PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.—Rolex Junior Players of the Year Noah Goodwin and Paphangkorn Tavatanakit are both headed to the quarterfinals after two solid rounds of match play Wednesday at the Polo Golf Junior Classic at PGA National Resort & Spa.
Since the event came to PGA National Resort & Spa in 2009, the only Rolex Player of the Year to also win the Polo Golf Junior Classic was Ariya Jutanugarn in 2012. In the Boys Division, Jordan Spieth in 2009 and Anthony Paolucci in 2010 made it the farthest into the semifinals. In the history of the event, only 15 Rolex Junior Players of the Year have won the event, and only one time have both Rolex Junior Players of the Year won in the same year (1991).
Goodwin advanced to the Round of 32 as the 26th-seed, one shot clear of the cut line. His morning round was the only match to extend beyond 18 holes, with the junior from Corinth, Texas, winning in 19 holes over seven-seed Luis Carrera of Mexico City, Mexico. The afternoon round was a matchup of Wyndham Cup West teammates, with Goodwin pulling out the 3&2 win over Ricky Castillo of Yorba Linda, California.
Jacob Bergeron of Slidell, Louisiana, finished 4&2 over Brandon Gillis of Nashua, New Hampshire. Bergeron is an LSU commit in his first AJGA match play experience. After advancing to match play through the 7-for-3 playoff Tuesday, Gillis pulled an upset over two-seed Karl Vilips 3&2 in the Round of 32 before falling short of the quarterfinals.
Sixteen-seed Noah Norton of Chico, California, defeated the stroke-play medalist Joseph Pagdin of the United Kingdom 2&1 in the Round of 16. Norton, the defending PING Invitational champion, defeated 17-seed Devondeep Bling in the morning 3&2.
The other quarterfinalists include: eight-seed Davis Shore of Knoxville, Tennessee; 13-seed Ryan Grider of Lewisville, Texas; 12-seed Brandon Mancheno of Jacksonville, Florida; 30-seed Won Jun Lee of Wesley Chapel, Florida; and six-seed Kaiwen Liu of San Diego, California.
Tavatanakit started the morning with a 2&1 win over 31-seed Mathilde Claisse of Poissy, France, on the Fazio course. The UCLA commit from Bangkok, Thailand, cruised to a 5&3 win over Ashley Menne of Surprise, Arizona, in the Round of 16, advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time in her career.
Frida Kinhult of Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, pulled two upsets and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Polo Golf Junior Classic for the first time. After falling short in the Round of 32 last year, Kinhult, as the 29-seed, won 8&7 over four-seed Emilia Migliaccio of Cary, North Carolina. Kinhult then defeated 13-seed Yujeong Son of Norman, Oklahoma, 2&1.
Stroke-play medalist Hye-Jin Choi of Gimhae-si, South Korea, continued her brilliance in match play this year with a 6&5 win over Beatrice Wallin of Olofstorp, Sweden, and a 4&2 win over 16-seed Auston Kim of St. Augustine, Florida. Choi finished as a semifinalist at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in July and is making her AJGA debut this week.
Quarterfinal matches will run from 7:30-8:40 a.m. off No. 1 tee of the Champion course.
About Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) is a global leader in the design, marketing and distribution of premium lifestyle products in four categories: apparel, home, accessories and fragrances. For more than 48 years, Ralph Lauren's reputation and distinctive image have been consistently developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets. The Company's brand names, which include Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Ralph Lauren Collection, Double RL, Ralph Lauren Black Label, Polo Ralph Lauren, Polo Sport, Polo Ralph Lauren Children’s, Ralph Lauren Home, Lauren Ralph Lauren, RLX, Denim & Supply Ralph Lauren, American Living, Chaps and Club Monaco, constitute one of the world's most widely recognized families of consumer brands. For more information, go to http://investor.ralphlauren.com .
About the American Junior Golf Association
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-18) of more than 6,300 members from 48 states and more than 50 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 600 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, Webb Simpson, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Stacy Lewis, Vicky Hurst, Inbee Park, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lincicome and Morgan Pressel.
