Booth and Kung Advance at U.S. Women’s Amateur

Kellee Booth, the nation’s top-ranked amateur, rallied for two victories Wednesday in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Golf Championship and record-setting medalist Natalie Gulbis lost in the second round. Candie Kung of Fountain Valley scored the biggest upset of the day and also won twice.

Booth, a former Arizona State star from Coto de Caza who is expected to turn pro following this event, advanced to the round of 16 for the fourth time in the last six years.

She was two holes down after two holes in her opening match at 6,202-yard Biltmore Forest Country Club before beating Kareen Qually of Canada, 6 and 5. In her afternoon match, Booth was three holes down at the turn, but was able to par the final nine holes to beat Martina Eberl of Germany, 1-up. Eberl had four bogeys on the back side.

Gulbis, 16, who shot a 66 Tuesday en route to her record-setting medalist performance, struggled in her opening match, winning in 20 holes against Laura Torrisi of Lunenburg, Mass. The match went to extra holes when Gulbis chunked a chip shot from the fairway and then hit her approach shot in a bunker at No. 18.

In the afternoon, Gulbis lost, 1-up, to Mayumi Nakajima of Japan.

Duke’s Beth Bauer, who won the Women’s North & South Amateur last week at Pinehurst, N.C., bogeyed the final hole and lost to Kung in the afternoon.

Bauer, ranked second in the nation, missed several short putts and never led against Kung.

In her morning round, Kung beat Leigh Anne Hardin of Martinsville, Ind., 2 and 1.

Thirty-six holes of match play are scheduled today and 18-hole semifinal matches are Friday. The two finalists will play 36 holes Saturday for the championship.

Miscellany

Mission Viejo’s Erica Sorgi is in second place in the 10-meter platform competition, entering Sunday’s finals at the U.S. Summer National Diving Championships at The Woodlands, Texas. Laura Wilkinson of The Woodlands leads Sorgi, the defending champion, by 2.91 points.