Canby, Ore. – There is something special about match play. When match play begins, the air changes and magic begins to happen. Tuesday at the 86th Bob Norquist Oregon Junior Amateur was the start of match play for everyone but the Pee Wee divisions (Ages 8-11), who played their 9-holes of stroke play qualifying.

For the PeeWee Boys, Elliot Lee emerged as the only player to break 40 on the day, firing a 3-over par 39 that featured a birdie, a bogey, and a triple bogey. Simon Grey was one shot back after a 4-over par 40 and Eli Huntington sat in third place after a 5-over par 41.  The PeeWee boys begin match play with quarterfinal matches starting at 7:00am tomorrow. In the Pee Wee girls division, Jade Gruher and Emily Song tied for the top spot, each shooting 8-over par 44s. Song made a 5 on the first playoff hole, and Gruher narrowly missed a putt to match her, giving Song medalist honors. The PeeWee Girls begin their quarterfinal matches tomorrow at 8:36am.

In the Girls (Ages 15-17) division, medalist Ellie Slama continued her solid play, cruising to an 8&6 win over Katie Williams. However, the day was not without upsets.  Two-seed Victoria Gailey, was knocked out by Camille Dozois, 2&1, and five-seed Quincy Beyrouty was upset 7&6 by 12-seed Ashley Zhu. The eight victorious players from the day advance to the Girls Quarterfinals, with matches beginning at 9:20am tomorrow. 

The Boys (Ages 14-15) division saw a lot of up and down action, with four matches ending before the 15th hole and two matches going extra holes. Medalist Jackson Kennon and two seed Samuel Pyon each claimed commanding first round victories, winning 5&4 and 6&4, respectively. Three-seed Elliot Goulet squeaked into the next round with a 3&1 win and four-seed Nate Stember romped, winning 7&6. Boys’ quarterfinal matches begin tomorrow at 7:30am.

No match is a gimme, and this was proven in the Junior boys division (Ages 16-17).  Medalist Spencer Tibbits got off to a hot start, leading his match 3-up over 32-seed Christian Luikart after five holes. However, Luikart battled back to enter the 11th hole only one down. Tibbits won the 11th hole to put his lead back up to two.  It looked like Luikart was going to get back to 1-down after sticking it close on the 15th hole, but a three putt left the door open for Tibbits who won the 15th and 16th holes to escape with a 4&2 victory.  Two-seed Craig Ronne breezed by Nick Conway for a 5&3 victory while three-seed Jon Holzgang was knocked off by 30-seed Jackson Bartow, who won 2up. Junior boys quarterfinal matches begin tomorrow at 11:10am.

The Intermediate Boys division (Ages 12-13) saw a series of big wins. Medalist Scotty Kennon claimed a 7&6 victory over Ennis McKendrick and two-seed Brody Marconi also won 7&6 over Tyler Gordon. Three-seed Mateo Fuenmayor put together a solid match, winning the first 7 holes en route to a 9&7 victory over Sawyer Beyrouty. Quarterfinal matches for the Intermediate Boys begin tomorrow at 2:00pm.

The Intermediate Girls (Ages 12-14) rounded out the day, enjoying the warm, late afternoon breeze, and a breeze it was for most of the top seeds.  Medalist Olivia Venderby defeated Chloe Tarkany, 6&4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Three-seed Mary Wolfe won 7&6 over Momo Udom and four-seed Baylee Hammericksen dominated her match, winning 8&6 over Mariah Maurer. Two-seed Yvonne Vinceri had a little tougher time dispatching 15-seed Naomi Phelps, needing 16 holes before winning 3&2.  The intermediate girls begin their quarterfinal matches tomorrow at 2:40pm.

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