepasquale@usga.org.