Jutanugarns advance at Women's Western Am

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.