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Weblog
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Live Blog from the 109th U.S. Women's Amateur Championship Final
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Hole 35
And it's over. Song wins the par-3 17th hole to close out Johnson for the 109th U.S. Women's Amateur Championship. Johnson's tee shot was in the left greenside bunker. She blasted out to 27 feet and left her par putt just short. Song hit her tee shot to 30 feet and lagged it to 2 feet, which she made for the victory.
Jennifer Song, who won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links in June, becomes the second female in history to win two USGA titles in the same year. As she pointed out during her post-victory interview on the Golf Channel, she had not been born the last time it was accomplished, by Pearl Sinn in 1988.
Song wins, 3-and-1
Hole 34
Song builds her lead to 2 up with a birdie on the 16th hole. Song hit a 3-wood from 225 yards over the water hazard to 10 yards short of the green. She chipped to 6 feet and made the birdie putt. Johnson hit her tee shot into the left rough and had to lay up. From 120 yards, she hit her approach shot to 15 feet. Her birdie try curled around the hole but didn't fall. Song is now dormie.
Song, 2 up
Hole 33
Song makes a 7-footer for par to retake a 1-up lead. Johnson's approach found the greenside bunker and her third shot sailed over the green to the fringe. She almost holed her chip shot for par but missed, allowing Song to take a 1-up lead when she holed her par putt.
Song, 1 up
Hole 32
Johnson missed an opportunity to re-take the lead when her 6-foot birdie putt lipped out. Song hit her approach from 105 yards to 35 feet, which she missed.
All square
Hole 31
And we are all square through 31 holes after Johnson hit an 8-iron on the par-3 13th hole to 3 feet and made the putt for birdie. Song hit her tee shot in the fringe and putted from 25 feet to a foot.
All square
Hole 30
Johnson got another one back with a birdie on the par-5 12th hole. She knocked her third shot to 4 feet, which she converted for birdie. Song's approach just short of the green and her chip just missed the hole.
Song, 1 up
Hole 29
Back to pars. Both players were short of the green with their approach shots. Song hit her third shot to 8 feet and converted a downhill putt for par. Johnson matched from 3 feet.
Song, 2 up
Hole 28
Johnson wins her first hole since the 15th of the match this morning. Song's tee shot was well right and she punched out to 125 yards. Her third shot was 20 feet from the hole and she was unable to convert the par putt. Johnson's approach shot from the right rough rolled over the green. She chipped to 3 feet, which she made for par to win the hole.
Song, 2 up
Hole 27
Song increased her lead after a winning par on the ninth hole, the 27th of the match. Song's approach shot got caught up in the wind and stopped just above a bunker. She chipped down to 2 feet and converted for par. Johnson's drive went left into the rough and her approach found the rough left of the green. She chipped to 6 feet but was unable to convert.
Song, 3 up
Hole 26
And another hole halved with pars. Song got up and down from 15 yards short of the green, making a 4-footer to save par. Johnson was on the green in two and two-putted from 13 feet, just missing her birdie attempt.
Song, 2 up
A programming note - live coverage has now started on the Golf Channel.
Hole 25
Both get up and down for par - Johnson from 6 feet; Song from 5 feet. Halved with 3s.
Song, 2 up
Hole 24
The two players are on a par roll as the par-5 sixth was halved with 5s. Johnson's third shot from 20 yards stopped 7 feet from the hole and she missed her birdie putt. Song hit her second shot from 225 cards just left of the green. She would three-putt from the fringe, including a missed 4-footer for birdie.
Song, 2 up
Hole 23
Another hole halved with par 4s. Johnson hit a fantastic bunker shot from 165 yards to 7 feet, but missed her birdie putt to the right. Song hit her approach from 160 yards to 12 feet and also missed to the right.
Song, 2 up
Hole 22
The par-4 fourth, the 22nd of the match, was halved with pars. Song two-putted from 25 feet and Johnson two-putted from 20 feet.
Song, 2 up
Hole 21
Halved with pars. Song was just over the green and chipped to 2 feet, which was conceded. Johnson safely two-putted from 25 feet.
Song, 2 up
Hole 20
Another birdie for Song, who hit her approach to 12 feet and made the putt. Johnson was 20 feet below the hole and just missed her birdie attempt to the right.
Song has now won four of the last five holes.
Song, 2 up
Hole 19
For the first time in 95 holes of the championship, Johnson trails. After missing the green with her approach, she chipped to 12 feet but just missed her downhill par putt. Song knocked her approach to 8 feet and converted the birdie try to take her first lead of the match.
Song, 1 up
The players have returned to the course for the afternoon match. The wind has picked up, which will help with the heat but won't make the course play any easier for Johnson and Song. There are a few hundred spectators enjoying the afternoon's round, including well-known sportscaster Joe Buck, who lives in St. Louis.
