Song, Lucidi, and Nirapathpongporn Advance In 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship
Gladwyne, Pa. – Aree Song, 17, of Korea, defending champion Becky Lucidi, 22, of Poway, Calif., and Virada Nirapathpongporn, 21, of Thailand, advanced to the third round of match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,368-yard, par 71 course at Philadelphia Country Club.
Becky Lucidi blasts from a greenside bunker during her second-round match on Thursday. The defending champion advanced to the third round with a 4-and-2 win over Hsaio-Ching Lu, of Chinese Taipei. (John Mummert/USGA) But Maru Martinez, of Venezuela, played the role of giant killer when she upset Michelle Wie, of Honolulu, the 13-year-old sensation, in the opening round, 1 up.
Song, the medalist, defeated Laura Cross, of Midlothian, Texas, to advance to the third round. Earlier in the day Cross had defeated Song’s sister, Naree, ending any chance of a match-play battle between the twins.
"She beat my sister this morning,” said Aree Song . “Naree said she holed one out of the bunker and one from the rough. I knew it was going to be a tough match and I was prepared for it, but I was hitting the ball pretty well.”
Lucidi defeated Hsiao-Ching Lu, of Chinese Taipei, 4 and 2, to advance to the third round. Lu, 15, advanced to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Girls' Junior two weeks ago.
"I didn’t hit too many balls before I came here,” Lucidi said. “I worked a lot on my short game, a lot of four and five-footers. If that area of your game is good, normally you can have a pretty decent showing.”
Nirapathpongporn, a finalist at the Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in June (she lost to Wie), never let her opponents take her past the 15th hole in either of her two matches Thursday. She defeated Cecilia Barksdale, of Columbia, S.C., in the first round, 4 and 3, and eased past Ashley Hoagland, of Palmetto, Fla., 5 and 4, in her second match.
"It’s nice to get it done early,” said Nirapathpongporn. “I was out there thinking there is no mercy in this. You just go. In both matches this morning I was 4 up after ten holes.”
The largest crowd of spectators followed Wie and Martinez and Wie was favored to win. She had recorded the second lowest total in stroke-play qualifying, while Martinez was the 63rd qualifier, having survived a five-hole playoff on Wednesday to get into the match-play field. Wie had won the the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in June and, at 6 feet, she towered over her 5-foot-1 opponent. Martinez ’s short game, however, overcame her great disadvantage in power. Time and again Martinez chipped and putted to save par, while Wie struggled with her putting.
Wie three-putted from the fringe on the seventh and ninth holes, losing both and giving Martinez a 2-up lead at the turn.
The lead shrunk before another ball was struck because Martinez inadvertently committed a Rules infraction. On her way to the 10th tee she stopped at the clubhouse, then accepted a ride in an electric cart to get to the tee. The Rules sheet for competitors, which Martinez said she did not read, stated that “players shall walk at all times during a stipulated round.” The penalty for the infraction was one hole. Martinez now led Wie by only one hole before she hit from the 10th tee.
"I was very mad but I just said I’ve got to start all over again,” said Martinez . “It was my responsibility.”
Wie won the 10th hole with a conceded birdie to square the match. At the 17th hole, Martinez made a par from a bunker. She went 1 up when Wie bogeyed. At the 18th, Martinez missed the green on her second shot but floated a difficult chip shot to within 3 feet of the hole. Wie hit her 8-foot birdie attempt well past the hole, then holed a 4-footer for par. Martinez tapped in for her own par to win the match, 1 up.
"I was really happy,” said Martinez, a semifinalist at the 2002 Women's Amateur. “It was a very tough match. Michelle Wie is a very nice person and a really solid player. I like to play against people like that but it was a very tough match.”
In-Bee Park, the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior champion and the runner-up at this year's Girls' Junior, rolled through her first two matches at the Women's Amateur on Wednesday. (John Mummert/USGA) "Everything didn’t work,” said Wie. “I don’t know (about my putting). I felt as if I hit it perfectly and read it perfectly but it just didn’t go in. Maru played very well…and she deserved to win.”
Martinez lost her next match to Kwan-Chih Lu, of Chinese Taipei, 4 and 3.
One second-round match did not get completed due to darkness. Lisa Ferrero and Annie Thurman were at the 17th green when play was suspended for the day. The match was all-square.
In Friday’s third round, Aree Song faces Aimee Cho, of Orlando, Fla. Nirapathpongporn takes on Sarah Huarte, of Shingle Springs, Calif. Lucidi plays against Lu.
The Women’s Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, of which 10 are strictly for amateurs.
Photographs of the championship can be viewed at usga.org/mediaphotos.
Gladwyne, Pa. – Results of Thursday’s first and second round of match play at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at the 6,368-yard, par-71 course at Philadelphia Country Club.
