Amy Matsuoka will be a sophomore at Oregon in the fall
(SCGA Photo)
SAN GABRIEL, CA (July 31, 2017) - Playing in the event every year since its inception in 2015, Amy Matsuoka is making the most of her SCGA Women's Amateur Championship experience. The University of Oregon rising sophomore, who missed the cut at last year's event at Rancho Santa Fe GC, put together two impressive rounds Monday at San Gabriel CC to hold the overnight lead at the 3rd SCGA Women's Amateur Championship. Matsuoka, with rounds of 69 and 68, was the only participant to shoot two rounds under par on the 36-hole day.
The par-71 course, which was playing at over 6,200 yards, proved a challenge to competitors all day, with the cut line falling at 12-over par and allowing 30 competitors into Tuesday's final round of play. Despite a double bogey late in her second round of action, Matsuoka had 11 birdies on the day, including six in her final 14 holes. At 5-under par, she holds a 3-shot lead over the rest of the field, which began the day at 70 players. Matsuoka is coming off a freshman season that saw her earn three Top-10 finishes and one collegiate victory as a member of the Ducks squad.
Three shots back of Matsuoka on the leaderboard is 2015 Champion and Stanford University golfer Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, who held the outright lead after Round 1 before carding a rollercoaster round two. After a Round 1-leading 68 in the morning, she continued her hot streak into the second round, firing four straight birdies in her first five holes. Fatigue, however, would kick in for Lee, who is coming off of a seventh-place finish at the Canadian Women's Amateur Championship that wrapped up Friday. After going three shots up on the rest of the field, and seven below par, Lee would play her final 13 holes in 5-over par. Her 36-hole total of 2-under par would be good enough, however, for solo second place and a spot in the final pairing of the day Tuesday. Lee herself is coming off of a record-breaking freshman season at Stanford, in which she was named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and picked up three individual collegiate victories.
One shot behind Lee for third place is Brigitte Dunne of Camarillo and Crystal Wang of Diamond Bar, who both sit at 1-under par on the leaderboard.
Final round action will begin Tuesday morning at 7:30 a.m., and will run through 9:36 a.m, with players going off in groups of two. At the conclusion of play, the winner will be awarded The Fischer Trophy, named after Bob Fischer (1948-2017), a member of the SCGA's Board of Directors who was instrumental in the creation of the SCGA Women's Amateur Championship.
View results for SCGA Women's Amateur
ABOUT THE SCGA Women's Amateur
The SCGA Women's Amateur Championship is open
to
female amateur golfers with a USGA Handicap Index
of
9.4 and below at the time of registration.
Competitors
undergo 18 holes of stroke play qualifying play to
reach
the final field of 72 players. In the Championship,
players compete over 54 holes of stroke play with
the
top 42 plus ties advancing after 36 holes to the final
round.
View Complete Tournament Information