Some quick stats from the morning 18 round:
Johnson hit 9 of 14 fairways; 14 of 18 greens and took 32 putts, including a pair of three-putts (14 and 18).
Song hit 9 of 14 fairways; 13 of 18 greens and had 30 putts.
Hole 18
All square heading into the lunch break. Johnson three-putted from 35 feet, missing a 4-footer for par. Song played a beautiful stroke from the left greenside bunker and made a 3-footer for par to square the match to start the afternoon 18.
All square
Hole 17
The penultimate hole of the morning 18 was halved with pars. Johnson two-putted from 30 feet. Song mishit a hybrid club off the tee but the ball bounced to 10 feet. She missed her birdie try.
Johnson, 1 up
Hole 16
Another hole for Song, who hit her second shot over the water in front of the 16th green. She chipped from the rough to 5 feet and made her birdie putt. Johnson, who laid up from intermediate cut, played her third shot to 7 feet and missed the birdie putt.
Johnson, 1 up
Hole 15
Johnson rebuilds her lead to 2 up on the par-4 15th. She hit a brillant approach from the rough to 11 feet and two-putted for par. Song's approach entered the right greenside bunker. She blasted out to 21 feet and left her par putt just short.
Johnson, 2 up
Hole 14
Song continues to mount her comeback, winning the 14th with a par. Johnson's birdie try from 35 feet above the hole went 20 feet by and she was unable to convert her par putt. Song had a 4-footer for par.
Johnson, 1 up
Hole 13
Halved with pars. Both players just missed birdie putts - Johnson from 19 feet and Song from 18 feet.
Johnson, 2 up
Hole 12
Song got another one back at the par-5 12th hole when Johnson found some trouble in the rough. With Song on the green in three, 7 feet from the hole, Johnson's third short came up short in the rough. Her fourth shot was also short and after hitting her fifth shot onto the green, she conceded Song's birdie.
Johnson, 2 up
Hole 11
Song cut the deficit to 3 down with a birdie at No. 11. Song hit an 8-iron from 150 yards to 15 feet and made the putt. Johnson was in a fairway bunker off the tee and her second shot landed 10 yards short of the green. Her chip hit the flagstick and her par was conceded.
Johnson, 3 up
Hole 10
Johnson missed her first fairway of the match but still managed to increase her lead. After Johnson hit her tee shot into a fairway bunker, she hit her second shot to 11 feet, which she converted for birdie. Song was on the green in two but missed her 27-footer for birdie.
Johnson, 4 up
Hole 9
Johnson increases her lead to 3 up when Song cannot get up and down from a greenside bunker. Johnson hit her approach shot from 120 yards to 35 feet and made a 4-footer for par. Song's approach from 150 yards entered the right greenside bunker. She narrowly missed her par putt from 12 feet.
Johnson, 3 up
Hole 8
Another hole halved with pars. Johnson two-putted from 45 feet, including a 4-footer for par. Song safely two-putted from 40 feet.
Johnson, 2 up
Hole 7
Halved with pars. Johnson just missed her birdie try from 35 feet. Song left her 12-foot birdie putt just short.
Johnson, 2 up
Hole 6
Johnson takes a 2-up lead with a birdie on the par-5 sixth. Johnson hit her second shots 10 yards short of the green. She chipped to 5 feet and made the putt. Song found trouble off the tee, hitting a tree. She took a drop near a cart path and couldn't get near the green in two. Her third shot landed 20 feet above the hole. Her birdie try burned the edge of the hole.
Johnson, 2 up
Hole 5
Johnson took the lead when she hit her approach shot to 6 feet and made the birdie putt. Song's birdie try from 14 feet just missed.
Johnson, 1 up
Hole 4
Both players had to scramble to make par. Johnson's approach from 130 yards rolled over the green and wound up in the fringe. She chipped down to 6 feet and made her par putt. Song's approach from 150 yards entered the left greenside bunker. She blasted out to 3 feet and converted the par putt.
Johnson has now gone 80 holes without trailing in the championship. An incredible statistic.
All square
Hole 3
Halved with pars. Johnson hit a hybrid to 30 feet and two-putted from there. Song hit a 4-iron to 18 feet and also two-putted.
All square
Hole 2
Halved with pars. Song hit her approach from 130 yards to 25 feet and two-putted. Johnson hit her approach from 155 yards over the green. She chipped to 4 feet and made her par putt.
All square
Hole 1
They're underway here at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis on a beautiful sunny morning. Jennifer Johnson and Jennifer Song halved the first hole with pars. Song missed a 4-foot birdie putt to the right, while Johnson two-putted from 18 feet.
