- USGA Photo
Kansas City, Mo. (July 13, 2005) – Defending champion Ya-Ni Tseng of Chinese Taipei and co-medalists Angela Park of Torrance, Calif., and Mari Chun of Pearl City, Hawaii, advanced Wednesday to the second round of match play at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at Swope Memorial Golf Course.
Tseng, 16, who struggled with her putting and shot a pair of 76s in stroke play and almost missed the cut for match play at 152, advanced with a 3-and-1 win over Sung Lee of Tacoma, Wash.
Defending champion Ya-Ni Tseng watches her tee shot. (Robert Walker/USGA)
"I slept with my putter last night because it didn’t work on the second day (of stroke play),” Tseng said through an interpreter. “I will sleep with my putter again and get a lot accomplished.”
Tseng, who made three birdies, took a 2-up lead on the 9th hole and then never trailed. She clinched her win with a birdie on the par-5 17th.
"I didn’t think about defending the championship,” Tseng said. “I want to go step by step and finish each day.”
One of the co-medalists, Park was the easiest winner of the day, with a 7-and-6 victory over Felicia Johnston of Tigard, Ore. Having the option to play the rest of the golf course after her win, Park passed, saying: “I was telling my caddie: ‘Let’s go in, I’m kind of hungry.’ The earlier the lunch, the better.”
The 16-year-old Brazilian-born high schooler from Torrance, Calif., birdied four of the first five holes and increased her margin to 6 up after eight holes. She made it 7-up on the 11th and made five birdies in 12 holes.
"I felt really comfortable with my putts,” Park said. “Sometimes, I said, ‘This is going in.’ Then, I hit it and it went in.”
Johnston, 31, the women’s golf coach at Portland State and the oldest remaining player in the field, was impressed by the play of Park.
"She’s good,” Johnston said. “There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it. She has a great putting stroke. She’s fun to watch. She just kind of giggles her way around. When she needed to be serious, she just put on that game face and hit shots close. You can’t afford not to make birdies against her.”
Park, whose Korean parents met in Brazil where her mother runs an embroidery factory, was a semifinalist at the 2004 WAPL, losing to 2003 champion Michelle Wie, 2 and 1.
Co-medalist Chun, 17, won the first two holes, increased her lead to 5 up through 10 holes and defeated Patty Chawalitmetha of Bellflower, Calif., 4 and 3.
"I was hitting pretty well,” said Chun, who estimates she has played less than 10 times in match play format. “My driver was in the fairway which allowed me to stick more pins but my putting wasn’t that great. The speed was a little off for me. I was missing quite a few putts that I was expecting to make.”
Chun, who will attend Stanford on a golf scholarship this fall, was a co-medalist at the 2004 Girls’ Junior. She has played in three USGA championships and been co-medalist twice.
"I made it through the first round and last year when I medaled I didn’t,” she said.
Jackie Beers of Bonaire, Ga., the 4th seed was defeated 4 and 3 by Christi Athas of Eldora, Iowa.
The second and third rounds of match play will be played Thursday with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Friday. The championship concludes with the 36-hole final on Saturday.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links is one of 10 national championships for amateurs conducted annually by the USGA. The Association also conducts the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and the U.S. Senior Open.
Kansas City, Mo. – Results of Wednesday’s first round of match play at the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links played at Swope Memorial Golf Course (6,047 yards, par 71):
Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (136) def. Patty Chawalitmetha, Bellflower, Calif. (152), 4 and 3
Renee Skidmore, Everett, Wash. (148) def. Sara Brown, Tucson, Ariz. (148), 4 and 2
Hannah Jun, San Diego, Calif. (145) def. Julia Huh, Pasadena, Md. (150), 4 and 3
Rachel Smith, Powell, Tenn. (150) def. Jenna Pearson, Wheaton, Ill. (145), 1 up
Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. (143) def.. Rachel Meikle, Leo, Ind. (151), 2 and 1
Kwan-Chih Lu, Chinese Taipei (147) def. Annie Giangrosso, Overland Park, Kan. (149), 5 and 3
Ashley Grier, Hagerstown, Md. (143) def. Alexandra Phelps, Albuquerque, N.M. (151), 2 and 1
Shannon Johnson, Sioux Falls, S.D. (146) def. Megan Godfrey, Homewood, Ill. (149), 2 and 1
Christi Athas, Eldora, Iowa (152) def. Jackie Beers, Bonaire, Ga. (141), 4 and 3
Elizabeth Dotson, White Bluff, Tenn. (148) def. Kayla Mortellaro, Phoenix, Ariz. (148), 2 and 1
Ashley Tait, Littleton, Colo. (150) def. Carmen Bandea, Duluth, Ga. (145), 4 and 2
Courtney Mahon, Kansas City, Mo. (146) def. Erica Haney, Caldwell, Idaho (150), 2 and 1
Eun Jung Lee, Korea (141) vs. Ashley Rollins, Austin, Texas (152), 1 up
Heather Rose, Chillicothe, Ohio (147) def. Amy Schmucker, Cold Spring, Minn. (148), 1 up
Karen Quinn, Australia (151) def. Selanee Henderson, Apple Valley, Calif. (144), 3 and 2
Ali Griffin, Edmond, Okla. (149) def. Amanda Mathis, Picayune, Miss. (146), 1 up
Angela Park, Torrance, Calif. (136) def. Felicia Johnston, Tigard, Ore. (152), 7 and 6
Juli Wightman, Chicopee, Mass. (148) def. Lacey Jones, Idabel, Okla. (148), 6 and 5
Kailin Downs, Bend, Ore. (145) def. Melanie DeLeon, Santa Clarita, Calif. (150), 5 and 4
Angela Oh, Maple Shade, N.J. (150) def. Jessica Soltes, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (146), 5 and 4
Ya-Ni Tseng, Chinese Taipei (152) def. Sung Lee, Tacoma, Wash. (143), 3 and 1
Mariko Shimozaki, Kihei, Hawaii (147) def. Sommer Scholl, Riverside, Calif. (149), 3 and 2
Jenny Suh, Fairfax, Va. (143) def. Tiffany Prats, Williston, Fla. (151), 5 and 3
Stephanie Ruiz, Edmond, Okla. (149) def. Amanda McCurdy, El Dorado, Ark. (146), 1 up
Marina Choi, Los Angeles, Calif. (139) def. Sarah Tiller, Nampa, Idaho (152), 19 holes
Annika Welander, Winnetka, Ill. (148) def. Christina Jones, Jensen Beach, Fla. (148), 3 and 1
Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif. (145) def. Kyu Ri Ban, Korea (150), 6 and 4
Kelly Jacques, Longmont, Colo. (150) def. Kristen Schelling, Mesa, Ariz. (146), 1 up
Tiffany Chudy, Miramar, Fla. (142) def. Angela Won, Irvine, Calif. (152), 3 and 2
RemiJin Camping, Hollywood, Fla. (149) def. Mary Jacobs, Godfrey, Ill. (147), 2 up
Tiffany Lua, Rowland Heights, Calif. (151) def. Tiffany Tavee, Gilbert, Ariz. (143), 2 and 1
Noriko Nakazaki, Hanover Park, Ill. (146) def. Lauren Espinosa, Hickory Creek, Texas (149), 2 and 1