Georgian ousted in 21 holes at U.S. Junior Amateur

DULUTH - Charlie Beljan rallied from 2-down in the final three holes Saturday to beat Brian Harman in 21 holes at the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club.<br> <br> The 15-year-old Harman, from Savannah, was the youngest player, and only Georgian, remaining.<br> <br> Zac Reynolds and Beljan each won two matches Saturday to advance to the final of the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club. <br> <br> Beljan, a 17-year-old from Mesa, Ariz., won the 16th and 17th holes to beat Elliott Wainwright of Hillsborough, Calif., 2 and 1 in the semifinals on the Highlands Course. Wainwright, 17, was the lone left-hander left in the tournament. <br> <br> ``He didn&#39;t hit the ball that well,&#39;&#39; Beljan said. ``But he had his short game. He can putt like nobody. On any putt under 30 feet, I was just praying he wasn&#39;t going to make it.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Reynolds, a 17-year-old from Edmond, Okla., won four consecutive holes at one point to win 3 and 2 over co-medalist Tarik Can, 17, of New York. <br> <br> ``To have a chance to be national champion is really cool,&#39;&#39; said Reynolds, the sports editor of his high school paper. ``It&#39;s something everyone thinks about. You want to win the U.S. Open, well, this is our U.S. Open.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Can, from the Douglaston in Queens, was one of two players under par during stroke play on the 7,008-yard, par-70 course. <br> <br> ``It was a great match,&#39;&#39; Reynolds said. ``And, it was the best match I played. I needed every bit of it because Tarik played well.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> In the quarterfinals, Reynolds won the 18th hole to win 2 up over 15-year-old Joe Panzeri of Boise, Idaho; Wainwright beat Casey Wittenberg of Memphis, Tenn., 3 and 2; and Can defeated Chanin Puntawong of Bradenton, Fla., in 19 holes.

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