US Junior championship match suspended after 25 holes because of rain
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Bryan Kim led Joshua Bai 1-up after through 25 holes in the U.S. Junior Amateur championship match Saturday when play was suspended for the day because of rain.
The 36-hole final was set to resume Sunday morning on the Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Creek Course. The start of the match was delayed 3 1/2 hours and play was stopped at 5:36 p.m.
The 18-year-old Kim is from Brookeville, Maryland. He will be a freshman at Duke next month.
“This is the first time I’ve played on TV with all these fans,” Kim said. “It feels awesome, and Josh is such a great competitor always, but especially today. This is such a fun match. Just trying to live up to it.”
Bai, 17, is attempting to become the fourth New Zealander to win a USGA championship, joining Michael Campbell, Danny Lee and Lydia Ko.
“It’s not like I’m playing bad,” Bai said. “Brian has just been dropping putts from everywhere. ... Ten holes left, I’m only 1-down, so I’m still in a good spot.”
Kim made a 10-foot birdie putt on the 21st hole to tie it, then holed a 15-footer on the par-3 22nd for his first lead since the 12th hole.
The winner will get a spot in 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 next June. The finalists already earned spots next month in the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills in suburban Denver, while the champion will also get a spot in the 2024 U.S. Amateur at Hazeltine in Minnesota.
The final was last extended a day because of weather in 2002 at Atlanta Athletic Club.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
