L-R Mone Inami, Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko – photo IGF / PGA Tour Stan Badz.
On a day when there had been some doubt as to whether play would even be completed because of pending storms, American and world number one, Nelly Korda, has held off several strong late challenges to win the Olympic Gold medal by one shot over Japan’s Mone Inami and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.
Korda led the event from the completion of her second round of 62 and thus was a deserved winner and further assisted the, at times, controversial inclusion of golf in the Olympics given she is the current world number one.
India’s Aditi Ashok finished a very impressive 4th which, given her standing in world golf, was a case of boxing well above her weight and in the end she was unlucky to have missed a podium finish.
Korda began the day at the Kasumigaseki Country Club north of Tokyo with a three-shot lead but by the time the final group reached the 8th tee Korda, Ko and Ashok were tied at 14 under after Korda double bogeyed the 7th.
Korda quickly regained the ascendancy with birdies at the 8th and 9th and by the turn she was one ahead of Ko and two ahead of Ashok and Emily Kristine Pedersen.
It would, though, be the Japanese player, Inami who emerged as perhaps the biggest threat to Korda’s gold medal when she reeled off five birdies in six holes in her closing nine to draw level with Korda at the 17th but needing a par at the last to put the upmost pressure on the leader, she plugged in the front bunker and took bogey.
Play had halted play for 30 minutes or so when the forecast storms hit the golf course but fortunately for the event, the weather cleared and all 72 holes plus the playoff were completed.
Korda was able to safely find the green at the last and two putt for par, a task that became significantly easier when Ko hit a poor approach after a good drive and could only make par.
“Yeah, honestly amazing, it feels amazing,” said the champion. “After today Lydia was playing really well, so was Mone, they both played super well, so we were all bunched up there. It was very stressful, but I kept it together, I fought pretty hard.
“I’ve had a pretty good stretch of events, but it doesn’t mean necessarily that you’re going to play well, so you kind of try to put the expectations to the side and just go out and have a nice fresh week, enjoy the Olympic experience because it’s such a unique and fun experience now doing it for the first time.
“You play for more than just yourself, you also play for your country. So safe to say I really enjoyed my first Olympic experience.”
Korda was reluctant and very cautious not to compare wins she has had in the past with a golf medal victory.
“I think every win is special in its own way, I wouldn’t say one win is more special or one win is bigger. Each win has a significant meaning to me, something that I’ve gone through or whatnot.
“But I wouldn’t say — I mean obviously it’s amazing to be a gold medalist, to even just be an Olympian is and to represent your country, I mean you have to be the top of the top to come to the games. So but I wouldn’t say one win is more special than the other because they all are special.”
Korda and her medal – photo Stan Badz IGF / PGA Tour
In a playoff for second and third, Ko found the fairway bunker from the tee and could only make bogey while Inami safely found the green and two putted for the silver medal with the bronze going to Ko.
“I felt like I played really solid today,” said Ko. “There were a bunch of us at tied third and with this beautiful weather I think you’ve got to expect that everyone’s going to play well so I think I tried to play my best out there, have fun.
“Before I teed off today Sean (Foley) my coach said something along the lines of, what’s meant to be is going to be. So I think that’s what I tried to think today. The Olympics is a very special occasion where obviously, yes, we play for our country on a daily basis, but we’re really playing for them, this means so much then just for us.
“So yeah it’s a huge honor to be able to bring two medals for New Zealand and to be a two-time medalist in the last couple games. It’s a very, it’s safe to say I’ve really enjoyed my two times at the Olympics.”
Hannah Green began the final round tied on the same score as Ko but and outward nine of 38 all but destroyed her hopes of medal contention. To her credit, however, the West Australian played her opening seven holes of her inward nine in 6 under to get within one shot of a possible bronze medal but a bogey at the last would see her finish a very respectable 5th.
“I mean obviously at the start of the day I was trying to win a gold medal and my first couple hours on the golf course things weren’t going well and I was scrambling really hard,” said Green.
