ANDOVER, Kan. — Once again, Alvin Kwak’s match at the U.S. Junior Amateur Golf Tournament went down to the final hole.
This time, however, the outcome was not in the Mukilteo resident’s favor.
A day after upsetting second-seeded Brandon Mancheno on the final hole of match play, Kwak lost to 10th-seeded Kaito Onishi of Japan 1-up in the Round of 32 Thursday at Flint Hills National Golf Club.
The loss eliminated Kwak, who was seeded 63rd, from the tournament.
The two golfers were all square headed to the 18th hole, a 497-yard par-5. Kwak made par, but Onishi recorded a birdie to win the match.
Kwak never led in the match and Onishi was never more than 1-up. Onishi held a 1-up advantage going into the 15th hole, a 481-yard par 4, but bogeyed the hole, which allowed Kwak to tie the contest with his par. Both players earned pars on Nos. 16 and 17, setting the stage for the decisive 18th hole.
For the round, Kwak had one birdie and three bogeys.
Kwak was one of 64 golfers from a field of 156 who advanced to match play. He qualified by shooting a 5-over-par 147 over two days of stroke play, which left him tied for 59th place.
Kwak, a junior-to-be at Kamiak High School, was playing in his second U.S. Junior Amateur. He didn’t make the cut as a 14-year-old in 2015.
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