- USGA Photo
Kansas City, Mo. (July 15, 2005) -– Tiffany Chudy of Miramar, Fla., defeated defending champion Ya-Ni Tseng and will play Eun Jung Lee of Korea, in the 36-hole final of the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship Saturday at Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.
Chudy, 19, scored a 4-and-2 semifinal win over Tseng, 16, of Chinese Taipei. Chudy, who lost the first hole, took the lead for good with a birdie on the 4th hole. She went to 4-up with a birdie on the par-5 12th, lost a hole and then birdied the par-3 16th for the win. During the course of the match, she made five birdies and just one bogey.
Finalist Eun Jung Lee watches a tee shot in her semifinal round win. (Robert Walker/USGA)
"It’s actually gone very well,” Chudy said. “It was very steady golf, very good putting. It’s going well.”
Chudy, who was the 6th seed after stroke play, shot a 67 on the first day and talked about her intention to win.
"I definitely think I still can,” she said. “I plan on going out (Saturday) with that attitude. I’m going to bed with it. I’m ready.”
Lee, 17, beat 14-year-old Jane Rah of Torrance, Calif., 5 and 4, in the other semifinal. The Korean high school student, who spends six months a year in the U.S. with a California base, won the second hole and never lost her lead. Lee, the 5th seed in stroke play, posted five birdies, including four straight on holes 6 through 9, to take a commanding 5-up lead.
"I feel very good,” said Lee, through interpreter Jenny Suh, who played in the championship. “I am happy. I hope I will win (Saturday). I am confident I can do it.”
In the quarterfinals, Chudy, a second-team all-Southeastern Conference choice in her freshman year at Florida, defeated Amie Cochran of Torrance, Calif., a second-team All-American at UCLA and the medalist at the 2004 Women’s Amateur, in 19 holes. In other quarterfinal matches, Lee beat Elizabeth Dotson of White Bluff, Tenn., 1 up; Rah defeated co-medalist Mari Chun, 17, of Pearl City, Hawaii, 2 up, and Tseng defeated Juli Wightman of Chicopee, Mass., 3 and 1.
Quarterfinalists are exempt from qualifying for the 2006 WAPL at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colo.
Match play concludes Saturday with the 36-hole championship final which begins at 8 a.m. The second 18 holes is scheduled to start at 12:30 p.m.
The champion receives a golf medal and custody of the Robert F. Dwyer Trophy for the
ensuing year. In addition, the champion receives a 10-year exemption into the WAPL and exemptions into the next two U.S. Women’s Amateurs.
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 for Friday’s second 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):
Quarterfinal Round
Jane Rah, Torrance, Calif. (143) def. Mari Chun, Pearl City, Hawaii (136), 2 up
Eun Jung Lee, Korea (141) def. Elizabeth Dotson, White Bluff, Tenn. (148), 1 up
Ya-Ni Tseng, Chinese Taipei (152) def. Juli Wightman, Chicopee, Mass. (148), 3 and 1
Tiffany Chudy, Miramar, Fla. (142) def. Amie Cochran, Torrance, Calif. (145), 19 holes
Semifinal Round
Lee def. Rah, 5 and 4
Chudy def. Tseng, 4 and 2
Kansas City, Mo. – Pairing for Saturday’s 36-hole final 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):
8 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. – Eun Jung Lee, Korea (141) vs. Tiffany Chudy, Miramar, Fla. (142)