“So I think to be even in contention come the last couple holes really proud of myself for how I hung in there and didn’t get too down on myself and tried to think of the bigger picture I guess and being so lucky that we even have an Olympics to compete in.”
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The weather halted play for 30 minutes or so late in the round. – photo IGF PGA Tour
Important week for Adam Scott in Greensboro
Adam Scott – his PGA Tour season may well rest on this week’s performance – file photo USGA
This week’s Wyndham Championship at the Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, North Carolina brings the regular season of the 2021 PGA Tour to a conclusion with the three FedEx Cup playoffs to follow over the next three weeks.
Players who aren’t already there or a close to the top 125 will be looking for a big week to consolidate their position ahead of next week’s Northern Trust Championship in New Jersey and a chance to secure some of the significant monies available via the playoffs.
Six Australians will take their place in this week’s field and for some their performance will determine as to whether they can keep their hopes alive of advancing through the Playoffs.
Of the Australians playing this week, Matt Jones is the best placed of the Australians on the FedEx Cup table the two-time Australian Open Champion currently in 36th place.
While he has no concern about advancing through to the Northern Trust Championship and the BMW Championship the following week he will be keen for a big week in Greensboro to open the possibility of making it to the Tour Championship in three weeks’ time.
Jones does not enjoy a good record at this event, other than a 5th place finish in 2013, but that aside he has missed seven of ten cuts and his form since the win at the Honda earlier in the year leaves little hope of a lot of improvement at the Sedgefield Country Club.
Perhaps the most interesting of this week’s Australian participants is Adam Scott who is currently 121st on the FedEx Cup list and needing to be inside the top 125 by week’s end it is important he at least makes it to the weekend.
Scott has played the tournament on only three occasions throughout his lengthy career, the last of those coming in 2015 when finishing 63rd. Clearly he is here to see if he can advance to New Jersey next week.
Scott has hardly set the world on fire in 2021 but he has made all but one of 14 cuts and, although only one of them has resulted in a top ten, he knows he needs to improve sharply this week and is aware that things can turn around quickly.
“Yeah, it would be good to have my best week of the year, I would have to say,” said Scott. “That’s what I’m looking for this week. Certainly, coming here hoping to win, but to play some good golf and kind of jump up in the FedExCup would be fantastic going into next week.
Obviously, it’s a course I’m also very fond of, and you just never know, that’s the beauty of the Playoffs. If you get hot at the right time, you can run all the way through to Atlanta and that’s my only strategy this time around.”
“I’ve just heard good reports over the last few years about Sedgefield, and the work they’ve done on the greens looks great, he added when asked of his thoughts on the course and what he has heard since he was last here six years ago.
“It’s a classic golf course and I’ve enjoyed a couple days out there so far. It’s a good test. Definitely, want to be playing from the short grass this week and hitting plenty of greens. It will be my focus. And I like the way I’m playing. I’m not liking the way I’m scoring, but I’m looking to change that this week.
“I think it’s been frustrating and it’s just been the accumulation, I think, of the restrictions and what that’s left me not being able to do, whether it’s practice or train or the many changes this year. Very limited time with my coach. I ended up not even working with my trainer this year because it was just impossible to actually get together.
“A lot of time away from the family because I ended up coming in blocks to the States and that certainly had some effect, for sure. And then just the biggest mistake I think I made was not lowering my expectations on the golf course at the start of the year and thinking I was just going to play like a champion the whole time, even though nothing was really operating at the level I normally do.
“So I’m trying to give myself a bit more of a mental break with my expectations at the moment. I’m actually playing okay, but I think a little bit of fatigue has certainly been in there. I just need to let go a little bit.”
Victorian, Cameron Percy, is another close to the bubble and need an exceptional week if he is to force his way into the top 125.
Percy is currently 133rd on the list but in eight starts at the event has a best of 33rd so he too will need a week boxing well above his weight if he is to be on his way to Liberty National next week.
