Song, Thompson Lead 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Quarterfinalists

St. Louis, Mo. – Jennifer Song of Ann Arbor, Mich., won two matches at the 109th U.S. Women’s Amateur Thursday at Old Warson Country Club to keep alive her hopes of a second USGA championship in 2009.

The 19-year-old Song, who won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in June, is trying to join Pearl Sinn as the only players to win the WAPL and Women’s Amateur in the same year.

After ousting USC teammate Lizette Salas, 20, of Azusa, Calif., 4 and 2, in Thursday morning’s second round, Song recorded a 2-and-1 win over Cydney Clanton, 20, of Concord, N.C., in the afternoon’s third round on Old Warson’s par-71, 6,468-yard layout.

Jennifer Song is three wins away from becoming the second golfer to win the WAPL and U.S. Women's Amateur in the same calendar year. (Steven Gibbons/USGA)

“I’m feeling really good,” said Song, who also earned low-amateur honors at the U.S. Women’s Open last month. “Obviously I am very confident going into [the quarterfinals] tomorrow. My short game is coming back.”

Song’s quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Stephanie Kono, 19, of Honolulu, Hawaii, who advanced with a 2-up third-round win over Allie White, 19, of Lancaster, Ohio.

“I am really excited,” said Song of her match-up against Kono. “I have played Stephanie quite a bit in college tournaments. We’re good friends and we’ll have a lot of fun tomorrow.”

Also advancing was 2008 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Alexis Thompson, 14, of Coral Springs, Fla., who earned a 2-and-1 win over Cyna Marie Rodriguez, 17, of the Philippines. Thompson struggled on the greens in both of her matches Thursday but still managed to advance. Earlier in the day, Thompson eliminated 2008 Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup member Jodi Ewart, 21, of England, 2 and 1.

“My putting was bad both [rounds],” said Thompson, who is trying to become the seventh golfer in history to claim the Girls’ Junior and Women’s Amateur. “I just tried to be more confident over my putts in the second round. It just didn’t’ seem to work. I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Thompson, also a quarterfinalist at the 2007 Women’s Amateur as a 12 year old, said her previous appearance in the quarters won’t necessarily be an advantage. She’ll next face 16-year-old Han Jungeun of Korea, who advanced with a 5-and-4 victory over Lindy Duncan of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

“Every match is hard,” said Thompson, who has played in the last three U.S. Women’s Opens. “You can’t take it easy on anybody. You’ve got to make some birdies and you’ve got to go for it."

Making birdies hasn’t been a problem for 16-year-old Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., who made four with the usual match-play concessions in her 2-and-1 victory over 2008 Women’s Amateur semifinalist Erynne Lee, 16, of Silverdale, Wash. Korda’s quarterfinal opponent Friday will be Tiffany Lua, 18, of Rowland Heights, Calif., who advanced with a 1-up victory over Michelle Shin of Cape Coral, Fla.

Jennifer Johnson, 18, of La Quinta, Calif., advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-and-2 win over Sydnee Michaels of Temecula, Calif. Johnson will face Candace Schepperle, 21, of Birmingham, Ala., who ousted Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Canada., 3 and 2.

The 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur continues with the quarterfinal matches Friday. The semifinal matches are on Saturday and the 36-hole championship final will be played Sunday.

The U.S. Women’s Amateur is one of 13 championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association each year, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Story written by Beth Murrison, manager of communications for the USGA. E-mail her with questions or comments at bmurrison@usga.org.

St. Louis – Results from the second and third rounds of match play Thursday at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur being conducted at the 6,468-yard, par-71 Old Warson Country Club:

Round of 32

Upper Bracket

Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif. (147) def. Amelia Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla. (151), 3 and 2

Sydnee Michaels, Temecula, Calif. (149) def. Whitney Neuhauser, Charlottesville, Va. (145), 3 and 2

Maude-Aimee Leblanc, Canada (150) def. Stacey Keating, Australia (146), 4 and 2

Candace Schepperle, Birmingham, Ala. (148) def. Molly Aronsson, Shelburne, Vt. (150), 4 and 3

Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (150) def. Jodi Ewart, England (148), 2 and 1

Cyna Marie Rodriguez, Philippines (148) def. Leanne Bowditch, Australia (149), 1 up

Lindy Duncan, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (141) def. Taylore Karle, Scottsdale, Ariz. (147), 2 up

Han Jungeun, Korea (146) def. Victoria Tanco, Argentina (143), 1 up

Lower Bracket

Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (139) def. Aimee Neff, Carmel, Ind. (147), 6 and 5

Erynne Lee, Silverdale, Wash. (144) def. Natalie Sheary, West Hartford, Conn. (149), 3 and 2

Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (142) def. Brooke Beeler, Butler, Ill. (148), 3 and 1

Michelle Shin, Cape Coral, Fla. (143) def. Caroline Masson, Germany (146), 3 and 1

Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (147) def. Stephanie Sherlock, Canada (150), 2 and 1

Allie White, Lancaster, Ohio (149) def. Mariko Tumangan, San Jose, Calif. (144), 2 and 1

Jennifer Song, Ann Arbor, Mich. (146) def. Lizette Salas, Azusa, Calif. (142), 4 and 2

Cydney Clanton, Concord, N.C. (150) def. Nannette Hill, Pelham Manor, N.Y. (146), 2 and 1

Round of 16

Upper Bracket

Johnson def. Michaels, 3 and 2

Schepperle def. Leblanc, 3 and 2

Thompson def. Rodriguez, 2 and 1

Jungeun def. Duncan, 5 and 4

Lower Bracket

Korda def. Lee, 2 and 1

Lua def. Shin, 1 up

Kono def. White, 2 up

Song def. Clanton, 2 and 1

St. Louis – Pairings and starting times for the quarterfinal round of match play Friday at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur being conducted at the 6,468-yard, par-71 Old Warson Country Club (All times CDT):

Round of 8

Upper Bracket

8:15 a.m.          Jennifer Johnson, La Quinta, Calif. (147) vs. Candace Schepperle, Birmingham, Ala. (148)

8:25 a.m.          Alexis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. (150) vs. Han Jungeun, Korea (146)

Lower Bracket

8:35 a.m.          Jessica Korda, Bradenton, Fla. (139) vs. Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (142)

8:45 a.m.          Stephanie Kono, Honolulu, Hawaii (147) vs. Jennifer Song, Ann Arbor, Mich. (146)