Boys Round of 32
Joseph Pagdin, (United Kingdom) Orlando, Fla. (2020) def. Khavish Varadan, (Malaysia) Wesley Chapel, Fla. (2019), 3 & 2
Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. (2017) def. Devondeep Bling, Ridgecrest, Calif. (2017), 3 & 2
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (2017) def. Wocheng (Aden) Ye, (China) Lake Mary, Fla. (2018), 5 & 4
Garrett Barber, Stuart, Fla. (2018) def. Frank Lindwall, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (2017), 1-up
Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, La. (2017) def. John Pak, Scotch Plains, N.J. (2017), 2 & 1
Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas (2017) def. Andrew Lewis, Carmel, Ind. (2018), 4 & 2
Akshay Bhatia, Wake Forest, N.C. (2020) def. Trey Winstead, Baton Rouge, La. (2017), 2 & 1
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. (2017) def. Jack Trent, (Australia) Las Vegas, Nev. (2017), 3 & 2
Brandon Gillis, Nashua, N.H. (2017) def. Karl Vilips, (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Fla. (2020), 3 & 2
Jacob Bergeron, Slidell, La. (2017) def. Sean Maruyama, (Japan) Encino, Calif. (2018), 2 & 1
Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas (2018) def. Luis Carrera, Mexico City, Mexico (2018), 1-up
Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. (2019) def. Mason Nome, Houston, Texas (2019), 2 & 1
Won Jun Lee, (South Korea) Wesley Chapel, Fla. (2017) def. Eugene Hong, Orlando, Fla. (2018), 3 & 1
Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, Fla. (2017) def. Brendan O'Reilly, Hinsdale, Ill. (2017), 4 & 2
Kaiwen Liu, (China) San Diego, Calif. (2017) def. Charlie Reiter, Palm Desert, Calif. (2018), 1-up
Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. (2017) def. Eddy Lai, San Jose, Calif. (2017), 4 & 2
Boys Round of 16
Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. (2017) def. Joseph Pagdin, (United Kingdom) Orlando, Fla. (2020), 2 & 1
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (2017) def. Garrett Barber, Stuart, Fla. (2018), 3 & 1
Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas (2017) def. Philip Barbaree, Shreveport, La. (2017), 2 & 1
Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. (2017) def. Akshay Bhatia, Wake Forest, N.C. (2020), 3 & 2
Jacob Bergeron, Slidell, La. (2017) def. Brandon Gillis, Nashua, N.H. (2017), 4 & 2
Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas (2018) def. Ricky Castillo, Yorba Linda, Calif. (2019), 3 & 2
Won Jun Lee, (South Korea) Wesley Chapel, Fla. (2017) def. Andrew Kozan, West Palm Beach, Fla. (2017), 1-up
Kaiwen Liu, (China) San Diego, Calif. (2017) def. Austin Eckroat, Edmond, Okla. (2017), 4 & 2
Girls Round of 32
Hye-Jin Choi, Gimhae-si, South Korea (2018) def. Beatrice Wallin, Olofstorp, Sweden (2018), 6 & 5
Auston Kim, St Augustine, Fla. (2018) def. Pauline Roussin Bouchard, Carqueiranne, France (2018), 3 & 1
Aubree Jones, Covington, Tenn. (2017) def. Grace Ni, Cypress, Texas (2019), 1-up
Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, Texas (2017) def. Lei (Angelina) Ye, (China) Bradenton, Fla. (2019), 1-up
Frida Kinhult, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden (2018) def. Emilia Migliaccio, Cary, N.C. (2017), 8 & 7
Yujeong Son, (South Korea) Norman, Okla. (2019) def. Isabella Fierro, Merida, Mexico (2019), 1-up
Jaravee Boonchant, (Thailand) Bradenton, Fla. (2017) def. Brooke Seay, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (2019), 2-up
Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (2020) def. Monet Chun, (Canada) Richmond Hill, Ontario (2019), 1-up
Paphangkorn Tavatanakit, Bangkok, Thailand (2017) def. Mathilde Claisse, Poissy, France (2018), 2 & 1
Ashley Menne, Surprise, Ariz. (2020) def. Rino Sasaki, (Japan) Bradenton, Fla. (2017), 1-up
Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. (2021) def. Kanyanat Saithip, Nakhonratchasima, Thailand (2018), 3 & 2
Anne Chen, (Australia) Sugar Land, Texas (2020) def. Sadie Englemann, Austin, Texas (2020), 3 & 2
Youngin Chun, Gainesville, Fla. (2018) def. Rachel Kuehn, Asheville, N.C. (2019), 5 & 4
RuQing Guan, Guangzhou, China (2018) def. Kelly Sim, Edgewater, N.J. (2018), 3 & 2
Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif. (2017) def. Yealimi Noh, Concord, Calif. (2019), 3 & 1
Xin (Cindy) Kou, (China) Windermere, Fla. (2021) def. Erica Shepherd, Greenwood, Ind. (2019), 1-up
Girls Round of 16
Hye-Jin Choi, Gimhae-si, South Korea (2018) def. Auston Kim, St Augustine, Fla. (2018), 4 & 2
Aubree Jones, Covington, Tenn. (2017) def. Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, Texas (2017), 1-up
Frida Kinhult, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden (2018) def. Yujeong Son, (South Korea) Norman, Okla. (2019), 2 & 1
Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (2020) def. Jaravee Boonchant, (Thailand) Bradenton, Fla. (2017), 2 & 1
Paphangkorn Tavatanakit, Bangkok, Thailand (2017) def. Ashley Menne, Surprise, Ariz. (2020), 5 & 3
Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. (2021) def. Anne Chen, (Australia) Sugar Land, Texas (2020), 1-up
Youngin Chun, Gainesville, Fla. (2018) def. RuQing Guan, Guangzhou, China (2018), 1-up
Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif. (2017) def. Xin (Cindy) Kou, (China) Windermere, Fla. (2021), 2 & 1