Nirapathpongporn, Thurman, Wie, Lucidi Advance in 2003 United States Women’s Amateur Public Links

   Palm Coast , Fla. – Medalist Virada Nirapathpongporn , of Bangkock , Thailand , and defending champion Annie Thurman , of Highland , Utah , won their first-round matches in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-72, 6,068-yard course at Ocean Hammock Golf Club.

   Michelle Wie , 13, of Honolulu , Hawaii , and reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion Becky Lucidi, 22, of Poway , Calif. , also advanced.

  Nirapathpongporn defeated Carling Cho, of San Juan Capistrano , Calif. , 3 and 2. Thurman beat Courtney Mahon , of Topeka , Kan. , 2 and 1. Wie eased past Jane Rath , of Arvilla , N.D. , 2 and 1, and Lucidi handily beat Courtney Clark , of Del Rey Oaks, Calif. , 6 and 5.

  Nirapathpongporn, as medalist, faced the last qualifier, Cho, who won the 64 th match play spot in an early-morning playoff. The match was closer than many predicted.

  “She started out par, birdie, birdie and I thought this was going to be a good match,” said Nirapathpongporn. “It was early in the match, but if she kept making birdies it could have been a problem. This was a very good match, one of the better matches I’ve played.”

  The medalist has lost to the last qualifier twice in the last four years of this championship.

  “I didn’t think I had anything to lose,” said Cho. “Just go out there and play.”

  Defending champion Thurman was pushed to the limit in defeating Mahon . She was 1 up after three holes, then down three holes at the turn.

  “I kept missing greens and making bogeys,” Thurman said.

  Thurman began to come back when she won the 10 th with a birdie and the 12 th and 13 th holes with pars. The two halved the par-5 14th with birdies before Thurman clinched the match by winning the 16 th and 17 th holes with pars.

  “I’m beat, mentally,” said Thurman. “It was a battle out there.”

  Wie also struggled and suffered two penalty strokes from wayward tee shots. She was 4 up after eight holes, and then lost the 9 th after hitting her tee shot into a water hazard to the right of the fairway. She lost the 11 th after driving into a water hazard to the left.

  “I started to play really bad,” said Wie. “I didn’t miss a green by very much. It was mostly the driver.”

  Wie won the match when she stemmed her losses while she was 2 up, halving the 12 th through the 17 th holes.

  In Friday morning’s second-round match, the 13-year-old faces last year’s spoiler, Hwanhee Lee , of Los Angeles , Calif. Lee defeated Wie in the 2002 Women’s Amateur Public Links semifinals.

   Lee advanced to this year’s second round by defeating Jessica Castle , of Plantation , Fla. , 6 and 5. She anticipates a close contest with the long-hitting Wie.

  “I played a practice round with her,” said Lee . “(The fact that) she’s hitting it longer doesn’t matter to me. The short game is my key.”

  Wie is similarly optimistic. “I know her game a lot better this year after playing with her,” Wie said. “But my game is a lot better than last year. It’s a whole new and different day, so anything can happen.”

  Lucidi easily defeated Clark , 6 and 5. “It’s always good to win your first match but today I figured out a little something in my putting,.so I got that old feeling back and I was stroking it well,” said the 2002 Women’s Amateur Champion. “That alone made my day. I have that confidence again.”

  Nirapathpongporn faces Gabby Wedding , of Wilmington , Ohio , in Friday’s second round. Thurman will play Elena Kurokawa , of Redondo Beach , Calif. Lucidi’s match is against Sunny Oh, of Las Vegas , Nev.

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

   Palm Coast , Fla. – Results of the first round of match play in the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-72, 6,068-yard course at Ocean Hammock Golf Club.

   Round of 64

Upper Half

   Gabby Wedding , Wilmington , Ohio (152) def. Allison Johnson , Amarillo , Texas (152), 3 and 1

   Brooke Tull , Georgetown , Texas (150) def. Emily Culbertson , Crestview Hills , Ky. (155), 5 and 4

   Thuhashini Selvaratnam , Sri Lanka (150) def. Tiffany Prats, Williston , Fla. (155), 5 and 4

   Christine Anast , Littleton , Colo. (157) def. Charlotte Mayorkas , Chula Vista , Calif. (147), 4 and 2

   D'Rae Ward , Weatherford , Texas (151) def. Sara Brown , Tucson , Ariz. (154), 3 and 2

   Jeanne Cho , France (148) def. Kirsten Davis , Eastham , Mass. (156), 3 and 1

   Stephanie Kono , Honolulu , Hawaii (150) def. Ashley Grier , Hagerstown , Md. (154), 4 and 3

   Tanya Dergal , Mexico (145) def. Lauren Robinson , Fayetteville , N.C. (157), 19 Holes

   Mari Chun , Pearl City , Hawaii (151) def. Cindy Skilton , Paoli , Pa. (153), 7 and 5

   Virada Nirapathpongporn , Thailand (141) def. Carling Cho, San Juan Capistrano , Calif. (158), 3 and 2

