Women's U.S. Am: Johnson, Lua, Song, Thompson win

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ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jennifer Song moved within two matches of becoming the second woman to win two U.S. Golf Association championships in the same year, beating Stephanie Kono 2 and 1 in the U.S. Women's Amateur quarterfinals Friday.

Song, the 19-year-old University of Southern California player who won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in June, will face Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif., on Saturday at Old Warson. Lua beat Jessica Korda of Bradenton, Fla., 3 and 2.

Pearl Sinn is the only woman to win two USGA titles in a year, taking the 1988 Women's Amateur and Women's Amateur Public Links.

"That was obviously in my head, but I'm not thinking about that right now," said Song, the low amateur last month in the U.S. Women's Open. "I'm just trying to play one match at a time and focus on whatever is in front of me."

In the other semifinal, 14-year-old Alexis Thompson of Coral Springs, Fla., will play Jennifer Johnson of La Quinta, Calif. Thompson beat South Korea's Han Jungeun 1-up, and Johnson had a 5-and-4 victory over Candace Schepperle of Birmingham, Ala.

Thompson, the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior champion and sister of PGA TOUR player Nicholas Thompson, overcame an early three-hole deficit to advance.

"After I got 3-down, I said, 'OK, I need to start making some birdies,'" Thompson said. "She's a great putter and a great player."

Thompson is trying to become the youngest Women's Amateur winner in the championship's 109-year history and also is attempting to become the seventh player to win the Girls' Junior and Women's Amateur.

The 18-year-old Lua will be a freshman at UCLA.

"I've known Jessica for a few years now, and I know she's a strong player," Lua said. "I tried my best to capitalize, and I did. But it is match play, and I just hung on there, and I think it happened. I just did my best to hold on."

The 17-year-old Johnson, an incoming freshman at Arizona State, hasn't trailed through 58 holes in four rounds of match play.

"It's been nice, getting up early and having the lead," Johnson said. "But I don't think this week's been too easy. It's been pretty mentally exhausting."

The 36-hole final is set for Sunday.