Beginning play in the afternoon with a 4 hole advantage, Suh wasted no time in reestablishing the tone of the match with a birdie 3 on the nineteenth hole. The match status would remain the same through the twenty-second hole until Newren began to exhibit some of the brilliance we had seen throughout the week. Not willing to let the match get away, she won the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth holes to reduce the advantage to 3 holes and to try to gain momentum. Suh quickly responded by winning the twenty-sixth hole to stretch the advantage back to four.

The players would halve the next two holes, but add to the pressure of the match with superb play. Turning onto the final nine holes of the 104th Championship, both players would reach the green on the twenty-eighth hole in regulation. Suh, with Newren in position to make birdie, calmly rolled in a twelve foot putt to make birdie 4 on the long par 5. Newren, with the match slowly slipping away made birdie on top of Suh to make the statement that she was not done yet. The next hole was halved with par as both players were able to negotiate what has been coined the start to “Hogan’s Alley” on Pinehurst No. 2. The eleventh hole, also the players’ twenty-ninth, was where Hogan made his late charge to win The United North and South Open Championship in 1942. It would have that feeling for Newren who won the thirtieth hole with a strong birdie 3 and again attempted to shift the momentum of the match. The steady consistent play of Suh, however, would prevail as she saved par on the thirty-second hole to claim the Championship with a final of 5&4.

The journey for these players started with two rounds of stroke play qualifying, followed by six consecutive rounds of intense match play. Following her victory, Suh will represent the United States in the Curtis Cup Matches next weekend on the West Coast and return to the University of Alabama in the fall where she has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. Our runner-up, Newren, also a rising senior, will return to Utah and complete her final year of eligibility at Brigham Young University.

For complete match tree results, click on the tournament link above.