T&T’s top junior golfer Christopher Richards Jr missed the cut at the 75th US Junior Amateur Golf Championships at Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Creek and Beresford Creek courses in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday.
Competing amongst a field of 256 golfers on the 18 holes course, Richards playing alongside Kent Karlstrom of Rancho Mirage, California and Jacob Modleski of Noblesville, Indianapolis carded a two-day 36-hole total of three-over-par 146 to finish 11 shots behind the two-day leader, American Tommy Morrison’s eight-under-par 135 over the first two days of individual stroke play.
Richards Jr, a recent sixth-place finisher in the Men’s Individual Stroke Play Tournament at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in San Salvador, El Salvador earlier this month, had a tough start on Monday when he double-bogeyed the par-four fifth hole before he birdied the par-five sixth hole only to bogey the tenth, 14th, 16th and 18th holes for a first-day score of five-over-par 77.
Then on Tuesday, Richards Jr, the winner of the Tobago Golf Open title two weekends ago after equalling the course record with an eight-under-par 64, had a much better showing with a three-under score of 69 with birdies on the par-four fifth, eighth, 11th, and 18th holes, while he bogeyed the par-three ninth hole and par-five 12th hole for a two-day score of 146, with 14 other competitors.
Modleski carded a two-day score of two-under-par 141 for the joint 19th spot after rounds of 72 and 69 and advanced to the top 64 playoffs while Karlstrom just missed the cut at two-over-par 145 after rounds of 73 and 72, with six other players, advancing with the same 145 score.
Last year, Wenyi Ding, an Arizona State signee, became the first male golfer from China to win a USGA championship, topping Caleb Surratt 3 and 2 at Bandon Dunes.
Overall, 40 states are represented at the Championships along with players from 33 countries and Richards Jr, the lone player from the Caribbean.
