June 26, 2006

Columbia, S.C. – South Carolina women’s golfer Jenna Pearson advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship before falling in match play to 2004 Public Links Champion Ya-Ni Tseng of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinal round of the prestigious tournament, played at the Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colo., from June 20-26.

Pearson roared through the stroke play portion of the tournament and earned the fourth seed after finishing the preliminary two rounds with a five-under-par score of 70-69=139. Pearson’s score was only two strokes behind stroke play champion Hannah Jun of UCLA, who came in at seven under par. Having earned the No. 4 seed with her strong showing in stroke play, Pearson entered the 64-player match play tree as one of the hottest players in the field.

In the first round of match play, Pearson disposed of Nebraska’s Stephanie Ruiz, 4-and-3, before ending the run of 13-year-old sensation Veronica Valerio with a 3-and-1 defeat in the second round. Pearson faced 2004 Public Links Champion Ya-Ni Tseng in the quarterfinal round, falling 4-and-3.

UCLA All-American Tiffany Joh won the tournament by defeating 14-year-old junior star Kimberly Kim, 6-and-5.

Next up for Pearson is a U.S. Women’s Amateur Qualifier on July 10. She then competes at the Women’s Illinois Open July 27-29 before putting a cap on her summer competition schedule by taking part in the U.S. Women’s Amateur from August 7-13 should she get through qualifying.