Portland's Nate Stember Falls in Round of 32 at U.S. Junior Amateur
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. - Nate Stember (Portland, Ore.) advanced to the second round of match play before falling in the round of 32 at the U.S. Junior Amateur, held this week at Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J.
The rising senior at Lincoln High School earned the No. 39 seed in match play after finishing stroke play qualifying with scores of 72-72 - 144 (+3). He defeated No. 26 seed Matthew Monastero (Leesburg, Va.) in 20 holes in the round of 64, advancing to play Michael Thorbjornsen (Wellesley, Mass.) in the round of 32. Thorbjornsen shot an astounding 31 on the first nine, compiling four birdies, and Stember couldn't keep up. Stember ultimately lost his match to Thorbjornsen, 7&5.
Stember has had an astounding 2018 season thus far. He won the OSAA 6A Individual State Championship in the spring, and followed it up with a win at the 2018 Oregon Junior Amateur in June. Earlier this month, Stember won in a playoff at the Oregon Junior Stroke Play Championship. Next week, Stember is part of Team Oregon at the 2018 Junior America's Cup, an annual team competition that features some of the best junior golfers from the Western United States, Canada and Mexico.
