Megan Khang trailed early, but then won six of the final 11 holes, easily winning her first-round match at the US Girls’ Junior in Daly City, Calif., on Wednesday.
Khang, a 14-year-old from Rockland, beat Kathleen Gallagher of Greenwood, Miss., 5 and 3, and will meet Casey Danielson of Osceola, Wis., in the second round on Thursday morning.
Khang recently shot a 74 at The Country Club in Brookline to qualify for yet another USGA event, this time the US Women’s Amateur.
Khang was one of four to get through: Isabelle Lendl of Goshen, Conn., was medalist at 73, while Brogan McKinnon of Canada and Sarah Sideranko of New Britain, Conn., also advanced. The US Women’s Amateur is Aug. 6-12 at The Country Club — the one in Cleveland, not Brookline.
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New Woods in town
Jonathan Woods of Duxbury shot a second-round 73 and was alone in fifth, six shots behind leader Robert Deng (69) of Irvine, Calif., at the American Junior Golf Association event held at the Golf Club of Cape Cod in East Falmouth. John Beadle (75) of North Attleborough and Jeffrey Lang (77) of Lexington were tied for eighth, nine shots behind Deng at the Deutsche Bank Partners for Charity Junior Shoot Out. In the girls’ division, Kelly Whaley (70) of Farmington, Conn., took a four-shot lead, with Vinh-Hoa Ngo (77) of Newton in fourth place, nine shots back. Ngo’s sister, Vinh-Hop, had an 81 and was in ninth, while Mary Mulcahy (80) of Scituate was in sixth, 12 shots back. The 54-hole tournament concludes Thursday . . . Winners at this week’s US Kids Golf tournament at Hillview included Josiah Hokala of New Ipswich (boys’ age 6), Waase Iqbal of North Attleborough (boys’ 7), Riley Richards of Craftsbury, Vt. (boys’ 8), Michael Barrasso of East Sandwich (boys’ 9), Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley (boys‘ 10), James Imai of Brookline (boys’ 11), Jarod Buffone of Sutton (boys’ 12), Dante Newman of Grafton (boys’ 13-14), Emma Westvik of Lexington (girls’ 7 and under), Julie Westvik of Lexington (girls’ 8-10), Alexandra Chicharro of Fall River (girls’ 10-11), and Aimee Casavant of Reading (girls’ 12-14) . . . Rick DeSando of Atkinson, N.H., shot an even-par 70 at Bradford Country Club to win a recent New England Golf Tour event by two shots over Jim Drohen of Haverhill.
Swift soars
Christopher Swift, who plays out of Great River Golf Club in Milford, Conn., shot a second-round 69 to take a one-stroke lead at the New England Amateur. Swift completed 36 holes at Falmouth Country Club in Falmouth, Maine, at 5-under-par 137. Casey Komline (67) of Vermont was second at 4 under, followed by a pair of Massachusetts players: Colin Brennan (69) of Indian Ridge Country Club at 2 under, and Herbie Aikens (73) of Pinehills Golf Club at 1 under. The field was cut to the low 42 for the final two rounds . . . Five-time winner Frank Vana Jr., and defending champion John Gilmartin headline the field of 100 who are scheduled to compete in the 45th Francis Ouimet Memorial Tournament next week. The 54-hole event will start Wednesday at Ipswich Country Club, switch to the Golf Club at Turner Hill on Thursday, and conclude for the low 40 and ties on Friday at Woodland Golf Club . . . Winners in the Women’s Golf Association of Massachusetts Mother-Son Tournament at Haverhill Country Club were Mary Gale and Dan Gale of Bedrock Golf Club (Division 1), Kathleen Natale and Aidan Natale of Ferncroft Country Club (Division 2, sons age 14-18), and Sarah Forbes and Tyler Lockwood Forbes of The Country Club (Division 3, sons age 13 and under) . . . Entries for three upcoming tournaments are due soon. The Massachusetts Golf Association’s Father & Son Championship needs all applications by July 26. This year’s event is Aug. 21-22 at Crestwood Country Club. July 26 is also the entry deadline for the MGA Mid-Amateur Championship, scheduled for Sept. 4-6 at Framingham Country Club. The state Mid-Am is open to anyone 25 and over with a handicap index of 5.4 or better. If interested in either tournament, visit www.mgalinks.org. Entries for the US Senior Women’s Amateur close July 25, with the lone local qualifier Aug. 15 at Wellesley Country Club. The US Senior Women’s Amateur, for players at least 50 with a handicap index of 18.4 or better, is Sept. 8-13 at Hershey Country Club in Hershey, Pa. Applications can only be submitted online at www.usga.org.
Frick remembered
Anyone lucky enough to visit Old Sandwich Golf Club the last handful of years likely saw Jim Frick playing or practicing there. Those who have spent much time at Weston Country Club and Jupiter Hill Country Club can probably say the same, because Frick loved golf. The game, especially at the places he belonged, has lost a dear friend. Frick died Saturday at age 73 from lung cancer. A three-sport star at Williams (baseball, basketball, golf), Frick was most passionate about golf. He was particularly fond of practicing at the middle indoor bay at the Old Sandwich Learning Center, so much so that it will be rechristened “Frick’s Bay” as soon as the nameplate arrives. A longtime employee at the Maine-based S.D. Warren Paper Co., who retired after 35 years there, Frick’s career allowed him to continue playing competitive golf, which he did with much success, winning club championships and qualifying for multiple US Golf Association events. A memorial for family and friends will be held on Sunday from 2-4 p.m. at Old Sandwich in Plymouth . . . Mike Eruzione and Bode Miller will join dozens of current and former sports and entertainment celebrities at this weekend’s American Century Championship. NBC will provide coverage on Saturday and Sunday from 3-6 p.m. . . . Hats off to Trevor Smith of Brookline, who made a double eagle recently on the par-5 16th hole at Butter Brook GC in Westford. He holed a 6-iron from 175 yards for his second shot.