Aaron Baddeley, Rhein Gibson and John Senden are the other Australians in the field.
Second round recovery advances Dobbelaar at US Amateur
Louis Dobbelaar finishing off his second round on Wednesday morning – photo Chris Keane USGA
Queenslander, Louis Dobbelaar, has staged an impressive recovery from his opening round of 76 at the US Amateur Championship in Oakmont in Pennsylvania and has played his way into the Matchplay field of 64.
The Strokeplay qualifying was forced into day three after stormy weather forced play to be delayed for over four hours on Tuesday with half the field still required to finish their rounds.
Dobbelaar still needed to improve on his overnight standing when he returned on Wednesday morning to the Longue Vue Club, one of two venues being used.
A second round of 66 would eventually see him finishing 45th in the qualifying rounds and, with that over, he can now focus on his opening round match-up against American Ross Steelman at the host venue, the Oakmont Country Club.
Steelman attends Georgia Tech and in his opening round on Monday recorded a homeward nine of 30 in his round of 66 at the Longue Vue Club so Dobbelaar will know he is in for a fight in his opening clash.
He finished one shot clear of what would become a 12 man playoff for just one spot.
Dobbelaar will look to continue an excellent run of events in the US over their summer having won the Dogwood Invitational and the North and South Amateur in recent weeks and his second round today is a better reflection on his capabilities than was the case on Monday when his round got away from him during the middle stages.
Australia’s other two hopefuls in the field of more than 300 looking to finish inside the top 64 to advance to the knock-out phase, were eliminated.
Former US Mid-Amateur Champion, Lukas Michel of Melbourne finished seven shots from the required mark while Tony Chen was another three shots further back.
Final hole double bogey costs Cameron Smith dearly in Memphis
The eventual winner after a playoff- Abraham Ancer photo Getty Images
A disastrous double bogey 6 at the final hole of the WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis Tennessee has cost Australian Cameron Smith the chance of a third individual PGA Tour title.
Smith, who narrowly missed out on a playoff for the bronze medal at last week’s Olympics, led briefly in the back nine and was tied for the lead with three others when he reached the 18th tee of today’s final round at the TPC Southwind. A wild drive saw him taking two more shots to find the fairway although still 100 yards from the hole at the par 4.
He failed to get up and down from there and finished the day with a round of 72 and, when he had, he was two behind what would become a playoff between Sam Burns, Hideki Matsuyama and Abraham Ancer, Burns having earlier closed with a round of 64 and Matsuyama 63.
“Yeah, there was a little gap up there,” said Smith in trying to describe the gamble he took on the 18th.
“I had to hit like a medium flight draw and I tried to hit it. I mean, I wanted to win, I didn’t want to chip it out and leave my chances in Harry’s hands. He was still 16 under at the time. I wanted to make sure I had a good look at birdie and I just didn’t execute it.
“I’m hitting it good but I was really disappointed with how I hit my driver on the weekend. A week at home working on the driver, especially for the Playoffs, I think three tough driving courses, I need to get that in shape. The rest of the game feels really good.
“I’m looking forward to it. We’ve been pretty busy lately and it’s been hot as well, so it takes it out of you, especially being in contention as well, mentally draining. Nice week off on the boat, I’ll be happy.”
Cameron Smith checking his options at the last – photo Getty Images
Harris English, a winner at this venue back in 2013, led the event by two over Smith heading into the final round and was challenged early in his round by Smith who closed within one through 7 holes.
No sooner had Smith closed the gap however than he dropped shots at the 8th, 9th and 11th holes to trail English by five shots at that point.
Things would change dramatically over the next few holes however with Smith adding birdies at the 12th and 14th while English imploded with double bogeys at the 11th and 14th and at that point five players were tied at 16 under.
Smith had led briefly at 17 under par but bogeyed the 15th and English the 16th and when Smith stumbled at the 18th it left Burns, Matsuyama and Abraham Ancer tied for the lead and headed for a playoff.
