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Wie, Tseng Reach Final of Women's Amateur Public Links Williamsburg, Va. – Defending champion Michelle Wie, 14, of Honolulu, Hawaii, and newcomer Ya-Ni Tseng, 15, of Chinese Taipei, will meet Saturday to decide the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,159-yard, par-72 Green Course of the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club.
Wie defeated Angela Park, 15, of Torrance, Calif., 2 and 1, in the semifinals. Tseng defeated In-Bee Park, 15, of Eustis, Fla., 1 up. Wie relaxed for the first time this week after winning her semifinal match. "Angela played superbly, but a lot of people expected a lot of me this week," said Wie. “When I got here my picture was on the program. My heart was in my lungs the whole time. I really want to win this tournament. I made it this far and I don't want to drop it in the end." Wie and Park each made six birdies in the match. Park said the largely pro-Wie gallery helped her mental attitude. "I focused better because I had so many distractions with people yelling for Michelle," said Angela Park. Wie was 2 up at the 11th hole, but Park birdied the 12th and 13th to saure the match. "I got confidence in my putting after I birdied those two holes," said Park. Wie regained a 1-up lead with a birdie at the 14th hole. Park and Wie both birdied the par-4 16th when Park hit her second shot to within six feet and Wie hit hers to within four feet of the hole. "She stuck her shot close to the hole," said Wie. "I had to stick it also. I knew I had to make it. I had to do it." Both players hit the green of the par-3 17th hole. Park three-putted from 18 feet to bogey and Wie won the hole and the match with a par. Wie said she is mentally stronger going into the final than she was last year when she won a 1-up decision over Virada Nirapathpongporn of Thailand. Nirapathpongporn went on to win the U.S. Women's Amateur two months later. "Last year I felt myself melt down when I didn't make a putt or missed a shot," she said. "This year I don't get down on myself. I feel like I can handle the pressure." Tseng said through an interpreter that she was very happy but very nervous about facing Wie in Sunday's 36-hole final. "I didn't realize I could get this far," said Tseng. "In Chinese Taipei we just started playing a match-play format last year." Her semifinal opponent, In-Bee Park, trailed throughout the match after the first hole. After roaring back to defeat medalist Brittany Lang of McKinney, Texas in a 22-hole thriller in the morning quarterfinal, Park could not pull off another miracle. "It was a tough match this morning and I was a little tired this afternoon," said Park, the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior champion. "I really concentrated well this morning and I tried to do that routine again." Tseng is bidding to become the second person from Chinese Taipei to win the Women's Amateur Public Links title. In 2001, Candie Kung took home the trophy. She now plays on the LPGA Tour. The morning's 22-hole thriller between Lang and Park ended after Park birdied five of the last six holes. Lang was 2 up going into the 17th hole when Park birdied to pull within one. On the 466-yard, par-5 18th, Lang put her second shot in a greenside bunker, some 30 yards from the hole. Park chipped to within six feet of the flagstick. Lang's bunker shot left her with an eight-foot birdie attempt but her putt horse-shoed around the hole. Park's birdie putt coasted to the bottom of the hole. Both players birdied the 19th and 20th holes, then parred the 21st . At the par-4 22nd hole Lang 's 15-foot birdie attempt slid past the hole. Park then made her eight-footer to win, 1 up. Tseng easily won her quarterfinal match against Hannah Jun of San Diego, Calif. , 7 and 5. Jun was a semifinalist at the 2002 U.S. Girls' Junior and played on the NCAA Division I women's-champion UCLA women's golf team this past year as a freshman. Wie handily defeated Jenna Pearson, of Wheaton, Ill., 5 and 4, to capture a berth in the semifinals. Angela Park eased past Nara Shin of Chula Vista, Calif., 4 and 3. The Women's Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association. Ten are strictly for amateurs. |