PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.— Davis Shore of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Jacob Bergeron of Slidell, Louisiana, moved through the quarterfinals and semifinals Thursday into the championship match at PGA National Resort & Spa. Hye-Jin Choi of Gimhae-si, South Korea, will face off against Youngin Chun of Gainesville, Florida, in the Girls Division championship match.
Shore started the morning with a 5&4 win over Noah Norton from Chico, California. Shore is the defending champion of the Rolex Tournament of Champions and a member of the Wyndham Cup East team and Junior Ryder Cup team. In his match play history, Shore had never advanced past the Round of 16. In his quarterfinal and semifinal matches, he had the unique distinction of never making it to the Bear Trap.
Bergeron continued his fine play with a 1-up win over Rolex Junior Player of the Year Noah Goodwin of Corinth, Texas, in the quarterfinals. Bergeron found the bunker on his tee shot on No. 18 with Goodwin in the fairway, leading to the potential for extra holes. Goodwin found the collection area on the side in two and left his chip shot about 12 feet short for a birdie to extend the match. They halved the hole, however, to put Bergeron in the semifinals. The LSU commit went back and forth in his match with Kaiwen Liu of San Diego, California, but ultimately won 1-up to advance to the finals.
Choi moved into the semifinals with a 7&6 win over 25-seed Aubree Jones. The stroke-play medalist is familiar with semifinal matches, making it to the semifinals at the U.S. Girls Junior Championship this summer. Choi was 2-up against Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee, through No. 16, but Heck battled back with a birdie on No. 17 to force the final hole. A birdie on No. 18 gave Choi the championship berth.
Chun and Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, went back and forth in their match, with Chun eventually pulling out the 2&1 victory in the semifinals. She had the task of taking on the Rolex Junior Player of the Year Paphangkorn Tavatanakit of Bangkok, Thailand, who beat Rose Zhang of Irvine, California, 3&2 in the quarterfinals. Chun was dormie 2 going into No. 17, but Tavatanakit responded by winning the last two holes to force extra holes. The pair moved back to No. 1, where Chun made a par to earn a berth with Choi in the finals.
The championship matches will go off the No. 1 tee of the Champion course at 8:00 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. Friday.
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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.
Quarterfinals
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (2017) def. Noah Norton, Chico, Calif. (2017), 5 & 4
Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas (2017) def. Brandon Mancheno, Jacksonville, Fla. (2017), 2-up
Jacob Bergeron, Slidell, La. (2017) def. Noah Goodwin, Corinth, Texas (2018), 1-up
Kaiwen Liu, (China) San Diego, Calif. (2017) def. Won Jun Lee, (South Korea) Wesley Chapel, Fla. (2017), 1-up
Hye-Jin Choi, Gimhae-si, South Korea (2018) def. Aubree Jones, Covington, Tenn. (2017), 7 & 6
Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (2020) def. Frida Kinhult, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden (2018), 5 & 4
Paphangkorn Tavatanakit, Bangkok, Thailand (2017) def. Rose Zhang, Irvine, Calif. (2021), 3 & 2
Youngin Chun, Gainesville, Fla. (2018) def. Alyaa Abdulghany, Newport Beach, Calif. (2017), 2 & 1
Semifinals
Davis Shore, Knoxville, Tenn. (2017) def. Ryan Grider, Lewisville, Texas (2017), 5 & 4
Jacob Bergeron, Slidell, La. (2017) def. Kaiwen Liu, (China) San Diego, Calif. (2017), 1-up
Hye-Jin Choi, Gimhae-si, South Korea (2018) def. Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn. (2020), 2-up
Youngin Chun, Gainesville, Fla. (2018) def. Paphangkorn Tavatanakit, Bangkok, Thailand (2017), 1-up