Lee, Thurman Advance To Final

Sunriver, Ore. – Annie Thurman, of Highland, Utah, and Hwanhee Lee, of Cerritos, Calif., both 19, meet in tomorrow’s 36-hole final match of the 2002 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,189-yard, par 71 Meadows Course of the Sunriver Resort.

Thurman overcame an early deficit to defeat Yvonne Choe, 19, of Temple City, Calif., 2 and 1. Lee was never headed in her match against gallery favorite Michelle Wie, a 12-year-old from Honolulu, Hawaii, Lee winning, 3 and 2.

Lee’s victory ended the surprising march by Wie, the youngest semifinalist in the history of any women’s amateur championship conducted by the United States Golf Association.

Lee, while some 60 to 70 yards shorter off the tee than Wie, played steadily and seldom missed a fairway or green. Wie took a 1-up advantage at the 3rd hole with a birdie, but lost the 5th to Lee’s par. The match was even at the turn, then birdied the 11th hole while Wie missed a birdie putt of some 6 feet.

Lee went 2 up at the 15th hole, a startling development because Wie had hit her tee shot into the green-side bunker on the 326-yard hole, a drive of some 315 yards.

“She’s a really good player,” said Lee of the 12-year-old. “Outhitting me doesn’t matter to me. I just play my game. To me, hitting the ball straight is important. That’s how you win.”

Thurman outlasted Choe, who had a slight advantage as a semifinalist in the 2000 U.S. Women’s Amateur. Choe took a 1-up lead with a par at the 3rd hole, then lost the advantage when Thurman birdied the 5th. Thurman won the 11th and 14th holes with pars, then closed out the match when both players birdied the par-5 17th hole.

“It was a battle out there,” said Thurman. “Yvone gets up and down from everywhere, so you know you’re going to have to make birdies out there. Today, I was just trying to make pars. It came down to whoever got a bad break or a bad bounce.”

With the 702 entries to this championship now winnowed down to two for Sunday’s final, it will be a battle between college sophomores.
Thurman goes to Oklahoma State University while Lee attends the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Both players have been all-around athletes, with Lee a former competitor in swimming and speed skating. Thurman was a point guard in basketball.

“My mom, Jin, said, ‘If you don’t win (the championship), don’t come home,” laughed Lee. “I told her 'I can win. I can do it.'”

“I’m going to get some rest and tomorrow will be exciting,” said Thurman. “It’ll be awesome. You’ll find the real champion when it’s a 36-hole final.”

The Women’s Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association. Ten are strictly for amateurs.

Saturday's Results

Sunriver, Ore.—Results of the semifinal matches of the 26th U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,189-yard, par 71 Meadows Course of the Sunriver Resort.

Semifinal

Upper Half

Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah (149) def. Yvonne Choe, Temple City, Calif. (150), 2 and 1

Lower Half

Hwanhee Lee, Long Beach, Calif. (148) def. Michelle Wie, Honolulu, Hawaii (150), 3 and 2

Pairings
Sunriver, Ore. – Pairings for the final match of the 26th U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,189-yard, par 71 Meadows Course at the Sunriver Resort.
Annie Thurman, Highland, Utah (149) vs Hwanhee Lee, Long Beach, Calif. (148)