Hjertstedt Back in Contention at B.C. Open

Gabriel Hjertstedt won the B.C. Open nine years ago to become the first Swede to win on the PGA Tour. Now, he has a chance to do it again at Verona, N.Y.

Hjertstedt, Scott Gump and 35-year-old rookie Daisuke Maruyama of Japan all shot a second consecutive five-under-par 67 on Friday to tie for the second-round lead at 134.

One shot back of the trio was David Branshaw (64) of nearby Oswego, N.Y. Trailing by another stroke at 136 were Esteban Toledo (67), Mathias Gronberg (68), Cameron Beckman (66), Michael Bradley (68), and Frank Lickliter II (67).

First-round leader Mark Brooks, who began the day at seven under, couldn’t find his putting touch and finished at even par.

Hjertstedt certainly hasn’t given an indication a breakthrough was near. He missed his last three cuts and his best showing so far this year was a tie for ninth at Tucson, only his second top 10 in the past six years, much of which has been spent on the Nationwide Tour.

“I’ve been getting it together the last three weeks, but I haven’t had any results,” said Hjertstedt, who also won the 1999 Tucson Open. “Last week, I was playing great and missed the cut by one. You get punched up so many times, finally you say, ‘That’s enough.’ I think that’s what’s happened this week.”

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Thirteen-year-old Jenny Shin of Torrance advanced to the final of the U.S. Girls’ Junior championship with a 2-and-1 victory over Alexandra Bodemann at Charlotte, N.C.

Shin will face Vicky Hurst, 16, of Melbourne, Fla., who defeated medalist Mina Harigae, 2 and 1, at Carmel Country Club.

If Shin wins, she would become the second-youngest champion after Aree Song Wongluekiet, who won in 1999.

“I don’t think it is really about age,” Shin said. “It’s about how much you practice and how much talent you have. It matters more how good you are.”

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Arizonans Philip Francis, 17, of Scottsdale, and Richard Lee, 15, of Chandler, defeated past champions to advance to the 36-hole championship final of the U.S. Junior Amateur at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club.

Francis defeated 2004 Junior Amateur champion Sihwan Kim, in 20 holes in the quarterfinals, and then downed Andrew Putnam, 17, of Tacoma, Wash., 4 and 3, in the semifinals. Lee defeated defending champion Kevin Tway of Edmond, Okla., 1 up, after ousting Danny Lee, 15, of New Zealand, 2 up, in the quarterfinals