Liu earns medalist honors again at Martis Camp Club

TRUCKEE, Calif. — Jim Liu, 17, of Smithtown, N.Y., shot a 5-under-par 67 on Tuesday to earn medalist honors for the second consecutive year in the 2013 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the par-72, 7,740-yard Martis Camp Club.

Liu, who carded a 69 in the first round, finished at 8-under 136. Liu, who shared medalist honors with two other players at last year’s U.S. Junior Amateur, becomes the third player in the championship’s history to twice earn the stroke-play medal, joining Willie Wood and Tiger Woods. Liu fashioned a bogey-free second round, one stroke off the course record.

The U.S. Junior Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Saturday, starting at 7 a.m.

Liu, the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur champion and the runner-up last year, started on the par-5 10th hole where he had to work hard for a three-putt par. But it was smooth sailing starting on the next hole when he struck a 5-iron to 8 feet for the first of five birdies. Liu made consecutive birdies on Nos. 1 and 2, the second when he hit a wedge to 2 feet. He added a two-putt birdie from 20 feet at the par-5 fourth.

“To be medalist is a good honor,” said Liu, who is participating in his fifth Junior Amateur championship. “It’s something to be happy about. You take these two rounds, know that you’re playing well, and go forward.”

Cameron Young, 16, of Scarborough, N.Y., was two strokes behind Liu with a two-round total of 138. Young, who added a two-under 70 to his first-round 68, made an eagle on the par-5 10th when he sank an 80-foot putt that broke left to right over a ridge. He made up for a hooked 3-wood at the par-4 16th with a 20-foot putt for birdie and ended the round with a 7-foot par putt on No. 18.

Scottie Scheffler, 17, of Dallas, who owned a piece of the first-round lead with a 67, was three strokes behind Liu with a 36-hole score of 139. He regrouped from a 2-over 38 on the outward nine with birdies on three of his last five holes. Corey Eddings, 17, of Roseville, Calif., who also shared the first-day lead, carded a 2-over 74 in the second round. He was among three players at 3-under 141 overall.

Davis Riley, 16, of Hattiesburg, Miss., shot a 3-under-par 69, and Zachary Bauchou, 17, of Forest, Va., carded his second consecutive 70, as both players completed stroke play at 4-under 140, tied for fourth place. Bauchou, who advanced to the Round of 16 at last year’s Junior Amateur, had six birdies and four bogeys. He capped his round by hitting a 178-yard 8-iron to 15 feet at No. 18 for his third birdie on the inward nine.

Twelve players who tied for 57th place at 7-over 151 will play off for the final eight match-play berths. The playoff was halted due to darkness after one hole and will resume today at 7:30 a.m.