Mika Liu upsets medalist at Jones/Doherty Women's Amateur
Mika Liu
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Mika Liu of Beverly Hills, Calif. was runner-up two years ago at the Jones/Doherty Women's Amateur. She's back now as a 15-year-old, and the fourth-ranked amateur in the world took a big-step on Thursday when she knocked out the medalist and No. 1 seed Samantha Smolen in the quarterfinals.
RELATED: Quarterfinals set at Jones/Doherty Women's Amateur
Liu, who won the 2014 Women's Western Amateur, defeated Smolen, a senior at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Fla, 2-and-1 and will move on to face Jamie Freedman in the semifinals.
Freedman, a freshman at Nova Southeastern University, handed England's Sophie Lamb a 3-and-2 defeat to advance into the final four.
Liu made it look easy in the first two rounds, securing a 9-and 7 win against Maria Kirby in the first round followed by a 6-and-4 victory over Julie Carmichael on Wednesday in the round-of-16.
Tara Joy-Connelly of Massachusetts handedly defeated 15-year-old Julia Matzat 6-and-5 and will square off with former San Diego State golfer Gina Clark of Murrieta, California. Clark beat Rinko Mitsunaga 3-and-2 on Thursday.
For a look at the current match play bracket, please click the link below.
Match Play Bracket
ABOUT THE Jones/Doherty Women's Amateur
The third event on the "Orange Blossom" circuit of
ladies events in Florida, with an illustrious list of past
champions
including Patty Berg, JoAnne Carner, Babe Zaharias
and
Marlene Stewart Streit, Natalie Gulbis, Michelle
McGann, Vicki
Goetze, Charley Hull and Lexi Thompson.
Tournament
consists of two divisions (Women's and Senior
Women's) playing an 18-hole qualifying for
match play flights in each division as follows:
Championship Flight of 16, First Flight of 16, Second
Flight
of 8.
View Complete Tournament Information