Castillo, Wong make up opposite ends of North & South bracket
6/26/2019 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: View results for North & South Amateur, Pinehurst Resort and Country Club - No. 2
Ricky Castillo is putting the final touches on a junior golf career, and now that includes medalist honors at the North & South.
Technically, Ricky Castillo is a junior golfer. The recent high school graduate is headed to the University of Florida in the fall, so he is junior in name only. Castillo, of Yorba Linda, Calif., earned medalist honors in the stroke-play portion of the North & South Amateur on Wednesday by firing rounds of 68-69 at Pinehurst Nos. 2 and 4.
Castillo is the No. 2-ranked junior golfer in the country, according to Golfweek’s rankings. He got hot right out of the gate on the newly redesigned No. 4 course on Tuesday. He had four birdies on the opening nine, then played the back nine in even par for an opening 68. He came back with a 1-under 69 on No. 2 after making birdie at Nos. 1 and 11 and a bogey at No. 9.
“It’s my third time playing the North & South, so I’ve learned where you want to miss it,” Castillo told tournament officials. “I know on No. 2 that you need to just aim for the fat part of the green and try to leave yourself 20- and 25-footers. That’s much better putting for birdie and making pars along the way than trying to chip up a slope to a tight spot on these greens.”
Behind Castillo, Canadian mid-amateur Garrett Rank was 4 under and solo second. Rank has played each of the last three weeks at the Dogwood Invitational (T-11), Monroe Invitational (T-14) and Northeast Amateur (T-52). When the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball was played at Pinehurst in 2017, Rank and partner Patrick Christovich played all the way to the semifinals.
Liberty University’s Ervin Chang was solo third at 3 under and first-round leader Benjamin Shipp, who plays for N.C. State, slipped to fourth.
The field was cut to the top 32 players, who will now be slotted into a match-play bracket for the next portion of the championship.
Ben Wong, who won the 2017 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball on No. 2, was one of the very last men in. He played alongside Castillo for the day, but his round looked much, much different. Wong struggled to a 77 on No. 2, waited a half hour after coming off the golf course, then went back out as part of a nine-for-three playoff. After Hunter Wolcott and Justin Tereshko made birdies to clinch their spots, Wong made a 10-footer of his own for birdie to draw the No. 32 seed.
He’ll play alongside Castillo again on Thursday, but this time in a head-to-head format.
“Ricky is a good friend,” said Wong, who plays for SMU. “And even with the 32 seed, anything can happen in match play. This tournament has shown that.”
Information from North & South tournament officials used in this report
Castillo is the No. 2-ranked junior golfer in the country, according to Golfweek’s rankings. He got hot right out of the gate on the newly redesigned No. 4 course on Tuesday. He had four birdies on the opening nine, then played the back nine in even par for an opening 68. He came back with a 1-under 69 on No. 2 after making birdie at Nos. 1 and 11 and a bogey at No. 9.
Behind Castillo, Canadian mid-amateur Garrett Rank was 4 under and solo second. Rank has played each of the last three weeks at the Dogwood Invitational (T-11), Monroe Invitational (T-14) and Northeast Amateur (T-52). When the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball was played at Pinehurst in 2017, Rank and partner Patrick Christovich played all the way to the semifinals.
Liberty University’s Ervin Chang was solo third at 3 under and first-round leader Benjamin Shipp, who plays for N.C. State, slipped to fourth.
The field was cut to the top 32 players, who will now be slotted into a match-play bracket for the next portion of the championship.
Ben Wong, who won the 2017 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball on No. 2, was one of the very last men in. He played alongside Castillo for the day, but his round looked much, much different. Wong struggled to a 77 on No. 2, waited a half hour after coming off the golf course, then went back out as part of a nine-for-three playoff. After Hunter Wolcott and Justin Tereshko made birdies to clinch their spots, Wong made a 10-footer of his own for birdie to draw the No. 32 seed.
He’ll play alongside Castillo again on Thursday, but this time in a head-to-head format.
“Ricky is a good friend,” said Wong, who plays for SMU. “And even with the 32 seed, anything can happen in match play. This tournament has shown that.”
Information from North & South tournament officials used in this report
Results: North & South Amateur
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | Austin, TX | 1000 | ||
| Runner-up | Chico, CA | 700 | ||
| Semifinals | Atkinson, NC | 500 | ||
| Semifinals | Burns, TN | 500 | ||
| Quarterfinals | Yorba Linda, CA | 400 |
About the North & South Amateur
The North & South Amateur Championship is the longest consecutively run amateur tournament in the United States. Its past winners list includes names like Walter Travis, Francis Ouimet, Billy Joe Patton, Jack Nicklaus and Curtis Strange. The field is...
Most Popular Articles
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Guide: Sites, Scores, and Who Advanced
Dec 5, 2025Second Stage is complete and Final Stage awaits at Sawgrass — follow every Q-School leaderboard and the players still chasing
2025 LPGA TOUR Q-Series: Final Qualifying Stage FINAL SCORING
Dec 8, 2025Helen Briem earns medalist honors, 31 players headed to the LPGA next year
Australian Open at Royal Melbourne: Preview, amateur bios, and how to watch
Nov 30, 2025Rory McIlroy headlines one of the championship's top fields in years - at least four amateurs will have their chance at glory
Luke Ringkamp Cruises to Rolex Tournament of Champions Title at TPC San Antonio
Nov 26, 2025One week after committing to Pepperdine, Luke Ringkamp won the Rolex Tournament of Champions by nine shots.
Inside Gil Hanse’s Restoration of Baltusrol’s Upper Course: A Return to Tillinghast’s
Dec 11, 2025Renowned architect Gil Hanse reveals how he brought Baltusrol’s Upper Course back to life by honoring A.W. Tillinghast’s original