Song Has Every Reason To Smile After Winning WAPL

By David Shefter, USGA

Devens, Mass. – The wide smile that beamed across Jennifer Song’s face could have extended from Red Tail Golf Club back to Korea.

For three years, Song had waited for a moment like this. Through the hardship of losing last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links final to the three-putt double bogey that cost the 19-year-old University of Southern California sophomore the NCAA Division I women’s individual title last month.

 All week, Song kept telling herself not to smile until the job was done. She did not want to get too ahead of herself. Just be focused on each shot and hopefully the reward would come.

On a glorious Saturday afternoon in north-central Massachusetts, Song finally had the trophy. The gold medal was placed around her neck by WAPL Championship Chairman Stacia Collins and it was time to be emotional. Her 7-and-6 victory over 17-year-old Kimberly Kim of Hilo, Hawaii, was complete.

Jennifer Song hit 25 of 30 greens in the championship match. (John Mummert/USGA)

As Song began thanking her father/caddie Museok, and her mom back home in Korea – Song was born in Michigan but spent most of her childhood in Korea before returning to the U.S. last fall to attend USC – the words struggled to come out. The normally stoic Song was becoming emotional.

“I was so happy, I just lost my words,” said Song.

Song, whose last title came at the 2006 Asia-Pacific Junior Championship, admitted to being depressed after letting the NCAA individual title get away. She lost by a stroke to Purdue’s Maria Hernandez and concluded a three-tournament stretch of runner-up finishes (Pacific 10 Conference Championship, NCAA West Regionals and NCAAs). She openly wondered if she had the mental fortitude to finish the job.

Teammate Belen Mozo of Spain, a semifinalist in last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, offered words of encouragement, even when Song continued to second-guess.

“I told her that I don’t know how to win,” said Song, “and she said, ‘Oh you do, you’ll be so big in the future, you don’t even know.’ ”

Those same positive words kept being repeated by Song’s father with each passing round. Song’s confidence grew with each victory, including a tough 1-up decision against local favorite Brittany Altomare in the round of 16.

And in the final against Kim, Song might have played her best golf. She hit 25 of 30 greens and 23 of 23 fairways. She was the equivalent of nine under par, with match-play concessions, and recorded just one bogey in 30 holes.

“I was telling my caddie’s dad that she was playing robotic,” said Kim, the 2006 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion. “He didn’t watch my [morning 18]. I was like, ‘Do you feel my pain now?’ ”

This was not the first meeting between Song and Kim. Two years ago, Kim posted a 21-hole win in the quarterfinals at the U.S. Women’s Amateur. That was a stinging defeat. So was the 2-and-1 setback to Tiffany Joh in last year’s WAPL final, a match that Song had under control until the final few holes.

“Obviously, this will bring a little bit of confidence to me,” said Song, who was named NCAA Freshman of the Year by the Golf Coaches Association of America. “[It showed] I could control my mental mind and that I’m strong enough to control what I do, especially my attitude. And I’m really excited for the upcoming tournaments.”

Song will have a week to savor this title before competing in her third U.S. Women’s Open July 9-12 at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. She’ll also play two Duramed Futures Tour events on the East Coast before going to St. Louis in early August for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

But on Saturday night, she planned a little celebration with her dad and making a phone call home to her mom in Korea.

“First I’m going to go over to the hotel and take a nice shower, maybe go to a nice restaurant and enjoy the afternoon with my dad,” she said. “Hopefully we’ll talk about something other than golf.”

And she’ll probably do it with a smile.

Championship Notes: Kim will also be headed to the U.S. Women’s Open at Saucon Valley C.C., and plans to compete in the U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur…Both players are likely to be on the radar for next June’s Curtis Cup Match to be held at Essex Country Club in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass. “It’s like a dream,” said Kim, a member of the victorious 2008 USA team. “That’s like the funnest tournament.” … Song is eligible for the squad since she has dual citizenship (U.S. and Korea)…Song said teammates and USC coaches had been sending text messages all week, but she never read them while at Red Tail G.C. “I leave my cell phone in my room,” she said…Song added that her mom probably called a bunch of friends at the moment she won the title. It was about 2 a.m. on Sunday in Korea…Song’s father will caddie for her at the Women’s Open.

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