First Round
Round of 64
Upper Half
Aree Song, Korea (138) def. Emily Bastel, Upper Sandusky, Ohio (153), 4 and 3
Laura Cross, Midlothian, Texas (149) def. Naree Song, Korea (150), 5 and 4
Aimee Cho, Orlando, Fla. (152) def. Elizabeth Janangelo, West Hartford, Conn. (146), 4 and 3
Irene Cho, La Habra, Calif. (146) def. Laura Shanahan-Rowe, Bedford, N.H. (151), 4 and 3
Virada Nirapathpongporn, Thailand (143) def. Cecilia Barksdale, Columbia, S.C. (152), 4 and 3
Ashley Hoagland, Palmetto, Fla. (150) def. Allison Martin, Bakersfield, Calif. (149), 3 and 2
Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif. (144) def. Leeann Fairlie, Oklahoma City, Okla. (152), 5 and 4
Whitney Wade, Glasgow, Ky. (148) def. Violeta Retamoza, Mexico (150), 2 and 1
In-Bee Park, Eustis, Fla. (142) def. Katie Connelly, Madison, Wis. (153), 2 and 1
Lindsay Hulwick, Littleton, Colo. (150) def. Beth Hermes, Dixon, Ill. (149), 2 and 1
Brittany Lang, Mckinney, Texas (145) def. Kristin Tamulis, Naples, Fla. (152), 3 and 1
Charlotte Mayorkas, Chula Vista, Calif. (148) def. Shayna Miyajima, Wailuku, Hawaii (151), 5 and 4
Lisa Meldrum, Canada (143) def. Alice Kim, Los Angeles, Calif. (153), 5 and 4
Katie Futcher, The Woodlands, Texas (149) def. Kristen White, Doylestown, Pa. (150), 21 Holes
Mallory Underwood, Montgomery, Texas (152) def. Da Sol Chung, Korea (145), 3 and 2
Ashley Knoll, The Woodlands, Texas (148) def. Courtney Wood, Brentwood, Tenn. (151), 5 and 4
Lower Half
Maru Martinez, Venezuela (153) def. Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii (140), 1 up
Kwan-Chih Lu, Chinese Taipei (150) def. Leah Hart, Australia (149), 3 and 2
Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (152) def. Avery Kiser, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (146), 2 and 1
Becky Lucidi, Poway, Calif. (147) def. Ashley Rollins, Austin, Texas (151), 5 and 3
Jane Park, Oak Valley, Calif. (143) def. Robin Burke, Houston, Texas (152), 6 and 5
Nuria Clau, Spain (149) def. Ellen Port, St Louis, Mo. (150), 1 up
Diana Ramage, Fayetteville, Ga. (152) def. Carmen Alonso, Spain (144), 2 up
Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. (151) def. Charlotte Campbell, Heathrow, Fla. (148), 3 and 2
Erica Blasberg, Corona, Calif. (142) def. Allison Fouch, Grand Rapids, Mich. (153), 6 and 5
Tania Elosegui, Spain (150) def. Mina Harigae, Monterey, Calif. (149), 4 and 2
Sarah Sasse, Lincoln, Neb. (145) def. Sally Krueger, San Francisco, Calif. (152), 2 and 1
Kailin Downs, Bend, Ore. (147) def. Ashley Gomes, Pleasanton, Calif. (151), 1 up
Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (143) def. Amy Schmucker, Cold Spring, Minn. (152), 6 and 4
Ya- Ni Tseng, Chinese Taipei (150) def. Sydney Burlison, Salinas, Calif. (149), 6 and 5
Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah (144) def. Darby Sligh, North Augusta, S.C. (152), 2 up
Lisa Ferrero, Lodi, Calif. (151) def. Katie Allison, Mahwah, N.J. (148), 19 Holes
Second Round
Round of 32
Upper Half
Aree Song, Korea (138) def. Laura Cross, Midlothian, Texas (149), 4 and 3
Aimee Cho, Orlando, Fla. (152) def. Irene Cho, La Habra, Calif. (146), 2 and 1
Virada Nirapathpongporn, Thailand (143) def. Ashley Hoagland, Palmetto, Fla. 150), 5 and 4
Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif. (144) def. Whitney Wade, Glasgow, Ky. (148), 4 and 2
In-Bee Park, Eustis, Fla. (142) def. Lindsay Hulwick, Littleton, Colo. (150), 7 and 6
Charlotte Mayorkas, Chula Vista, Calif. (148) def. Brittany Lang, Mckinney, Texas (145), 19 Holes
Lisa Meldrum, Canada (143) def. Katie Futcher, The Woodlands, Texas (149), 19 Holes
Ashley Knoll, The Woodlands, Texas (148) def. Mallory Underwood, Montgomery, Texas (152), 6 and 4
Lower Half
Kwan-Chih Lu, Chinese Taipei (150) def. Maru Martinez, Venezuela (153), 4 and 3
Becky Lucidi, Poway, Calif. (147) def. Hsiao-Ching Lu, Chinese Taipei (152), 4 and 2
Jane Park, Oak Valley, Calif. (143) def. Nuria Clau, Spain (149), 3 and 2
Diana Ramage, Fayetteville, Ga. (152) def. Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. (151), 2 up
Erica Blasberg, Corona, Calif. (142) def. Tania Elosegui, Spain (150), 3 and 2
Kailin Downs, Bend, Ore. (147) def. Sarah Sasse, Lincoln, Neb. (145), 1 up
Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (143) def. Ya-Ni Tseng, Chinese Taipei (150), 1 up
Gladwyne, Pa. – Pairings for Friday’s third round of match play at the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,368-yard, par-71 course at Philadelphia Country Club.
Round of 16
Upper Half
8:00 am Aree Song, Korea (138) vs. Aimee Cho, Orlando, Fla. (152)
8:10 am Virada Nirapathpongporn, Thailand (143) vs. Sarah Huarte, Shingle Springs, Calif. (144)
8:20 am In-Bee Park, Eustis, Fla. (142) vs. Charlotte Mayorkas, Chula Vista, Calif. (148)
8:30 am Lisa Meldrum, Canada (143) vs. Ashley Knoll, The Woodlands, Texas (148)
Lower Half
8:40 am Kwan-Chih Lu, Chinese Taipei (150) vs. Becky Lucidi, Poway, Calif. (147)
8:50 am Jane Park, Oak Valley, Calif. (143) vs. Diana Ramage, Fayetteville, Ga. (152)
9:00 am Erica Blasberg, Corona, Calif. (142) vs. Kailin Downs, Bend, Ore. (147)
9:10 am Paula Creamer, Pleasanton, Calif. (143) vs. To Be Determined
