Kentucky's New Thoroughbred: WAPL Champion Harigae

By David Shefter, USGA

Lexington, Ky. – This being horse country, perhaps it is best to describe Mina Harigae’s performance at the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in that context.

In Saturday’s scheduled 36-hole final, the 17-year-old from Monterey, Calif., attacked Kearney Hill Golf Links like a thoroughbred. It almost was like watching Secretariat. Or Seattle Slew. Or Man O’ War.

Once the starting gate opened for play, Harigae bolted out. Forget hanging back before the charge. Harigae set the pace with her putter from the first hole and maintained it. Stephany Fleet could have been the real Secretariat and still might not have chased down Harigae. Not on this day. Not when every crucial putt somehow found the hole.

Only Fleet’s gutsy late two-birdie comeback down the backstretch – holes 31 and 32 – made the 4-and-3 outcome look respectable. Harigae was that dialed in.

“I am just glad it happened today,” said Harigae, who shot the equivalent of 6-under 66 over the first 18 (with match-play concessions). “Especially this morning, I knew I had to play well because she just didn’t give me any holes.”

Mina Harigae was dialed in with her putter during Saturday's championship match. (Robert Walker/USGA)

Harigae woke up early Saturday not even realizing how big a match she was about to play. Never mind that this was the first time since she started competing in USGA events five years ago that she had reached a final.

You'd think she'd have nerves. Nah.

Do you think Citation, Seattle Slew and Sea Biscuit were worried before big races?

“I had a great night’s sleep and kind of forgot what was happening,” said a giddy Harigae. “It was like, ‘What am I doing today?’ Oh that’s right, I have a match today. And when I went out there, I felt really great.”

Right from the outset Harigae illustrated she was not going to be denied, holing 8- and 12-footers at the first and second holes for halves. Once she won the par-5 third, Harigae forced Fleet to play the role of chaser. Unfortunately, this was not Street Sense at the 2007 Derby. There would be no amazing come-from-behind heroics.

“She was pretty far ahead for most of the match and she kept rolling in those putts,” said Fleet, who had not trailed in a match since the fourth hole of her second-rounder with Glory Yang. “I just kept doing my best to be with her.”

Fleet probably felt like the field at the ’73 Belmont, where Secretariat won by a whopping 31 lengths. OK, so the final outcome Saturday wasn’t that large. But you get the picture.

It just happened to be Harigae’s time. She was a semifinalist at the 2003 and ’06 U.S. Girls’ Juniors. She was a WAPL quarterfinalist last year. She’s even been the stroke-play medalist twice. Each time, she came up empty handed.

But one got the sense it might be her year on Friday morning when she rallied from two down with two to play to beat Stephanie Kono in 19 holes, making three consecutive birdies in the process. Then she took care of Korea’s Wonjoo Choi in the semis, 2 up.

That followed a 10-birdie effort in the championship match. For the week, Harigae was a combined 18 under par, with the usual match-play concessions. She was seven under over 33 holes; not quite the 11-under effort of Tiffany Joh in the 2006 final, but nevertheless, a sterling performance.

Finally, Harigae could feel what it’s like to have a gold medal placed around her neck. She finally could take home a championship flag that wasn’t purchased in the pro shop. And she could finally call an engraver to put her name on that big trophy, following all the 30 previous worthy champions.

“It means so much to me,” said Harigae. “I worked so hard to get here and I am glad it paid off. It’s so surreal, I can’t believe it.”

Next week at the U.S. Women’s Open, Harigae probably will be announced at one of the tees as a USGA champion. She will go to the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur in the coming weeks as a national champion.

While she’s likely not to contend for the Women’s Open title, she’ll certainly be one to watch at the Girls’ Junior and Women’s Amateur.

Just think, if she could somehow win those titles. That would be remarkable.

In horse parlance, that’s amateur golf’s version of the triple crown.

David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.