ByGolf Channel Digital
July 18, 2014, 1:14 am

Doris Chen's quest to reach her third USGA championship final took another step forward Thursday when she defeated Lauren Diaz-Yi in the round of 16 of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in Dupont, Wash.

Chen, 21, who won the 2014 NCAA Division I individual championship for the University of Southern California, defeated Diaz-Yi, 19, of Thousand Oaks, Calif., 6 and 4. It was a small measure of revenge for last year's championship match, which Diaz-Yi won, 10 and 9.

After losing to Diaz-Yi in the 2013 final, Chen scored a 4-and-3 quarterfinal victory over Diaz-Yi at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

Chen also won the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.

In the quarterfinals, Chen will face Eun Jeong Seong of South Korea. The other quarterfinal matchups are Alana Uriell of Carlsbad, Calif., vs. Gabriella Then of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.; Sirene Blair of South Jordan, Utah, vs. Cindy Ha of Demarest, N.J.; and Dominique Galloway of Rio Rancho, N.M., vs. Fumie Jo of China.

Pauline del Rosario came through with a blazing finish and won by three shots over over Thailand’s Benyapa Niphatsophon and Sana Tufail of Abu Dhabi in the FCG International Junior Golf tournament at the Sycuan Oak Glen Course in San Diego, California Wednesday.

Pauline del Rosario holds her huge trophy after winning the FCG International Junior golf crown heading to next week’s Junior World in San Diego.

Six shots ahead of the field after two rounds of play, Del Rosario bogeyed the first five holes, enabling Taiwanese Minjou Chen to tie the top ICTSI-backed bet with an eagle on the par-5 No. 7. But the Filipina ace recovered in time, birdying Nos. 8 and 10 to regain control then bucked a missed-green bogey on No. 16 with birdies in the last two holes for a one-over 73.

“Pau played almost perfect golf at the back, hitting all the fairways and greens and reaching the two par-5s (Nos. 10 and 18) in two for birdies,” said Team ICTSI coach Bong Lopez. “She simply saved her best for last.”

Del Rosario, who opened with a 71 and surged ahead with a four-under 68 Tuesday, thus wound up with a 212, beating Niphatsophon and Tufail, also birdied the 18th to finish with identical 70s and 215s, by three in the premier 15-18 division.

Chen failed to sustain her fightback as she fumbled with bogeys on Nos. 9 and 13 and settled for a 72 and solo fourth at 217.

Princess Superal, the spearhead of Team ICTSI, birdied No. 2 but missed a couple more from close range and finished with a 73 for a share of seventh with teammate Abby Arevalo, who matched par 72, at 219.

The Northern Irishman recorded seven birdies in an seven-under 64 to set the pace a week out from the Open.

Swede Kristoffer Broberg and Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez shot 65 as Northern Ireland's Michael Hoey took 66.

Scots Marc Warren and David Drysdale and English duo Luke Donald and Richard Bland were four under, with defending champion Phil Mickelson three under.

McIlroy, who has not played in the event since 2009, has had mixed success in Europe this season, winning the PGA Championship at Wentworth but then missing the cut at his home Irish Open.

Mickelson won the 

"Everything was pretty much on," said McIlroy, who is recently back from a "lads holiday" in Ibiza. "I controlled my ball flight really well which is the key to me playing well in these conditions and on these courses.

"I've been working the last 10 days on keeping the ball down, hitting easy shots and taking spin off it and I went out there today and really trusted what I practised."

"I'm driving the ball really well and I feel if I can get driver in my hand and have an advantage on the field I should do it.

"Going out this morning in these conditions I thought anything in the 60s would be a good score so to shoot something better than that is pleasing."

The 25-year-old took advantage of the 20mph wind and drove the green on the downhill 436-yard par-four 13th.

"I told Poulter it was a three-wood but it was a driver," said the world number eight. "He was on the green trying to flex his muscles."

Mickelson carded an eagle, two birdies and one bogey for a three-under-par 68 as he gears up to defend both this week and next week's Open Championship at Hoylake.

"The conditions were tough and I was surprised to see some of those low scores," said Mickelson. "But, I feel like I played well and had a good putting day until the last. It's a good first day.

"I think Royal Aberdeen is a great links test and a great way to get ready for the British Open, but so was Castle Stuart.

"I love that the Scottish Open is moving to these different courses to give a player like me a chance to see some great, great golf."

Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Darren Clarke ended two under alongside Scots Russell Knox and Peter Whiteford.

Lee Westwood finished on one-over 72 for the round.

US Open runner-up Erik Compton will make his Open debut at Royal Liverpool.

The 34-year-old, who has had two heart transplants, is invited to compete as one of the 10 highest-ranked non-exempt players in the world rankings.

JB Holmes, KJ Choi, Freddie Jacobson, Charles Howell, Brooks Koepka, Kevin Stadler, Chesson Hadley, Anirban Lahiri and Scott Stallings also qualify for the event, which starts on 13 July.

Scots Marc Warren, Jamie McLeary and Paul McKechnie came through qualifying.

They took the available places at Gailes Links in Ayrshire, Warren finishing on nine under par after rounds of 69 and 64.

McLeary finished on seven under, after a setting a new course record with his opening round of 63.

He followed that up with a 72, while McKechnie shot 72 and 67 to finish three under.

Baguio City — Cyna Rodriguez moved closer to another title on the ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour as she fended off Thai Amolkan Phalajivin’s big windup with a late birdie to keep her four-shot lead intact in the second round of the Camp John Hay Ladies Invitational here.

CYNA RODRIGUEZ

Rodriguez birdied the par-5 17th for the second straight day to salvage an even par 69 and remain way ahead at six-under 132 after Phalajivin threatened to within three with an eagle on No. 16 for a similar 69 and a 136.

“I was lucky to hang in there,” said Rodriguez, referring to her poor second shot on No. 17 that rolled onto the green for a two-putt birdie.

“I knew I wouldn’t hit it solid since my timing was off at the range,” said Rodriquez, who shot a bogey-free six-under 63 in the opener but had a rollercoaster round of three birdies against the same number of bogeys on the up-and-down John Hay layout yesterday.

The reigning ICTSI LPGT Order of Merit champion, who romped off with a five-shot victory in this year’s kickoff leg at Orchard last April, also struggled with her putting stroke, making 28 after an impressive 25-putt stint Tuesday.

But those hardly mattered as Phalajivin also groped for putting form all day, missing a couple of birdie putts from close range and needing to sink a seven-foot eagle putt on the 16th to negate her bogeys on Nos. 7 and 15.

“I hit better than yesterday (Tuesday) but the putts didn’t fall in. I can’t get the right breaks,” said Phalajivin, who also flubbed a pin-length birdie putt on No. 17.

Anya Tanpinco, the third player in the featured flight, failed to recover from a bogey-bogey start and reeled with a 73 but remained at third at 142, leaving Rodriguez and Phalajivin to dispute the top P100,000 purse heading to the final 18 holes of the third leg of the eight-stage circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc.

Sarah Ababa fumbled with a 73 after a 70 and stayed at fourth at 143 while Lovelynn Guioguio rebounded with a 69 after a 75 to improve from seventh to fifth at 144.