All square
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Crowning A Champion
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We're less than 30 minutes away from the start of the 36-hole final at the 109th U.S. Women's Amateur. Like yesterday, it looks like it will be a scorcher out there with temperatures rising into the mid-90s. The breeze did cool things a bit on Saturday, so if we get that again today, it will make things bearable out there.
Jennifer Song is going for a rare double. The 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion is looking to join Pearl Sinn as the only female to win two USGA events in the same year. Sinn won the WAPL and Women's Amateur in 1988. Five men have won multiple USGA titles in one year, including Bob Jones (1930 U.S. Open and U.S. Amateur).
Stay tuned to the blog as we are going to provide live updates throughout the day.
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Finalists Tidbits
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A few notes from Saturday's post-semifinal press conferences on our two finalists at the 109th U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.
Jennifer Song again listened to her Dr. Bob Rotella CD. Instead of Track 9, she switched to Track 16, which talked about how Adam Scott's poise under pressure in winning The Players Championship.
"He hit his [approach] shot [to No. 18] in the hazard and then he made a great up and down [for bogey] to win the championship," she said. "Those things just give me confidence that you can eliminate those butterfly feelings and play well."
As for killing time at night, Song said she has watched a lot of movies. The night before the semifinals, she watched "Shooter" on TNT. Her mom was also casually watching the action film and because the actors were talking fast in English, she kept asking Jennifer what was going on.
"I can't do two things at one time," she told her mom. "It was really fun."
Jennifer Johnson, like Song, is very quiet on the golf course. But she says her stoic personality does not carry over to other aspects of her life.
"If you get too emotional out there," she said, "that can be your worst enemy. Off the golf course, I laugh a lot. Like I don't smile on the golf course, but I'm not like that off the course."
Johnson will be a freshman at Arizona State University in the fall, while Song is set to enter her sophomore year at the University of Southern California. The Pacific-10 Conference schools went 1-3 at this year's NCAA Division I Women's Championship, with the Sun Devils winning the title. USC finished third behind arch-rival UCLA.
Song, interesting enough, has not played anyone under the age of 18 the entire week. She beat LSU's Megan McChrystal in the first round, USC teammate Lizette Salas in round two, Auburn sophomore Cydney Clanton in the third round, UCLA sophomore Stephanie Kono in the quarterfinals and UCLA incoming freshman Tiffany Lua in the semis.
Johnson, meanwhile, defeated only one junior: 14-year-old Alexis Thompson in the semifinals, 1 up. She opened with a 7-and-6 triumph over the University of Virginia's Calle Nielson, then took out University of Florida incoming freshman Amelia Lewis, who had beaten 16-year-old medalist Danielle Kang. Johnson followed with a win over UCLA senior Sydnee Michaels and a 5-and-4 quarterfinal triumph over Auburn senior Candace Schepperle.
Song was the No. 27 seed coming out of stroke play and Johnson was seeded 32nd.
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Saturday, August 08, 2009
Thompson Post-Mortem
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After her 1-up defeat to Jennifer Johnson, Alexis Thompson talked about her short-game misgivings this week. When asked to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, she quickly said a 2. "My putting was like a 1," she said.
But Thompson's competitive spirit still carried the 2008 U.S. Girls' Junior champion to the final four. Not a bad week for a 14 year old.
"I didn't push her with birdies," said a gracious Thompson. "She just won with pars on a lot of holes. She's a very consistent player."
We did get some questions if Thompson was the youngest to reach the semifinals. Actually, Aree Song (Wongluekiet) reached the semis in 2000 at 14 years, 2 months, which is four months younger than Thompson.
Thompson actually was most disappointed about not getting to the final, which would have brought a 2010 U.S. Women's Open exemption. But nevertheless, her play this week inspired a lot of people. The gallery for her match against Johnson was the biggest of the week.
And you can bet Alexis Thompson is heavily on the radar screen for next June's Curtis Cup Match.
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Back To School
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While she was disappointed losing to Jennifer Song in the semifinals, Tiffany Lua is pretty excited about starting college in the fall at UCLA. She's particularly interested in the workout sessions that Coach Carrie Forsyth has planned.
"We'll see how I do the first week," said Lua. "I got the booklet and I don't even know what half the exercises are."
Lua has never had a physical trainer, so she is looking forward to some structure.
Before she starts school, Lua will represent the U.S. at the Junior Solheim Cup at Aurora (Ill.) Country Club in 10 days. Joining her on that 12-girl team are fellow Women's Amateur semifinalist Jennifer Johnson and Alexis Thompson, along with quarterfinalist Jessica Korda.
Lua also should be on the radar screen for the 2010 Curtis Cup Match. This was her second semifinal showing in a USGA event, having reached the final four at the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, where she lost to eventual winner and UCLA alum Tiffany Joh.
