It's Baba vs. Chun in U.S. Women's Amateur Final

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UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- The high seeds are long gone, but it's not as if the two finalists in the U.S. Women's Amateur don't have impressive credentials. 

Saki Baba, the No. 34 seed, is a 17-year-old from China who qualified for the U.S. Women's Open this year, made the cut and tied for 49th. She is No. 45 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and so far in her five matches at Chambers Bay, she's 15 under par (including concessions) for the 79 holes she's played. 

The other finalist, Monet Chun, the No. 53 seed, is a 21-year-old Canadian who will be a senior at  the University of Michigan this fall. As a junior, she won the individual championship at the Big Ten Conference tournament, earned All-American honors, and she's already won one national championship this summer -- the Canadian Women's Amateur.

Chun, who is No. 143 in the WAGRs, got off to a less-than-great start at Chambers Bay. She opened the 36-hole stroke-play qualifying on Monday with a 3-over-par 76. She hasn't been over par since then, and she's 12 under for the 87 holes she played in her matches.

She's had to go the distance, or more, three times, having won each of her first two matches 1 up and her quarterfinal match against Brianna Navarrosa (No. 45) in 19 holes. But that wasn't because Chun wasn't playing well. She had to be 4 under just to get into overtime against Navarrosa, and had to birdie the first extra hole (No. 10, 365 yards, par 4) to advance.  

On Saturday, she was 2 under in a 2&1 victory over No. 33 Annabel Wilson. Wilson got into a horrible lie on the 488-yard, par-5 first hole after flaring her second shot into the dunes, and she needed two swipes from there just to get back to civilization. So she conceded Chun's birdie putt. It was the first time Wilson trailed in a match this week. But she bounced back with a birdie at the 382-yard, par-4 second.

The third and fourth holes were halved with pars, before Chun won the par-5 sixth hole with another conceded birdie, and she went 2 up when she won the 140-yard, par-3 ninth with a birdie. Wilson got that one back right away with a birdie of her own at the 10th. Chun went 2 up when she won the par-5 13th with a birdie. She had to birdie the par-4 14th (398 yards) to halve it and remain 2 up, but she didn't lose the par-3 15th (130), even though she made a bogey there. The 16th and 17th holes were both halved with pars.

Baba's opponent in the quarterfinals, Lauren Lehigh, the No. 39 seed, shot 77 in the first round of stroke play, but she was 10 under duing her next four rounds. Against Baba, she was 1 over after five holes, and the match was all square, but Baba birdied the next four holes in a row, and won them all. After a slight hiccup -- a bogey at the 10th hole, she won the 11th with a par and the 285-yard, par-4 12th with a birdie to go 5 up on the way to a 4&3 victory.

In her semifinal against another 17-year-old, Bailey Shoemaker, No. 54, Baba remained relentless. Shoemaker, who is committed to USC for 2023, has had a banner year. She and Kaitlyn Schoeder finished second in the U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball, and she tied Baba for 49th at the U.S. Women's Open in early June. Later that month, she became the first junior player to win the Florida Women's Amateur.

But Baba birdied the first hole and won four of the next six holes, as well. She made her only bogey of the round at the par-5 eighth hole, but then won the par-3 ninth and par-5 10th with birdies, and she closed Shoemaker out, 7&6, with her fifth birdie in 12 holes.

 Chun and Baba will begin their 36-hole final on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.


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