Kaiser High junior Malia Nam reached the semifinals of the 114th Women’s North & South Amateur Championship, which ended Friday at Pinehurst No. 2, in North Carolina.

Nam and Punahou graduate Kacie Komoto finished in the top 16 of the 54-stroke play qualifier. Komoto was fifth in the field of 86, at 9-over-par 222. Nam (227) tied for 12th to reach match play.

Komoto, about to start her senior year at Northwestern, fell 2 and 1 in the opening round to Katelyn Dambaugh, an All-American at South Carolina.

Nam won her first-round match 3 and 1, over second-seeded Maddie Szeryk. In the quarterfinals, Nam hit her tee shot within 2 feet on the 17th to beat Jaclyn Lee, 2 and 1.

Nam lost to Dambaugh, 1-up, in the semifinal. Nam tied the match with birdie at the 16th, but lost on a bogey at the 18th.

Wednesday, Nam and former Hawaii resident Aneka Seumanutafa lost by 1-up scores in the first round of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur, in New Jersey.

Nam advanced to match play by finishing 37th in the stroke-play qualifier, at 7-over 153. She was 2-up over Jennifer Chang after 14 holes Wednesday, but Chang birdied the next two to square the match and won with par on the 18th.

Seumanutafa was 3-up through 13 holes, but lost three of the last five and was defeated by Megan Furtney on the 19th hole.

No Hawaii golfers advanced to the 64-player match-play bracket at the U.S. Junior Amateur in Tennessee. Hilo’s Shon Katahira shot 72-79 Tuesday to get into a 13-way playoff for the final seven spots. He was eliminated Wednesday after bogey on the second extra hole.

Koga, Bayot manage sixth place at IMG Junior tourney

Hawaii’s Jennifer Koga and Tristan Bayot picked up sixth-place finishes at last week’s IMG Academy Junior World Championships in San Diego. The tournament attracted more than 1,200 junior golfers from 56 countries and 42 states.

Koga closed with a 68 to tie for sixth in the girls 13-14 division at 215. She had the best finish by an American player and finished eight shots out of first at the Rancho Bernardo course. Lana Calibuso-Kwee tied for 16th, at 219.

Bayot also closed fast, firing a 66 to take sixth alone, 11 strokes out of first. Jake Otani (216) was 35th.

Raya Nakao (T12 in girls 9-10) and Ava Cepeda (T14 girls 7-8) were the only other Hawaii golfers with top-15 finishes.

Mililani graduate Mari Nishiura, who just won the inaugural women’s Manoa Cup, was 27th in the Girls 15-17 division at La Costa, with Maryknoll junior Allysha Mae Mateo 28th. Moanalua senior Jun Ho Won tied for 15th among the boys, at Torrey Pines South.

Other Top-50 finishers

15-17: Boys—T28, Shon Katahira; T38, Andrew Chin and Zackary Kaneshiro; T45, Kengo Aoshima.

11-12: Boys—T36, Joshua Hayashida; T42, Joshua Chung.

9-10: Girls—T37 Mia Cepeda. Boys—T34 Taiki Marsh.

6-under: Boys—30, Cason Dezzani.

Grant in U.S. Amateur national championship

Manoa Cup champion Brent Grant parred the first playoff hole to win Hawaii’s U.S. Amateur qualifier Tuesday at Turtle Bay’s Fazio Course.

Grant fired a 4-under-par 66 in the first round and followed up with a 71 to finish at 137. PJ Samiere opened with a 70 and caught Grant with 67, then fell in the playoff.

Matthew Shen (72) was one shot out of the playoff at 138. He and Samiere are alternates. Donny Hopoi (68) and Justin Taparra (70) tied for fourth at 139. There were 23 golfers participating.

Punahou graduate Kyle Suppa played in a California qualifier Tuesday and finished fifth — shooting 142 at Crystalaire Country Club in Llano — to earn alternate status.

The national championship is Aug. 15-21 at Oakland Hills Country Club in Michigan.

Entries available for OCC Women’s Invitational

Entries are still open for the Oahu Country Club Women’s Invitational. The tournament, which features a modified Stableford scoring system, is Aug. 22-23. Field is limited to 80.

Golfers must have an established GHIN handicap index of 24.5 or less, as of Aug. 1. Entry fee is $195, or $145 for students.

For more information, call head pro Andrew Feldmann at 595-3256, ext. 2.

LOCAL ACES

Golf courses can email aces to sports@staradvertiser.com or fax to 529-4787.