Borgida had built a commanding 4-up lead after the morning 18, and still held a 3-up lead after 27 holes. But Koo won four of the next six holes, and grabbed his first lead of the match on the 33rd hole, when Borgida couldn’t save par after missing the green on the par-3.
On the 36th hole, a 541-yard par-5, Koo hit a 242-yard 3-iron for his second shot, with the ball stopping 10 feet from the hole. His two-putt birdie clinched the match.
A RARE DOUBLE:
Joshua Koo's sister Jasmine won the Women's Western Amateur on the same day.
But Koo missed a 3-foot birdie putt on the seventh hole of the afternoon round which would have won the hole, lost the eighth hole, then missed a 4-footer on the ninth which would have won that hole.
“I just had to keep my head down and trust the momentum would stay in my favor,” he said
When Borgida hooked his tee shot up into the sand dunes on No. 10 in the afternoon round, that was the opening that Koo had been waiting for. Koo won No. 10, won No. 11, missed a 6-foot eagle putt on No. 12 which would have won that hole, halved No. 13, then won Nos. 14 and 15, all leading up to his meteoric second shot on the 36th hole of the day to clinch the championship.
Koo, the No. 12 seed in this championship, had competed in the U.S. Junior Amateur last year, but that was his only previous match-play experience. He competed one year on the University of Washington men’s golf team, making the squad in most of the Huskies’ tournaments, but is transferring to play for Pepperdine University in the fall.
Borgida’s goal this week was to make it to match play, and he easily accomplished that by earning the No. 2 seed in this championship.
“From then on I felt I was playing with house money,” he said. “I played in this championship last year (when it was held at Gold Mountain in Bremerton, Wash.), but didn’t make it to match play, so this entire week was a great bonus. It’s been a super great experience.”
Borgida is a rising sophomore on the Washington State University men’s golf team.