Stetson's run in U.S. Junior Amateur ends in loss to Fang in round of 16 at Daniel Island

 

   A terrific run in the 75^th U.S. Junior Amateur by Episcopal Academy senior Hunter Stetson came to an end Thursday afternoon as he fell in the round of 16 to Zeqian Fang of China, 3 and 1, at the Daniel Island Club’s Ralston Creek Course in Charleston, S.C.

   Stetson began the day with a hard-fought 2 and 1 victory over Tyler Sanford of Montgomery, Texas in a second-round match, a win that sent him into the round of 16 against the talented Fang.

   Stetson, one of the Inter-Ac League’s top players the last two seasons, quickly found himself in a 2-down hole against Fang when Fang took the second hole with an eagle 2 at the par-4 second hole and got a win at three with a par.

   But Stetson, a product of the junior program at Aronimink Golf Club, quickly put Fang on notice that he was going to be in for a fight when Stetson cut his deficit in half by taking the fifth hole with a birdie.

   The two exchanged wins with Fang restoring his 2-up advantage by taking the seventh hole with a birdie, Stetson answering with a win at eight with a birdie and Fang getting a win at nine with a birdie to again take a 2-up advantage.

   Stetson then rattled off wins on three straight holes, taking the 10^th hole with a par, 11 with a birdie and 12 with a par and suddenly it was Stetson who was in front with a 1-up lead.

   Fang, however, stopped Stetson’s momentum by winning the 13^th hole with a par to draw even. Fang then won the 14^th hole with a birdie and 16 with a par before closing out Stetson by taking 17 with a birdie.

   Stetson was the runnerup to Germantown Academy’s Ajeet Bagga in the Inter-Ac’s points standings compiled from the results of the league’s six regular-season invitationals. He finished in third place in last fall’s Bert Linton Inter-Ac individual championship at Llanerch Country Club in defense of the Bert Linton title he had won as a sophomore at Bluestone Country Club in the fall of 2021.

   Earlier in the day, Stetson found himself 2-down when Sanford, a junior at Lake View High School, made a birdie at the sixth hole.

   But Stetson turned things around when he won the seventh hole with a par, nine with a birdie and 10 with a par to grab a 1-up lead.

   Sanford evened the match when he won the 11^th hole with a birdie, but Stetson took control down the stretch, winning the 13^th hole with a par and 16 with a par that gave him a 2-up lead with two holes to go. When the 17^th hole was halved with pars, Stetson was on to the round of 16.

   Stetson represented Aronimink, Episcopal Academy, the Inter-Ac League and GAP admirably with his deep run at Daniel Island.

   Stetson has been playing some great golf for more than a month now. He fired a 4-under 67 at the RiverCrest Golf Club & Preserve in a GAP-administered qualifier to earn the trip to Daniel Island in the first place.

   A couple of weeks ago, Stetson finished in second place in the Philadelphia Boys Junior PGA Championship at the Toftrees Resort near State College that earned him a spot in the field for the Boys Junior PGA Championship, another of the major national junior events that tees off Monday at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Ark.

   Stetson is headed for Hot Springs playing some of the best golf of his life and coming off a performance in the U.S. Junior Amateur that has to give him a ton of confidence. He was going toe-to-toe with some of the best junior players in the world and more than holding his own.

   Stetson wasn’t the only player still competing in the round of 16 Thursday afternoon at Daniel Island who emerged out of that qualifier at RiverCrest.

   The medalist in qualifying at RiverCrest somehow arrived in Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County from Australia of all places, Joseph Buttress topping the field with a sparkling 7-under 64.

   It was a Down Under duel just below Stetson and Fang in the bracket as Bustress battled hard before suffering a 2 and 1 setback at the hands of Joshua Bai of New Zealand. Earlier in the day, Buttress prevailed in a 22-hole marathon over Bo Carpenter of Tifton, Ga. to advance to the round of 16.

   It will be Fang and Bai battling it out in the quarterfinals Friday morning. The winners of the morning quarterfinal matches will then tee it up in the semifinals in the afternoon.

   It will be an interesting battle at the top of the quarterfinal bracket between Tommy Morrison, the 6-foot-9 tall Texan and the qualifying medalist, and Will Hartman of Charlotte, N.C., but who emerged from another GAP-administered qualifier, this one at Chambersburg Country Club.

   Morrison graduated from high school early and joined the program at Big 12 power Texas in January. He was in the starting lineup for the Longhorns in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

   Morrison rallied from 2-down with eight holes to go in his round-of-32 match with Chi Chun Chen of Chinese Taipei to pull out a 1-up victory. Morrison reached the quarterfinals with a 3 and 2 victory over Torger Ohe of Edina, Minn. in a round-of-16 match.

   Hartman, a Class of 2025 entry, has been playing well all week at Daniel Island. He rolled to a 4 and 3 decision over Jay Leng Jr. of San Diego, Calif. in a round-of-32 match before reaching the quarterfinals with a 2 and 1 victory over Carson Looney of Bethesda, Md. in a round-of-16 match.