Hot Tournament Week For Local Standouts

It's been a busy week for local standout golfers at championship tournaments across the country.

Cameron Young at US Junior Amateur Championship
photo by USGA/Steve Gibbons

Just a few minutes ago, Cameron Young advanced to the Quarter Finals in the US Junior Amateur Championship in a 24-hole match that was delayed by weather yesterday afternoon. He defeated George Cunningham of Tucson, AZ, with a birdie on the sixth playoff hole in what was (so far) the longest match of the tournament this week.

Young, 16, tees off against Doug Ghim or Arlington Heights, IL, in the Quarter Final match that will be telecast by Golf Channel midday. The championship is being held at Martis Camp Club in Truckee, CA. Eliminated in the round of 16 was Jim Liu, 17, or Smithtown, NY, was won the event in 2010 and was last year's runner up.

Yesterday, Burning Tree Assistant Pro and mini tour player Danny Balin won his second consecutive NY State Open at Bethpage Black. The 31-year old finished the three rounds seven under par, two ahead of Andrew Guiliani, and pocketed $17,500 in the process.

Nicole Morales, the 16-year-old  from South Salem who plays out of GlenArbor, got nipped one down in the round of 32 at the US Girls' Junior Amateur Championship. Bethany Wu of Diamond Bar, California eliminated Morales.

Max Buckley and Cameron Wilson two under after two rounds and were T-14 at the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls when play in the three-round tournament resumed this morning. Mike Miller was at even par. US Walker Cup Captain Jim Holtgrieve is scouting the tournament as the committee prepares to fill out the final five spots on the American side for the biennial event against Great Britain and Ireland.

Among many other books, Dave Donelson is the author of Weird Golf: 18 tales of fantastic, horrific, scientifically impossible, and morally reprehensible golf