Meet The Quarterfinalists

Evan Beck, 17, Virginia Beach, Va.                                  4-over-par 148 total in stroke play

Beck  reached the quarterfinals with two convincing wins and a narrow 1-up victory in his second round match… He is playing in his second U.S. Junior Amateur: he also qualified in 2007 but failed to qualify for match play (low 64 scorers after 36 holes of stroke play)… He was awarded one of the final two spots in the Junior field after being a first alternate at his qualifying site (he lost in a playoff with Wilson Day for the lone qualifying spot at 145 at Hermitage Country Club in Manakin Sabot, Va.)… He had birdied the last two holes of his qualifier just to earn a chance in a playoff… He recently solved his putting woes in May by switching to the claw grip, after trying everything else, including a long putter… He didn’t three-putt even once in his second and third-round matches… He finished third at the recent North and South Junior Amateur at Pinehurst, N.C…in 2006, Beck won the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Quad Cities Tournament… At 5’11” and 145 pounds, Beck was an 2008 All-Tidewater Conference guard in basketball… He consistently earns “High Honor Roll” with straight A grades… Entering his senior year at Norfolk Academy.

Dominic Bozzelli, 17, Pittsford, N.Y.                                 7-over-par 151 total in stroke play

Bozzelli gained attention by upsetting defending champion Cory Whitsett of Houston, 4 and 3, in his first-round match… In winning his first three matches, Bozzelli has not been extended past the 16th hole… He won his second and third-round matches by scores of 4 and 3, and 3 and 2… He shared medalist honors at his qualifying site with a 36-hole total of 141… He is playing in his first U.S. Junior Amateur… He has a brilliant junior record in his home state; 1st in the New York Boys Junior three consecutive years (2003-05), 1st in the New York Junior Amateur in 2006 and 2007, and 1st in the 2008 New York Men’s Amateur… He will try to qualify for the U.S. Amateur (in August) on Monday back in New York… Influenced to play golf by his grandfather and father… Had his first hole-in-one in May at his home course of Locust Hill Country Club in the Rochester, N.Y., area… A Yankees fan… He will be a senior at McQuad Jesuit HS this fall.

Emiliano Grillo, 15, Argentina                                              3-over-par 147 total in stroke play

Grillo is the top-ranked amateur golfer in Argentina… He has not been stretched past the 16th hole in any of his three matches; winning by scores of 6 and 4, 4 and 2, and 6 and 5… In his third-round match, Grillo was already 2 up after five holes… in May, he finished tied for second place in the Argentine North Open – where well-known professionals Eduardo Romero was the winner and 2007 U.S. Open winner Angel Cabrera shared second place with him, two strokes behind Romero… Twice (in 2007 and 2008) he has qualified to play in the Argentine Open, the country’s top event… He earned the Cup for being low amateur in 2007… He won the 2007 Optimist International Junior title… He is entered in the 2008 Optimist Tournament in Miami next week… Grillo qualified for the 2008 Junior Amateur in New Jersey, stopping on his way back from playing in the World Junior in Japan… His homeland friend Jorge Fernandez Valdes, 15, was the stroke play medalist, but lost in the third round… He would like to attend college in the U.S… He will be a high junior at Dickens School in the fall.

Ernesto Marin, 17, Miami, Fla.                                          3-over-par 147 total in stroke play

Marin went on a tear to win six of seven holes to close out his third-round match against fellow Miami resident T.J. Vogel, 4 and 2… “I needed all of those birdies,” said Marin. “I was three down after seven holes and he (Vogel) was licking his chops”…Marin has not been forced beyond the 16th hole in any of his three matches… He tied the course record of 64 at Kensington Country Club in Naples, Fla., in his first round of qualifying for the Junior (64-74—138)…He was the low qualifier by two strokes in Naples… Along with qualifying for the Junior Amateur, Marin qualified for the PGA Junior Championship that same week… Parents were both born in Nicaragua so he has the opportunity to play some of the biggest amateur events there… He won the 2006 and 2007 Nicaragua National Championship, qualifying him (one of six players) for the Nicaragua National Team that played the Central America Championship in Panama…Earned honor as the 2007-08 Miami Dade County Player of the Year by the Miami Herald Newspaper… He began playing golf at age nine and had his only hole-in-one a year later… He is an insulin-dependent diabetic… He will be a senior at Miami Palmetto HS.

