WIE
AND NIRAPATHPONGPORN IN FINAL OF 2003 UNITED STATES WOMEN’S AMATEUR
PUBLIC LINKS
Palm Coast, Fla.
– Thirteen-year-old Michelle
Wie, of Honolulu
, Hawaii
, and Virada
Nirapathpongporn
, 21, of Thailand
, square off in Sunday’s 36-hole
final of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links at the par-72, 6,068-yard
course at Ocean Hammock Golf Club.
In
a battle of teenagers, Wie eagled the 2 nd and birdied the 4 th ,
winning five of the first six holes to eventually defeat Aimee Cho,
19, of Orlando ,
Fla. ,
5 and 4. Nirapathpongporn had seven birdies, including three in a
row on the 12 th through the 14 th holes, to defeat Beth
Allen
, 21, of San
Diego , Calif.
, 5 and 4.
Wie’s
eagle came on the 481-yard par-5 2 nd hole when she chipped in from
25 feet. Her tee shot on the 160-yard, par-3 4 th hole landed some
8 inches from the hole, then rolled two feet past and she made the
birdie putt. Such spectacular shots thrilled a crowd of more than
300 spectators who came out to watch the young phenomenon in action.
The
long-hitting Wie consistently out-drove Cho, but used her driver on
only the four par-5 holes. “My dad and I decided it was better to
use my fairway wood and keep the ball in play,” said Wie.
Wie
carries a 4-plus wood, so named because it has the loft of a 3 wood
but the head is as small as a 4 wood. She hits the club some 260 yards
off the tee, she said.
Cho
struggled with her putter all day, and when she made a rare four-footer
on the 7 th hole, she raised her arms in relief. She briefly pulled
to within four holes of Wie when she birdied the 365-yard, par-4 9
th hole. But Wie went back to 5 up when she hit a driver and an 8-iron
on the 482-yard, par-5 10 th and easily two-putted from 10 feet for
a winning birdie.
“I
really didn’t get to putt much because she was stiffing it, making
birdies and holing out chips,” said Cho. “It’s possible to come back,
but it’s tough when she’s stiffing it to three feet and you’re just
trying to keep it in play.”
Nirapathpongporn
similarly had an easy match, throwing seven birdies at Allen
. “Maybe it’s easier to birdie
in match play, because you have to (to win holes),” said Nirapathpongporn.
“I’m
not ashamed of anything this week,” said Allen
. “I wish I could have played
better today and started off like a normal person.”
Allen
suffered a bogey at the 2 nd hole when she had to play a shot out
of a water hazard. She also bogeyed the 3 rd and 4 th holes, and was
three holes down as the match was just getting underway.
“You
can’t do that against her,” said Allen
, “she’s such a great player.”
The
final will match Wie’s tremendous length and against Nirapathpongporn’s
consistency. Both have putted well throughout this championship.
Nirapathpongporn
has played in only one final of national importance, the 2001 Trans-National,
which she won. While Wie’s golf swing and potential are highly acclaimed,
she has never won a tournament outside of Hawaii
. This will be her first final
in a national championship.
“I’m
just going to enjoy it because I advanced further this year,” said
Wie. “Even if I get one hole down, I’m not going to give up because
I came back from two holes down against Hwanhee
Lee
on Friday and that me a lot
of confidence.”
Earlier
Saturday, Wie outlasted U.S. Women’s Amateur Champion Becky Lucidi,
of Poway ,
Calif. ,
6 and 5. Nirapathpongporn defeated D’Rae Ward, of Weatherford
, Texas
, 4 and 3.
Following
the semifinal round, spectators approached Wie to sign autographs
after her match. One man handed her a phony “million-dollar bill”
to sign.
“Was
that real?” Wie asked later. “I wasn’t going to give it back to him.”
The
U.S. 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.
– Quarterfinal and semifinal results from the 2003 Women’s Amateur
Public Links Championship at the par-72, 6,068-yard course at Ocean
Hammock Golf Club.
Quarterfinal Round
UPPER
Virada Nirapathpongporn ,
Thailand
(141) def. D'Rae Ward
, Weatherford
, Texas
(151), 4 and 3.
Beth Allen
, San
Diego , Calif.
(149) def. Tarah
McNaughton
, Bradenton
, Fla.
(149), 3 and 2.
LOWER
Aimee
Cho, Orlando ,
Fla.
(142) def. Hannah
Jun, San Diego ,
Calif.
(151), 6 and 5.
Michelle Wie
, Honolulu
, Hawaii
(144) def. Becky
Lucidi
, Poway
, Calif.
(146), 6 and 5.
Semifinal
Round
UPPER
Virada
Nirapathpongporn , Thailand
(141) def. Beth
Allen
, San
Diego , Calif.
(149), 5 and 4.
LOWER
Michelle
Wie
, Honolulu
, Hawaii
(144) def. Aimee Cho, Orlando
, Fla.
(142), 5 and 4.
FINAL
Virada
Nirapathpongporn , Thailand
(141) vs. Michelle
Wie
, Honolulu
, Hawaii
(144)
