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Hye-jin Choi Medals at Women's Australian Amateur
Hye-jin Choi <br>(Nova Scotia Golf Association Photo)
Hye-jin Choi
(Nova Scotia Golf Association Photo)

VICTORIA, Australia (January 18, 2017) -- The Korean challenge keeps coming at the Australian Amateur Championship, presented by Swinging Skirts – just from another angle on day two.

World No. 4 Hye-jin Choi carved out a superb 5- under-par round of 68 at a windswept Yarra Yarra, to finish as medallist at 10-under.

Choi was outrageously good to be 6-under through 10 holes, but cooled off and just edged compatriot and U.S. Women's Amateur champion Eun Jeung Seong by two strokes to nab top seed for match play.

Their countrywoman Hyun-kyung Park was third, while overnight leader Ga-young Lee, also of Korea, had a quadruple-bogey nine on her second to last hole to finish at 6-under.

That score left her tied fourth with the young woman who might become the chief Australian flag flyer for the rest of the week.

Gold Coaster Karis Davidson had a stellar finish today to underline lessons she’s learnt previously against the might of the Koreans.

Davidson, a regular Australian representative overseas in the past two years, said those trips – and the experiences they’ve provided – would be invaluable this week.

“I’ll be happy to take the fight to them, for sure,” Davidson said of the Koreans.

“They are such incredible players, I’ve definitely learned a lot from off them in the tournaments we’ve played.

“I know how hard they train and they’re physically advanced compared to a few of us (with their) bodies more muscly and advanced.

“But I’ve been working a lot with my swing, trying to get it more stable and practicing really hard on my game. It’s showing right now with my results.

“And that experience of international tournaments helps. You learn so much and even if you don’t play well, you learn the most from that and I definitely think it (travel) has helped me.”

Davidson fell to 2-over through 10 holes at Kingswood on Wednesday after her opening four-under- par 69 at Yarra Yarra on Tuesday.

But Davidson, a member at Sanctuary Cove, regained her composure and fired four birdies in her last seven holes, including chipping in from a bunker on the par-three sixth.

“I guess I just got into rhythm and started hitting it well,” she said.

“It’s a pretty good achievement in one of biggest tournaments in Australia. And doing well, at least in the first stage, is nice and might give me some kind of advantage.

“My initial goal was to make the cut – I know there’s a lot of good players come to this tournament and it’s kind of like the U.S. Amateur in that you never know in the match play.”

Davidson, who stunned many when she made the final against Minjee Lee at The Grange in 2014, said her revised goal was to reach the top eight.

“But you never know. Nobody expected me to do that when I was 15, so you never know who you’ll play and this field is very deep."

At the other end of the final 32 to make it, Victorian Gabi Ruffels survived a dramatic four-hole playoff to nab the last spot from Singapore’s Callista Chen.

Chen missed a makable par putt on the second playoff hole before the young Aussie did likewise on the third.

But a two-putt for Ruffels on the fourth extra hole proved enough.

“I was pretty nervous … I’d missed a three-foot putt for a win on the third playoff hole, so I just tapped it down to a foot and it was good,” said Ruffels, who thought her goose was cooked after an 82 at Kingswood earlier in the day.

“I was good yesterday (72 at Yarra Yarra) but I didn’t think that would be good enough today … so I’m just really happy I could get through.”

The women’s match play starts on Thursday.

Results: Australian Women's Amateur
WinKoreaHye-Jin ChoiKorea1000
Runner-upKoreaSo-mi LeeKorea700
SemifinalsAustraliaKaris DavidsonAustralia500
SemifinalsKoreaHyun-Kyung ParkKorea500
QuarterfinalsKoreaSeo-yun KwonKorea400

View full results for Australian Women's Amateur

ABOUT THE Australian Women's Amateur

The Australian Men's and Women's Amateur Championships are Australia's oldest Amateur Golf Championships, with both having been played since 1894. Long held as a match play event, in 2021 the format changed to 72 holes of stroke play.

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