San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Japanese teenager wins Augusta Women’s Amateur
Japanese teenager Tsubasa Kajitani overcame a double bogey on the 17th hole by closing with a superb par save, getting her into a playoff that she won on the first extra hole Saturday to capture the Augusta (Ga.) National Women’s Amateur.
In a fitting conclusion to a final round filled with more blunders than birdies, she won with a par when Emilia Migliaccio’s delicate chip on the 18th hole in the playoff didn’t clear the sand.
Kajitani thought she had lost the tournament, just like so many other players on a chaotic back nine, when she took four shots from the front of the 17th green for a double bogey.
She wasn’t alone in her mistakes, however, and when she used the slope to perfection on the 18th hole for a pitch that grazed the edge of the cup, she had an evenpar 72. Migliaccio closed with a 70 and already was in at 1over 217, with no idea she would have more holes to play at the home of the Masters.
In the playoff on the 18th, Migliaccio was right of the bunker near the green, leaving her a delicate shot over sand to a fast green. She left it in the bunker, and Kajitani won with beautifully judged pace from the back of the green that left her 4 feet away for the winning par.
The 17yearold was in tears when it was over, saying only to an interpreter, “I can’t describe it.”
U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Rose Zhang, a Stanford commit, suffered as much as anyone. The No. 1 player in the women’s amateur world ranking, the 17yearold Californian was leading at 1under when she hooked her tee shot on the par5 13th. She found golf balls in Rae’s Creek, none belonging to her, so it was back to the tee for her third shot.
Then, she hit her approach — her fourth shot — short and into a tributary of the creek. She pitched on, took two putts and walked off with a triplebogey 8.
“It didn’t turn out well in the end,” Zhang said. “I definitely do think that there was some wrong course management.”
She had a 12foot birdie putt on the final hole to join the playoff. She missed and closed with a 75.
Zhang and Ingrid Lindblad tied for third along with Rachel Heck (72), Emma Spitz (71) and Karen Fredgaard (73), all of whom made bogey on the 18th hole that ultimately cost them a chance in the playoff.
LPGA: Patty Tavatanakit opened a fivestroke lead on another hot and windy afternoon at the ANA Inspiration in Rancho Mirage (Riverside County), all but crushing her challengers’ hopes.
A stroke ahead after each of the first two rounds at Mission Hills, the 21yearold Thai player shot a 5under 67 in 100degree heat to reach 14under 202 in the first major championship of the year. Defending champion Mirim Lee and Ally Ewing were second at 9under in the event being played without spectators for the second time in seven months.
PGA: Jordan Spieth shot a 5under 67 to move into a tie for the lead heading into the final round of the Texas Open in San Antonio.
Spieth and Englishman Matt Wallace are at 12under after each player birdied their final two holes of the day. Wallace also posted a 67, and Charley Hoffman is alone in third at 10under after shooting a 65.
Three consecutive bogeys early on the back nine sent secondround leader Cameron Tringale to a 1over 73 that put him at 8under for the tournament. India’s Anirban Lahiri is at 7under after a 69.