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Finalists Set
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The championship match is now set for the 109th U.S. Women's Amateur with Jennifer Johnson, 18, of La Quinta, Calif., facing 19-year-old Jennifer Song of Ann Arbor, Mich. Johnson eliminated 14-year-old Alexis Thompson, 1 up, while Song beat 18-year-old Tiffany Lua, 3 and 2.
Johnson, an incoming freshman at Arizona State, will be trying to become the first Sun Devil to win the Women's Amateur since Grace Park in 1998. Wendy Ward also won the Women's Amateur in 1994.
Song, a sophomore-to-be at the University of Southern California, is looking to become the first Trojan to win since Becky Lucidi in 2002. Jill McGill also won the title in 1993.
Song also could become the seventh player in history to win two USGA titles in the same calendar year. The only female to achieve the feat is Pearl Sinn (1988 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and Women's Amateur). Song won the WAPL in June at Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, Mass.
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Semifinal Update
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Wind definitely a factor out there today. Actually, if not for the stiff breeze, it would be quite stifling out there. But the gusts are not helping the players. Alexis Thompson seemed to be fooled by the wind direction on No. 13, as her tee shot to the par 3 bounced over the green. It led to a double-bogey 5 and a 3-up lead for Jennifer Johnson. Johnson is dormie 3 playing 16 at the moment.
Tiffany Lua has won holes 13 and 14 to make things interesting against Jennifer Song. A 4-up lead has been trimmed to 2. Both players double bogeyed 10 and each birdied 12.
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Halfway Through
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The semifinal matches have all reached the turn. A good-sized gallery is following the first match with Alexis Thompson and Jennifer Johnson. Johnson is 1 up through 10, althought Thompson missed a golden opportunity to square the match at No. 9. Her 10-foot downhill putt stayed on the high side. This one has the makings of going to the final hole, even though Johnson has yet to trail in a match this week, a span that has now reached 68 holes.
A smaller gallery is following Jennifer Song and Tiffany Lua. Song looks fiercely focused as she always is during a competition. Lua appears very relaxed despite being three holes down. She's got some work to do on the inward nine if she hopes to eliminate Song.
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Gracious Gesture
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Many of the competitors at this week's U.S. Women's Amateur will thank USGA officials, club members and staff for putting on a tremendous show. But few will do it with a hand-written note. Daffodil Sanchez, 15, of Mesa, Ariz., by way of the Philippines, thanked the USGA by writting a small note.
"Thank you for making this tournament terrific," she wrote. "This was a great experience and I hope I will be able to participate in future USGA championships."
Sanchez truly is a remarkable young woman. Her life story is amazing and heartwarming. Here is a link to read about her.
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Final Four
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Memo to our four 2009 U.S. Women's Amateur semifinalists: drink plenty of fluids today and apply lots of sunscreen. It's going to be a scorcher in St. Louis today. It's projected to be in the upper 90s with a Heat Index likely into triple digits with humidity. Perhaps it's a good thing that we only have 18 holes today.
But the forecast for Sunday's 36-hole final is not much different. It's supposed to be in the high-90s again.
Jennifer Johnson should be quite used to this. The La Quinta, Calif., resident sees temperatures in the 100s during the summer in the California desert. It just never gets this humid. And her opponent, 14-year-old Alexis Thompson, also sees plenty of sticky weather in south Florida at this time of year.
Thompson is going for history at the Women's Amateur, vying to surpass 2006 winner Kimberly Kim as the youngest champion. She would be 14 years, 5 months and 30 days. Kim was 14 years, 11 months and 21 days when she won at Pumpkin Ridge.
Also shooting for history is 19-year-old Korean-American Jennifer Song. The University of Southern California sophomore-to-be is trying to become only the second female to win multiple USGA titles in the same year. Pearl Sinn won the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links and U.S. Women's Amateur in 1988. Song won the WAPL in June.
Incidentally, both have ties to Korea. Sinn was born in Korea and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, which made her eligible for the Curtis Cup team. Song was born in Ann Arbor, Mich., but spent most of her life in Korea. Her father is a professor. Song, unlike a lot of golfers who grow up in Korea, chose to come to college in the United States rather than turn pro in her teens. She, too, seems like a very good bet for next June's USA Curtis Cup team.
Song's opponent will be 18-year-old Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif. Lua is an incoming freshman at UCLA, so she will see a lot of Song over the next few years, if both remain in school. UCLA and USC are cross-town rivals and compete in the Pacific 10 Conference.
Johnson also is headed to a Pac-10 school in the fall (Arizona State), so it could be an all-Pac-10 final. But Thompson could have a lot to say about that today.
Whatever the scenario, we should have two outstanding final-four matchups at Old Warson Country Club this morning.
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