Kim Continues Winning Ways At Olympic In U.S. Amateur’s Second Round

San Francisco – Sihwan Kim, 18, of Buena Park, Calif., led the second-round winners Wednesday at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship, being played on the par-70, 6,948-yard Lake Course of The Olympic Club.

It was the eighth consecutive match-play victory at Olympic for Kim, who won six matches en route to the title at the 2004 U.S. Junior Amateur held at the club.

Derek Fathauer lines up a putt on the eighth hole during his second-round victory. He jumped out to a 4-up lead through six holes against medalist Jason Kokrak in the third round. (John Mummert/USGA)

Against 22-year-old Trevor Murphy of St. Johnsbury, Vt., Kim won the first hole with a birdie and the second with a bogey and never trailed in winning, 4-and-2. Kim was the equivalent of one over par in the match.

"If you just think about playing ever par, you have a good chance of winning," said Kim, who has yet to trail in either of his matches. "I’ve just been able to play the golf course and I’ve been getting off to a hot start. That’s been nice."

Another player who got off to a hot start was Derek Fathauer, 21, of Jensen Beach, Fla., who faced 2007 USA Walker Cupper Chris Kirk, 22, of Woodstock, Ga. Fathauer won the first hole with a birdie and the fourth, fifth and seventh holes with pars and cruised to a 7-and-5 victory over Kirk.

"I just didn’t really make many mistakes," said Fathauer, who is playing in his third U.S. Amateur. "He definitely didn’t play his best and he gave me a lot of holes. I know he is a great player, an All-American and on the Walker Cup team. I just went and played the way I’ve played all week, and he just made some mistakes and I took advantage of that."

Fathauer will face stroke-play medalist Jason Kokrak, 22, of Warren, Ohio, in Thursday afternoon’s third round. The two are familiar with each other – Fathauer plays at the University of Louisville, while Kokrak plays at nearby Xavier University.

"I played with him quite a few times," said Fathauer. "He hits it long and he’s having a good week. Hopefully it will be a good match."

George Zahringer, 54, of New York, N.Y., the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, needed a rally against Ricky Jones of Thomaston, Maine. Zahringer bogeyed the first three holes to fall behind quickly. But Jones gave one back with a double bogey on the fifth and another with a bogey on the seventh.

Zahringer took his first lead of the match when Jones double bogeyed the par-3 15^th hole, and earned a 2-up victory when he chipped in from the rough just off the green on the 18^th.

Next up for Zahringer is another USGA champion – 22-year-old Colt Knost of Dallas, Texas. Knost, the 2007 Amateur Public Links champion who is trying to become the sixth golfer in history to win two USGA championships in the same year, advanced with a 3-and-2 victory over Brendan Gielow of Muskegon, Mich.

One of Knost’s fellow 2007 USA Walker Cuppers, Jamie Lovemark, 19, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., also moved on to the third round with an extra-holes victory over Josh Dupont of Poway, Calif. Lovemark made a 6-footer for par on the 21^st hole, the par-3 third, to advance.

The championship continues with the third round of match play Thursday afternoon. The quarterfinals will be played Friday, the semifinals are Saturday and the 2007 U.S. Amateur concludes with Sunday’s 36-hole final. The winner receives a berth in the 2008 U.S. Open and British Open, and a likely invitation to play in the 2008 Masters Tournament.

The championship is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs. The USGA is the national governing body of golf in this country and Mexico, a combined territory that includes more than half the game’s golfers and golf courses.

San Francisco – Results of the second round of match play at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship, played Thursday at the 6,948-yard, par-70 Lake Course at The Olympic Club:

Upper Bracket

Jason Kokrak, Warren, Ohio (137) def. Mark Harrell, Hazlehurst, Ga. (144), 2 and 1
Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla. (142) def. Chris Kirk, St. Simons Island, Ga. (146), 7 and 6
Michael Thompson, Tucson, Ariz. (145) def. Bryce Ledford, Ooltewah, Tenn. (146), 20 holes
David McDaniel, Tucson, Ariz. (143) def. Kyle Stanley, Gig Harbor, Wash. (140), 1 up
Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. (144) def. Trevor Murphy, St Johnsbury, Vt. (139), 4 and 2
Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. (145) def. Gene Elliott, West Des Moines, Iowa (141), 4 and 2
Casey Clendenon, Houston, Texas (147) def. Jonathan Hodge, Strawberry Plains, Tenn. (144), 2 and 1
Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. (145) def. Chris Kennedy, Sarasota, Fla. (146), 3 and 1

Lower Bracket

Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela (144) def. Jon Curran, Hopkinton, Mass. (147), 7 and 5
Kyle Dickey, Summerville, S.C. (142) def. Nathan Tyler, Tucson, Ariz. (142), 3 and 1
Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. (144) def. Travis Howe, Osceola, Pa. (146), 3 and 1
Cheng Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (143) def. Ji Moon, Severna Park, Md. (141), 1 up
Colt Knost, Dallas, Texas (144) def. Brendan Gielow, Muskegon, Mich. (147), 3 and 2
George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (142) def. Ricky Jones, Thomaston, Maine (142), 2 up
Jamie Lovemark, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (138) def. Josh Dupont, Poway, Calif. (140), 21 holes
Nick Taylor, Canada (146) def. Kyle Ellis, Senatobia, Miss. (143), 5 and 4

San Francisco – Pairings for the third round of match play Thursday at the 2007 U.S. Amateur Championship, being played at the 6,948-yard, par-70 Lake Course at The Olympic Club:

Upper Bracket

12:30 p.m. Jason Kokrak, Warren, Ohio (137) vs. Derek Fathauer, Jensen Beach, Fla. (142)
12:40 p.m. Michael Thompson, Tucson, Ariz. (145) vs. David McDaniel, Tucson, Ariz. (143)
12:50 p.m. Sihwan Kim, Buena Park, Calif. (144) vs. Eddie Olson, Aptos, Calif. (145)
1:00 p.m. Casey Clendenon, Houston, Texas (147) vs. Andrew Putnam, University Place, Wash. (145)

Lower Bracket

1:10 p.m. Jhonattan Vegas, Venezuela (144) vs. Kyle Dickey, Summerville, S.C. (142)
1:20 p.m. Derek Ernst, Clovis, Calif. (144) vs. Cheng Tsung Pan, Chinese Taipei (143)
1:30 p.m. Colt Knost, Dallas, Texas (144) vs. George Zahringer, New York, N.Y. (142)
1:40 p.m. Josh Dupont, Poway, Calif. (140) vs. Jamie Lovemark, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (138)