11 Southland Golfers Advance in Girls’ Event

Eleven Southern Californians are among the 64 who have qualified for match play beginning today at the United States Golf Assn. Girls Junior Championships in Mission Hills, Kan.

Carling Cho of San Juan Capistrano, Erica Blasberg of Corona, Jane Park of La Crescenta and Angela Won of Irvine, finished in a six-way tie for sixth at one-over 143 for two rounds.

Walailak Satarak of Paramount (147), Amie Cochran of Torrance (149), Elena Kurokawa of Redondo Beach (149), Stella Lee of Irvine (150) and Allison Martin of Bakersfield (151) also qualified, as did Karen Lotta of Los Angeles and Candy Herrera of Apple Valley, who each shot 152 and survived an eight-way playoff for the final seven spots.

Christina Kim of San Jose set a USGA single-round scoring record with an eight-under-par 62 at Indian Hills Country Club. Kim’s round helped her win medalist honors with a two-day total of 133.

Kim eclipsed the USGA all-competition record of 63 set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 U.S. Open and later matched by Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, Helen Alfredsson and Jim Wilson.

Kim’s two-day total set a tournament record and was five strokes ahead of 1999 champion Aree Song Wongluekiet of Bradenton, Fla.

* Kevin Na of Diamond Bar and Josh Wooding of Riverside each shot 70 and are tied for 11th after the first round of stroke play at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Oak Hills Country Club in San Antonio. Henry Liaw of Rowland Heights shot 71 and is tied for 18th.

The leaders are Scotty Campbell of Conway, Ark., and James Vargas of Miami, who each equaled the tournament one-round record when they shot six-under 65.

The top 64 after today’s second round will advance to single-elimination match play.