Jutanugarns advance at Women's Western Am
Ariya Jutanugarn
MONROE, Mich. (June 20, 2012) -- Match play began today at the 112th playing of the Women's Western Amateur. Ariya Jutanugarn, no. 5 in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com rankings easily won her first match over 64th seed Sarah Johnson of Wixom, Mi 7 & 6.
Jutanugarn of Bankock, Thailand took medalist honors yesterday after firing a course record 66 in the first round of qualifying and a second round 75 at the Monroe Golf & Country Club.
“I didn’t use my driver as much today,” she said. “I sacrificed distance for location and being able to hit the green on my approach shot. I hit a lot more fairways than yesterday and hit a lot more greens.”
Number 2 seed Mary Michael Maggio of Conway AK who qualified two back of Jutanugarn at 143 (72-71) defeated Emily Haas of Nicholausville, KY 5 & 4 and advanced to the second round of match play.
Jutanugarn's sister Moriya, the no. 1 ranked player in the country, qualified with 145 (74-71) taking the 7th spot. She won her first match against Milena Savich of Carmel, IN 6 & 5.
The sisters are in opposite brackets. We'll see if we have a family showdown in the finals on Saturday.
ABOUT THE Women's Western Amateur
The The Western Golf Association (WGA) has
partnered with the Women’s Western Golf
Association to administer the
Women’s Western Amateur. Held without interruption
since 1901, this event is one of the
oldest annual championships in women’s amateur
golf. The list of past champions includes
current stars and legends of the LPGA TOUR,
including Ariya Jutanugarn (2012), Stacy Lewis
(2006), Brittany Lang (2003), Grace Park (1998),
Cristie Kerr (1995) and Nancy Lopez (1976).
The Women's Western Amateur is open to amateur
women who have an up-to-date 18-hole
handicap index
that does not exceed 5.4 under the World Handicap
System. The WWGA Committee limits the
field to a
maximum of 120 contestants.
The championship begins with 36 holes of stroke-
play qualifying, after which the field is cut to
the low 32
players for match play. In the event of a tie for the
32nd position, a sudden-elimination playoff
will determine
the final match play qualifiers. Five rounds of 18-hole
matches will decide the Women's
Western Amateur
champion.
View Complete Tournament Information