Incoming Freshman Kelly Chinn Ties USGA Record

PINEHURST, N.C. (USGA) -- Kelly Chinn, who is set to enroll at Duke as a freshman on the men's golf team this year, made more history on Tuesday en route to earning medalist honors in the 73rd U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at The Country Club of North Carolina.

Chinn, 18, of Great Falls, Va., who opened with a course-record, 8-under 64 on the Dogwood Course, shot a 3-under 68 on the 7,164-yard, par-71 Cardinal Course, the second stroke-play venue for the championship.

In matching the championship 36-hole scoring record of 132, the incoming Blue Devil also joined World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Tiger Woods, Willie Wood and Jim Liu as a multiple medalist. The other three own Junior Amateur titles – in Woods' case three of them – something Chinn is hoping to accomplish by winning six matches over the next four days.

Three years ago, as the medalist at Baltusrol Golf Club, Chinn lost in the Round of 32. Two years ago at Inverness Club, he fell in the semifinals. The championship was not conducted in 2020 due to COVID-19.

In May, Chinn and David Ford were the medalists in the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball at Chambers Bay before falling in the quarterfinals to eventual champions Kiko Francisco Coelho and Eduardo Herrera III.

"It's unbelievable," said Chinn of matching a feat by Woods. "Just putting your name next to anyone that special is incredible. I was able to do that for the AJGA (American Junior Golf Association) Rolex Player of the Year [Award], but to do it in a USGA [championship] is awesome.

"I played some really great golf the past two days. My game feels great and I actually [executed] a lot of shots that I wanted to hit. I didn't put too much stress on myself."

Chinn's lone blemishes on Tuesday were bogeys on the 439-yard, par-4 18th hole, his eighth of the round (he started on No. 11), and the 188-yard, par-3 seventh. The No. 41 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR® more than made up for the hiccups with birdies on Nos. 13, 15, 17, 2 and 3.

The first match in the Round of 64 is scheduled for 8 a.m., with all matches contested on the Dogwood Course. Chinn, the No. 1 seed in the match play bracket, is off at 2:12 p.m. Wednesday versus No. 64 Brendan Valdes. Match play continues Thursday and Friday, with the 36-hole championship match on Saturday.

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Incoming Freshman Kelly Chinn Ties USGA Record

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