   Beth Allen , San Diego , Calif. (149) def. Leigh Klasse , St Anthony , Minn. (156), 1 up

   Alison Zimmer , Tallahassee , Fla. (155) def. Cathie Williamson , Shelby , Mont. (150), 1 up

   Annie Thurman , Highland , Utah (145) def. Courtney Mahon , Topeka , Kan. (157), 2 and 1

   Elena Kurokawa , Redondo Beach , Calif. (151) def. Candy Herrera , Apple Valley , Calif. (153), 1 up

   Tarah McNaughton , Bradenton , Fla. (149) def. Jennifer Cannon , Big Lake , Minn. (156), 4 and 2

  Miranda Smith, Hideaway, Ohio (154) def. Erin Laplaunt , Elk Grove

, Calif. (150), 3 and 2

Lower Half   

Aimee Cho, Orlando , Fla. (142) def. Lynsey Myers , Ogden , Utah (158), 7 and 6

  Leanna Wicks, Brighton , Mich. (151) def. Allison Fouch , Grand Rapids , Mich. (153), 21 Holes

   Jennifer Ackerson , Allen , Texas (156) def. Hana Kim , Los Angeles , Calif. (149), 4 and 3

   Amanda Wilson , Hilo , Hawaii (150) def. Charmaine Erasmus , South Africa (155), 5 and 4

   Mina Harigae , Monterey , Calif. (147) def. Tessa Jimenez , El Paso , Texas (157), 5 and 4

   Hannah Jun, San Diego , Calif. (151) def. Lydia Sampson , Boca Raton , Fla. (154), 3 and 2

   Amanda McCurdy , El Dorado , Ark. (148) def. Yvonne Choe , Temple City , Calif. (156), 4 and 3

  Terra Petsinger, Arvilla , N.D. (154) def. Mary Calderon , Mexico (150), 3 and 1

   Michelle Wie , Honolulu , Hawaii (144) def. Jane Rah, Torrance , Calif. (158), 2 and 1

   Hwanhee Lee , Los Angeles , Calif. (153) def. Jessica Castle , Plantation , Fla. (151), 6 and 5

   Brenda Norris , Spring Branch, Texas (156) def. Marina Choi , Los Angeles , Calif. (149), 3 and 1

   Mayumi Motoyama , Littleton , Colo. (155) def. Sookhee Baek , Bradenton , Fla. (150), 19 Holes

   Becky Lucidi , Poway , Calif. (146) def. Courtney Clark , Del Rey Oaks, Calif. (157), 6 and 5

  Sunny Oh, Las Vegas , Nev. (153) def. Kwan-Chih Lu , Chinese Taipei (151), 4 and 2

   Tina Miller , Miami , Fla. (148) def. Sarah Bellinger , Superior , Colo. (156), 3 and 1

   Courtney Pomeranz , Sanford , N.C. (150) def. Brandy Andersen , Orlando , Fla. (154), 3 and 1

Palm Coast , Fla. – Pairings for the second round of match play in the 2003 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the par-72, 6,068-yard course at Ocean Hammock Golf Club.

   Round of 32

Upper Half

   Virada Nirapathpongporn , Thailand (141) vs. Gabby Wedding , Wilmington , Ohio (152)

   Brooke Tull , Georgetown , Texas (150) vs. Thuhashini Selvaratnam , Sri Lanka (150)

   Christine Anast , Littleton , Colo. (157) vs. D'Rae Ward , Weatherford , Texas (151)

   Jeanne Cho , France (148) vs. Stephanie Kono , Honolulu , Hawaii (150)

   Tanya Dergal , Mexico (145) vs. Mari Chun , Pearl City , Hawaii (151)

   Beth Allen , San Diego , Calif. (149) vs. Alison Zimmer , Tallahassee , Fla. (155)

   Annie Thurman , Highland , Utah (145) vs. Elena Kurokawa , Redondo Beach , Calif. (151)

   Tarah McNaughton , Bradenton , Fla. (149) vs. Miranda Smith, Hideaway, Ohio (154)

  Lower Half

Aimee Cho, Orlando , Fla. (142) vs. Leanna Wicks, Brighton , Mich. (151)

   Jennifer Ackerson , Allen , Texas (156) vs. Amanda Wilson , Hilo , Hawaii (150)

   Mina Harigae , Monterey , Calif. (147) vs. Hannah Jun, San Diego , Calif. (151)

   Amanda McCurdy , El Dorado , Ark. (148) vs. Terra Petsinger, Arvilla , N.D. (154)

   Michelle Wie , Honolulu , Hawaii (144) vs. Hwanhee Lee , Los Angeles , Calif. (153)

   Brenda Norris , Spring Branch, Texas (156) vs. Mayumi Motoyama , Littleton , Colo. (155)

   Becky Lucidi , Poway , Calif. (146) vs. Sunny Oh, Las Vegas , Nev. (153)

   Tina Miller , Miami , Fla. (148) vs. Courtney Pomeranz , Sanford , N.C. (150)