The winner was 2018 Australian Open winner and International Presidents Cup team member, Abraham Ancer of Mexico, who birdied the second hole of the playoff to win his first PGA Tour title.
Ancer reaches his highest ever world golf ranking and will find himself just outside the top ten when the rankings are revised later today.
“Man, it’s going to take a while,” said Ancer when trying to take it all in. “I was trying to kind of let it all sink in there in the ceremony on 18. It was really surreal, something that I’ve been working for since I was a little kid.
“Definitely a dream, a dream come true to win on the PGA TOUR, and to do it on a big stage like a WGC event was really, really cool, man. It was a crazy round. I thought I was going to need a really low one to have a chance today, but it just worked out that it was like pretty much survival mode on the back nine.”
“I’ve done enough in other events to win and it just didn’t go my way. So I just stayed patient, I didn’t change anything. I just try to get better at how I play golf and keep my head cool.
“There’s obviously some rough weeks that can kind of throw you off and maybe you start looking at some things that you shouldn’t, but I learned that the first year when I was out here and I played terrible golf and I’m pretty thankful now that I learned all those lessons right away.”
Adam Scott, Lucas Herbert and Marc Leishman were the next best of the Australians when they tied for 36th.
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Louis Dobbelaar heads Australian hopes at US Amateur Championship
Louis Dobbelaar playing well during the US summer – file photo
Three Australians are set to tee it up in the 36 stroke-play phase of the US Amateur Championship at the Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont in Pennsylvania when the most significant event in men’s amateur golf gets underway on Monday August 8th.
Brisbane’s Louis Dobbelaar, Victorian Luka Michel and Kuangyu (Tony) Chen will all get the chance to fly the Australian flag as they look to emulate the deeds of previous Australian winners of the event, Nick Flanagan (2003) and Curtis Luck (2016).
Dobbelaar is by some way the highest world ranked amateur of the trio although just to have made it into this week’s field requires some serious credentials.
Still only 19 years of age the Brisbane golfer, Dobbelaar, is in the middle of a successful run of events in the summer of amateur events in the USA having won the Dogwood Invitational in Atlanta and the North and South Amateur at Pinehurst.
A winner of the New Zealand Amateur Championship at the age of just 15 and twice the Queensland Amateur Champion, Dobbelaar is in the field as a result of his world ranking and given his current form his performance this week will be watched with interest.
Michel, 27, became the first international player to win the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 2019 when he defeated Joseph Deraney in the 36-hole final at Colorado Golf Club.
He went on to play in the U.S. Open and the Masters in 2020. Michel, who earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Melbourne, won the Australian Masters of the Amateurs on Jan. 8 and tied for third in the Riversdale Cup on March 7. In 2019, he tied for 21st in the Australian Open.
Chen was born in Shenzhen in China and moved to Australia at the age of 8 where he became a citizen. He attended the IMG Academy in the US before accepting a scholarship to the University of California Berkeley.
Chen recently won the Silverado Amateur Championship in California.
The demanding Oakmont Country Club layout has been the venue for several US Opens, the most recent being in 2016 when Dustin Johnson won by three shots.
The leading 64 qualifiers at the completion of 36 holes get to match off in head to head encounters before the final on Sunday.
Nelly Korda holds off challengers for Olympic gold
L-R Mone Inami, Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko – photo IGF / PGA Tour Stan Badz.
On a day when there had been some doubt as to whether play would even be completed because of pending storms, American and world number one, Nelly Korda, has held off several strong late challenges to win the Olympic Gold medal by one shot over Japan’s Mone Inami and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko.
Korda led the event from the completion of her second round of 62 and thus was a deserved winner and further assisted the, at times, controversial inclusion of golf in the Olympics given she is the current world number one.
India’s Aditi Ashok finished a very impressive 4th which, given her standing in world golf, was a case of boxing well above her weight and in the end she was unlucky to have missed a podium finish.
Korda began the day at the Kasumigaseki Country Club north of Tokyo with a three-shot lead but by the time the final group reached the 8th tee Korda, Ko and Ashok were tied at 14 under after Korda double bogeyed the 7th.
