Big East Champs Welch and Xavier to Play in NCAA Las Vegas Regional
April 30, 2024
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- Did anyone get the number of that truck?
Monet Chun was run over on Sunday in the U.S. Women's Amateur final at Chambers Bay. Saki Baba, a 17-year-old from China, got off to a fast start in the 36-hole match, winning the first hole with a par, tying the second with a birdie and then winning the next three in a row. She was 5 up on Chun after eight holes, and 7 up after 14. Chun tied Baba's birdie on the 18th hole, to keep from going 8 down, made another birdie on the 20th hole and won the 21st with a par, which reduced Baba's lead to 5 up. Baba responded by winning the next six holes in a row -- five of them with birdies -- to complete an 11&9 victory.
"Honestly, I was trying to match it up," said Chun, a 21-year-old Canadian who will start her senior year at the University of Michigan in two weeks. "But it was pretty amazing just to watch. She was going for every pin, making every putt, and that's hard to match up against."
After qualifying in two rounds of stroke play at the Women's Am with an even-par 73 on Monday and a 74 on Tuesday, Baba went into the match-play portion of the Women's Am as the No. 34 seed. She then proceeded to get better and better with each match, and as she approached the end, she was destroying everything in her path.
In the quarterfinals, Baba faced Lauren Lehigh, the No. 39 seed. Leihigh was 10 under in the four rounds she played preceding that match, but Baba dispatched her 4&3, playing 15 holes in 3 under par. She played another 17-year-old prodigy, No. 54 seed Bailey Shoemaker, in the semifinals. Shoemaker became the first junior player to win the Florida Women's Amateur in late June, not long after she made the cut at the U.S. Women's Open and tied Baba for 49th place. But at Chambers Bay, Shoemaker was no match for Baba, who made five birdies in 12 holes and won 7&6.
Baba ended up being 24 under par for her six matches, and needed only 106 holes to win them all. She was 9 under for the 27 holes she played against Chun on Sunday.
Chun came into the final having played 87 holes in 12 under. But the 2022 Big Ten individual champion bogeyed the first hole on Sunday, fell behind and never really had a chance after that. Baba was 3 under and 5 up through 12 holes. She won the 503-yard, par-5 13th with a birdie and the 14th with a par to go 7 up. Chun was 1 under for the next 14 holes after that -- but Baba was 5 under -- and the match was over.
"It's just amazing. I just can't believe it," marvelled Baba, through a translater. "I was able to play my kind of golf. Yeah, everything just went smoothly."
U.S. Women's Amateur
At Chambers Bay
Par 73, 6,561 yards
University Place, Wash.
Stroke play (the top 64 advance to match play Wednesday morning)
T1. Latanna Stone 71-65--136 (-10)
T1. Alice Ziyi Zhao 67-69--136
T1. Laney Frye 68-68--136
T4. Kelsey Bennett 69-70--139
T4. Megha Ganne 71-68--139
T4. Amari Avery 72-67--139
T7. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard 69-71--140
T7. Taglao Jeeravivitaporn 70-70--140
T7. Catherine Rao 73-67--140
T7. Casey Weidenfeld 68-72--140
T26. Taylor Ledwein 73-73--146
T53. Julia Gregg 74-75--149
T53. Vanessa Borovilos 74-75--149
T61. Julia Misemer 75-75--150 (was the last player to emerge from an 8-for-4 playoff; she went bogey/par/par)
Did not advance
Grace Curran 74-81--155
Match play
Round of 64
(64) Julia Misemer def. (1) Latanna Stone 2&1
(8) Catherine Rao def. (57) Izzy Pellot 1 up
(4) Kelsey Bennett def. (61) Jieni Li 3&1
(60) Julia Gregg def. (5) Megha Ganne 19 holes
(28) Taylor Ledwein def. (37) Lauren Zaretsky 5&4
(2) Alice Ziyi Zhao def. (63) Camryn Carreon 4&3
(50) Aneka Seumanutafa def. (15) Jensen Castle 1 up
(58) Anna Fang def. (7) Taglao Jeeravivitaporn 3&2
(3) Laney Frye def. (62) Jennifer Rosenberg 1 up
(59) Vanessa Borovilos def. (6) Amari Avery 1 up
Round of 32
(33) Annabel Wilson def. (64) Julia Misemer 4&3
(8) Catherine Rao def. (25) Sara Im 2&1
(4) Kelsey Bennett def. (29) Nika Ito 5&4
(45) Brianna Navarrosa def. (52) Rachel Heck 2&1
(60) Julia Gregg def. (28) Taylor Ledwein 2&1
(34) Saki Baba def. (2) Alice Ziyi Zhao 3&1
(50) Aneka Seumanutafa def. (18) Leigha Devine 3&2
(39) Lauren Lehigh def. (58) Anna Fang 6&5
(30) Leigh Chien def. (3) Laney Frye 2&1
(14) Rachel Kuehn def. (19) Brooke Seay 2 up
(6) Amari Avery def. (38) Megan Yang 6&5
Round of 16
(33) Wilson def. (49) Katie Li
(8) Catherine Rao def. (24) Annabelle Pancake 4&3
(45) Brianna Navarrosa def. (4) Kelsey Bennett 21 holes
(53) Monet Chun def. (60) Julia Gregg 4&3
(34) Saki Baba def. (50) Aneka Seumanutafa 3&1
(39) Lauren Lehigh def. (42) Mia Hammond 4&3
(30) Leigh Chien def. (14) Rachel Kuehn 1 up
(54) Bailey Shoemaker def. (6) Amari Avery 2 up
Quarterfinals
(33) Wilson def. (8) Rao 3&1
(53) Chun def. (45) Navarrosa 19 holes
(34) Baba def. (39) Lehigh 4&3
(54) Shoemaker def. (30) Chien 5&3
Semifinals
(53) Chun def. (33) Wilson 2&1
(34) Baba def. (54) Shoemaker 7&6
Final
(34) Baba def. (53) Chun 11&9 (36-hole final)
April 29, 2024
April 29, 2024
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