Rochester, New York Teen Sets a USGA Record

Fifteen year old Gavin Hall of Pittsford, New York, a suburb of Rochester, shot a record round of golf in the USGA Junior Amateur Golf tournament. The high school sophomore shot a 10 under par 62 on the second day of qualifying at Egypt Valley Country Club in Ada, Michigan. This was a single-round record. Hall shot a 73 on Monday and continued to play well all week. By Friday he had advanced to the round of 16 winning two matches on Thursday.

Not A Flash in the Pan

Hall is a three time All-Greater-Rochester team member and a Section V champion two years in a row. A week prior to his low qualifying score, Hall won the Rochester District Golf Association title for the second year in a row. He accomplished this with an 18 stroke victory.

What Is This USGA Event?

The U.S. Golf Association (USGA) Junior Amateur Championship is open to boy amateurs younger than 18 who have a handicap of 6.4 or lower. The competition consists of two days of stroke play followed by match play until a winner is determined. In stroke play, the golfer accumulates a number of strokes over the course of 18 holes. The players with the fewest number of strokes advances. In this case 64 players advanced to the match play rounds.

In match play, each hole is a separate competition. The player with the fewest number of strokes wins the hole. The golfer winning the most holes wins the match and the other player is eliminated from the tournament. This elimination continues until the champion is decided.

Hall Continued to Play Well, But Not Well Enough

In his quarter final match, Hall shot a 1 under par and only bogied two holes. He took the lead at hole 14 but couldn't maintain it. He lost the match to 14 year old Jimmy Liu who also went on to win his semi final match. Liu will play Justin Thomas for the championship.

It is exciting to see the young players who could possibly be future pro golfers. There are many talented young players out there. Good luck to all of them.

Sources: 1. Rochester Democrat and Chronicle newspaper staff reports.

1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Junior_Amateur_Golf_Championship

2. http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/a/matchplayrules.htm