Korda quickly regained the ascendancy with birdies at the 8th and 9th and by the turn she was one ahead of Ko and two ahead of Ashok and Emily Kristine Pedersen.
It would, though, be the Japanese player, Inami who emerged as perhaps the biggest threat to Korda’s gold medal when she reeled off five birdies in six holes in her closing nine to draw level with Korda at the 17th but needing a par at the last to put the upmost pressure on the leader, she plugged in the front bunker and took bogey.
Play had halted play for 30 minutes or so when the forecast storms hit the golf course but fortunately for the event, the weather cleared and all 72 holes plus the playoff were completed.
Korda was able to safely find the green at the last and two putt for par, a task that became significantly easier when Ko hit a poor approach after a good drive and could only make par.
“Yeah, honestly amazing, it feels amazing,” said the champion. “After today Lydia was playing really well, so was Mone, they both played super well, so we were all bunched up there. It was very stressful, but I kept it together, I fought pretty hard.
“I’ve had a pretty good stretch of events, but it doesn’t mean necessarily that you’re going to play well, so you kind of try to put the expectations to the side and just go out and have a nice fresh week, enjoy the Olympic experience because it’s such a unique and fun experience now doing it for the first time.
“You play for more than just yourself, you also play for your country. So safe to say I really enjoyed my first Olympic experience.”
Korda was reluctant and very cautious not to compare wins she has had in the past with a golf medal victory.
“I think every win is special in its own way, I wouldn’t say one win is more special or one win is bigger. Each win has a significant meaning to me, something that I’ve gone through or whatnot.
“But I wouldn’t say — I mean obviously it’s amazing to be a gold medalist, to even just be an Olympian is and to represent your country, I mean you have to be the top of the top to come to the games. So but I wouldn’t say one win is more special than the other because they all are special.”
Korda and her medal – photo Stan Badz IGF / PGA Tour
In a playoff for second and third, Ko found the fairway bunker from the tee and could only make bogey while Inami safely found the green and two putted for the silver medal with the bronze going to Ko.
“I felt like I played really solid today,” said Ko. “There were a bunch of us at tied third and with this beautiful weather I think you’ve got to expect that everyone’s going to play well so I think I tried to play my best out there, have fun.
“Before I teed off today Sean (Foley) my coach said something along the lines of, what’s meant to be is going to be. So I think that’s what I tried to think today. The Olympics is a very special occasion where obviously, yes, we play for our country on a daily basis, but we’re really playing for them, this means so much then just for us.
“So yeah it’s a huge honor to be able to bring two medals for New Zealand and to be a two-time medalist in the last couple games. It’s a very, it’s safe to say I’ve really enjoyed my two times at the Olympics.”
Hannah Green began the final round tied on the same score as Ko but and outward nine of 38 all but destroyed her hopes of medal contention. To her credit, however, the West Australian played her opening seven holes of her inward nine in 6 under to get within one shot of a possible bronze medal but a bogey at the last would see her finish a very respectable 5th.
“I mean obviously at the start of the day I was trying to win a gold medal and my first couple hours on the golf course things weren’t going well and I was scrambling really hard,” said Green.
“So I think to be even in contention come the last couple holes really proud of myself for how I hung in there and didn’t get too down on myself and tried to think of the bigger picture I guess and being so lucky that we even have an Olympics to compete in.”
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The weather halted play for 30 minutes or so late in the round. – photo IGF PGA Tour
Hot putter sweeps Cameron Smith into contention in Memphis
Cameron Smith – file photo
Cameron Smith has quickly put behind him the disappointment of narrowly missing a medal at last week’s Olympics by adding a second round of 62 at the World Golf Championship FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis.
The 8 under par effort swept him from 13th overnight to a share of second place with Abraham Ancer and two behind the leader, Harrison English.
Smith’s putting today was sublime, recording just 18 putts and he was delighted to have produced such an amazing stat.
