Chun's Publinx run ends
Advertiser Staff and News Services
A memorable birdie surge wasn't quite enough to get Kamehameha graduate Mari Chun into the semifinals of the 2005 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship.
Jane Rah, a 14-year-old from Torrance, Calif., built a 5-up advantage over Chun after 11 holes and survived a huge scare to win their quarterfinal match, 2-up, yesterday at Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City, Mo.
Chun birdied four straight holes, starting with the 14th, to cut her deficit to one. She had a bad lie on newly planted grass after her drive on the final hole caused her second shot to be short of the green. Chun's chip for birdie missed as did her par putt, and she conceded Rah's birdie.
Chun's streak of birdie putts ranged from four to 10 feet. When she dropped the last, she "heard the crowd roar."
"I was like, 'Whoa,' " she recalled. "I was just being patient and things finally started to fall into place. When the USGA official said Jane was 5-up and the match was dormied on the 14th tee, I knew it was my last chance to keep alive."
By advancing to the quarterfinals, Chun, the co-medalist with the second-lowest qualifying score in tournament history, automatically qualifies for next year's public links — after her freshman year at Stanford.
"A lot of people said I must be disappointed," Chun said by phone from Kansas City. "Yes, I am. But I learned I could play under pressure — get four birdies in a row. It's great to know I have that capability. And to have all those people come out to watch and yell out my name, it made me feel really special. It made the whole experience memorable. I didn't feel like I lost."
Rah lost to Eun Jung Lee in the afternoon semifinals. Lee will play Tiffany Chudy in today's scheduled 36-hole final. Chudy beat Ya-Ni Tseng, who defeated Michelle Wie in last year's final.
Chun said most at the women's event were keeping a close eye on Wie at the "other" public links. Both Wie and Chun have won two of the three Hawai'i women's majors.
"It was really good for Hawai'i," Chun said. "It was nice to show what Hawai'i has."
Chun flew to Idaho last night where she will join Hawai'i's Stephanie Kono, Kimberly Kim and Kaitlen Miyajima at next week's USGA Girls Junior Championship. Hilo's Jacob Low will represent Hawai'i at the USGA Junior Amateur Championship in Massachusetts.
In other junior golf yesterday:
Kono, who finished fourth here last year, has a three-day total of 4-under 209. She is a shot ahead of Alabama's Candace Schepperle (73). Pahoa 13-year-old Kimberly Kim (72-217) is tied for eighth.
Kaimuki High School sophomore Chan Kim dropped into a share of sixth in the boys division after shooting a 1-over 72. At 3-under 210 after three rounds, Kim is six shots off the lead.
Kono birdied the first three holes yesterday, but missed a two-foot par putt on the next hole and struggled the rest of the rain-delayed round. She hopes her putting touch returns this afternoon.
"I have never been in this situation before in a national championship," Kono said, "so I'm just going to try to hit the greens and have a lot of putts for birdie."
The girls and boys in the 15-to-17 age division played one more round than the younger golfers, who ended Thursday. The boys also had to finish their third round yesterday morning because of a Thursday fog delay.
Kaneko, who will be a freshman at Sacred Hearts, shot a 1-over-par 75 to finish at 4-over 292. The winner was Maiko Wakabayashi of Japan, at 70-285. Wahiawa's Britney Choy (77-307) tied for 22nd.
Japan's Yuki Ito (69-288) and Thailand's Chinarat Phadungsil (71-288) shared the boys championship at Torrey Pines South, both finishing at even-par. Honolulu's Alex Nakao (75-300) tied for 30th and Kapa'a's Kellen Watabu (76-305) — the reigning Hawai'i State High School champion — tied for 48th.
Hilea finished at 229, 12 shots out of first. Ogawa's 54-hole total was 222, five out of first.
The American Junior Golf Association tournament is presented by Golfweek. It was played at the Flint Elks Lodge 222 Golf Club. There were 81 boys and 21 girls, ages 12 to 18, from 15 states, Canada and Chile.