Cameron Peck, 17, Olympia, Wash.                                           2-under-par 142 total in stroke play

Peck is a highly-ranked junior player by most any yardstick… He won the HP Invitational at Bay Hill Country Club in Orlando last week by a stroke and two weeks ago he won the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Foot Joy Invitational, shooting three of his four rounds in the 60s…Peck was extended to the last hole of his second-round match, but won his first and third matches handily, 4 and 3, and 7 and 5… He has lost only one high school match at Timberline HS in the last three years… He is playing in his second Junior Amateur; he lost his second match in 2007… Plays at Indian Summer Golf Club in Olympia… He had a hole-in-one at age eight… Born in Honolulu, family moved back to Washington when he was young, with his father retiring from the Air Force… He will be a senior at Timberline HS this fall… Will play golf at Texas A&M beginning in 2009.

Jordan Spieth, 14, Dallas, Texas                                      6-overpar 150 total in stroke play

Spieth is the youngest player remaining in the quarterfinals… He will turn 15 on Sunday (the day after the final match)…He was tested in his first-round match, winning 2 and 1, but breezed to the quarterfinals after that with margins of 4 and 3, and 8 and 7… His 8-and-7 victory was the largest margin of any match this week… He never trailed in either of his last two matches… He won seven of the first eight holes in the last match… He played in the Junior British Open at Royal Birkdale two weeks ago, losing in the final to a girl from Thailand by one stroke (the girls used the forward tees)…Stayed on to watch the first round of the British Open before coming to Shoal Creek… Won the 2008 Junior Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas, just 10 minutes from his house…He is playing in his first Junior Amateur… He won his local qualifier at Timarron Country Club in Southlake, Texas, by seven strokes, shooting 138 for 36 holes… He is an Honor Roll student… Raise money for “Birdies for Kids” hospital charity in Dallas… He will be a 10th-grader at Dallas Jesuit HS this fall.

Andrew Steinhofer, 17, Madison, Wis.                           8-over-par 152 total in stroke play

Steinhofer narrowly made the cut for match play, and was forced to play second-seeded Cody Gribble of Dallas, Texas, in his first round match…He won that battle, 5 and 4… His other wins were by 3 and 2, and 1 up… In his third-round match versus hometown favorite Tom Lovelady of Birmingham, he rallied from two holes down to win on the final hole… This is his first Junior Amateur… Has older brother, Adam, as his caddie… Has owned most of the junior events in his locale, winning the 2007 and 2008 City Junior titles…No surprise he’s been City Player of the Year two years in a row (2007 and 2008)… He had his only hole-in-one at age 10, and has a low score of 65… Steinhofer was the second finisher in his local qualifier for the Junior Amateur at North Shore Country Club in Mequon, Wis., with a 36-hole total of 139… He will be a senior at Madison Lafollette HS this fall.

Andrew Yun, 17, Chandler, Ariz.                                       6-over-par 150 total in stroke play

Yun was the player who finally got to medalist Jorge Fernandez Valdes of Argentina, in the third round… Yun rallied to win the final two holes of regulation and then won the match with a par on the third extra hole, two-putting for par from 15 feet…Yun has worked the hardest to reach the quarterfinals – winning 1 up in the first round and 3 and 2 in the second round (before his long third-round match)… Born in Tacoma, Wash., Yun moved to Arizona with his family two years ago in order to have more golf opportunities… The move paid dividends immediately as he qualified for the 2006 U.S. Amateur (failed to make match play)and the 2006 U.S. Amateur Public Links (lost first-round match)… He qualified for this Junior Amateur with a low score of 135, beating the rest of the field by seven strokes at The Boulders Golf Club in Carefree, Ariz…He won the 2007 Arizona Stroke Play Amateur and the 2008 Verizon Junior Heritage Tournament… A three-time Rolex Junior All-American in the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) circles… Has his older sister, Christy, as his caddie this week… He is playing in his first Junior Amateur… He will be a senior at Hamilton HS this fall.