“Yeah, it’s a pretty cool little title I guess to have next to your name. Like I said, I was actually hitting really nice golf shots as well that ended up just going off the green and made a few of them, and had a chip-in there for par on 4, which kept the round going. Yeah, was seeing the putts really good today.
“I think the last couple of months has been really nice. Probably haven’t had the results that I wished for. After the win at Zurich, I felt like I’ve continued to play really nice golf and really haven’t got the most out of my game, so a day like today I think was probably a little bit overdue, but it’s nice to know it’s still in me.”
The leader, English is a previous winner at the TPC Southwind having won the Fed Ex St Jude Classic in 2013. He was a winner just two events ago on the PGA Tour when winning the Travelers Championship in Hartford.
Marc Leishman was unable to follow up his opening round of 65 with anything of note and after his round of 71 today he finds himself in 25th place and nine shots from the lead.
Brad Kennedy is the next best of the Australians in 30th place along with Matt Jones.
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Queensland’s Emily Mahar bows out at US Women’s Am
Emily Mahar in action in today’s quarter -final – photo USGA Darren Carroll
Queenslander Emily Mahar has bowed out of the US Women’s Amateur Championship at the Westchester Country Club in New York after a quarter final loss to American Jensen Castle.
Mahar went 1 down early after her opponent birdied their first hole and although she drew level with a birdie of her own at the 2nd it was one way traffic from there with Castle going on to win at the 13th by a 6&5 margin.
It ends a good run for Mahar who has attended college at Virginia Tech following her early game development as a member of the Keperra Country Club in Brisbane.
The growth in Mahar’s game since moving to the US is highlighted by her progress this week and that she recently qualified for and played the US Women’s Open.
Mahar returns to Virginia Tech where she is due to complete her senior year.
Ko and Green’s Olympic medal hopes at mercy of weather
Australia’s Hannah Green – currently tied for third ahead – photo Stan Badz PGA Tour / IGF
Australia’s Hannah Green and New Zealander, Lydia Ko, find themselves in at least bronze medal contention through 54 holes of the Olympic Women’s event in Saitama north of Tokyo but their fate in securing a medal of any colour may well be determined by the potentially stormy weather due on Saturday.
American Nelly Korda leads by three shots over India’s Aditi Ashok, the current world number one adding a third round of 69 to have her four shot overnight lead reduced by one.
Ko was round in 66 today while Green produced a 4 under round of 67, the pair tied in 3rd position alongside Japan’s Mone Inami and Denmark’s Emily Kristine Pedersen, that group five shots from Korda.
If weather does cause the final round to be abandoned then the four players tied for 3rd will receive bronze medals.
Green recovered from an early bogey at the 4th to record four birdies before the turn and added another at the 15th to reach 10 under par for the tournament.
It may yet be however that it will be the 12 foot par saving putt at the last after finding the rough and coming up short with her approach that will play a crucial role in whether or not she becomes Australia’s first Olympic Games medal winner.
“I’m very happy to have finished with a par after not hitting a good tee shot,” said Green. “From what I have heard we might be able to have a 72 hole tournament so it was a big moment.” she added referring to the par saving putt.
Lydia Ko – can she equal or better her Rio silver medal? photo Stan Badz PGA Tour/ IGF
Ko produced a mistake free 5 under 66, the second-best round of the day after Daniela Darquea’s 65, and is well placed to equal if not improve on her silver medal at the Rio Olympics.
“To me like where I am today,” said Ko, “I’m just more having fingers toes and everything crossed to say that the weather gods will allow to us play tomorrow.
“I feel like the Olympics itself has gone through so much and Tokyo’s gone through so much to host us and have the Olympics on and I think for it to be cut short I think it would just, I feel like it will sum up the whole situation, but I hope like we get to play another golf round and I think it will be so exciting.”
“I would love to have one more chance to be hopefully on the podium. Because I’m not just playing for myself but I’m playing for my country and even though I do that on a daily basis I think it’s a very different feel. So I would love to play. Sometimes there are going to be days I’m like, man, I don’t want to play in this heat, but in this situation I would love to play.
“Rory Sabbatini shot 10-under on the last day last week to become the silver medalist. Sometimes I just don’t think you can count yourself out of it and if you feel like you’re playing good golf, you’re going to have opportunities and at points when you’re playing from behind that you know that really it’s only gold, silver and bronze, maybe I end up attacking pins that I normally wouldn’t in any other situation. So I think it changes the tactics, but for me I’m just praying to the weather gods that we get to play.”
While Korda is the clear favourite to take out the gold medal, it should be remembered, and as Ko suggested, that Rory Sabbatini began last Sunday’s final round seven shots behind Xander Schauffele and failed to catch him by just one.
Minjee Lee is the other Australasian in the event but perhaps surprisingly struggled to a round of 73 to be in a share of 34th place.
If play is abandoned tomorrow then Korda wins the gold medal but she is planning on playing 72 holes.
“My mindset is 72 holes so I’m sticking to that. I’m trying to give myself opportunities and make them, that’s all. I’m trying to stay as present as possible and see how it goes.”
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Marc Leishman reunites with parents after 18 months
Marc Leishman – file photo
It was a nice round that got him right in the thick of it despite having traveled across 14 time zones.
But Marc Leishman’s 5-under 65 in the first round of the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, two back of leader Harris English, wasn’t the story. Not in and of itself.
More significant was that Paul Leishman, his father, identifiable by the sponsor logos on his shirt and cap that matched his son’s, watched it all. Pelita, his mother, took in about nine holes with Audrey Leishman, Marc’s wife.
His parents hadn’t seen him in almost a year and a half amid the pandemic, but after several written appeals the Australian government allowed them to leave for America and what became a tearful reunion at the Memphis airport on Monday night …. Read more
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Brisbane’s Emily Mahar reaches quarter finals at US Women’s Am
Emily Mahar in action today – photo Darren Carroll USGA
Brisbane’s Emily Mahar has advanced to the quarter finals of the US Women’s Amateur Championship at the Westchester Country Club in Rye, north of New York City.
The 22 year old, rising senior at Virginia Tech, won her morning round of 32 match against Sophie Guo of China after being 2 down with just four to play before playing her last four holes in 2 under to win with one final birdie at the last.
Her afternoon encounter against Rianne Mikhaela Malixi of the Philippines was equally as tense and although never behind in her match, Mahar was required to produce dramatics at the last to win 1 up after being 3 up with three to play.
Mahar holed a lengthy chip from off the green at the 18th for birdie to hold off the fast finishing Malixi who, at the age of 14, was the second youngest player in the event.
“I had the exact same shot this morning in my first match,” said Mahar referring to her dramatic finish.
“So I mean [my caddie] walked up to me and she said, ‘At least you know how this one goes,’ even though this morning it was for eagle and this time it was to close it out. I just felt really confident in that spot on the green and knew that at worst I would get up and down; went in.”
“It’s really, really awesome,” she added referring to the position she finds herself in. “I’ve played three — two or three other Ams and this is the furthest I’ve ever made it. Each day, each round from here is another win, so, yeah.”
The recently married Mahar had her husband Jackson caddying for her as he had when she qualified and played the US Open Championship in June.
Mahar reached the round of 32 in last year’s US Women’s Amateur and is playing her third US Women’s Amateur in addition to her US Women’s Open appearance so she is developing significant experience at this level.
Tomorrow Mahar takes on Jensen Castle of South Carolina in an attempt to advance to the semi-finals. Mahar is ranked considerably higher than the 20 year old Castle in terms of world ranking.
In the morning round of 32, Sydney’s Grace Kim, the only other Australian to make it to the second round, was bundled out of the event by a surprising margin when losing 7&6 to Rachel Heck of Texas.
Grace Kim – suffered a heavy loss in her round of 32 match – photo USGA