Kono, Song, Lua, 2006 Champion Joh Advance To 2008 WAPL Semifinals

By Kent Zakour, USGA

Erin, Wis. – The final four at the 2008 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship being played at Erin Hills Golf Course will have a Pacific-10 Conference feel as three current or future UCLA Bruins and one incoming freshman at the University of Southern California comprise the semifinalists for Friday afternoon’s matches.

Stephanie Kono, an 18 year old from Honolulu, Hawaii, who will be attending UCLA in the fall, defeated Michelle Shin, a 2007 WAPL and U.S. Girls’ Junior semifinalist, 5 and 4 in one of Friday morning’s quarterfinals.

Kono, seeking her first title in 13 USGA championship events and a 2007 Girls’ Junior semifinalist, will face future freshman rival and USC Trojan Jennifer Song, 18, of Korea, who beat Lauren Doughtie, 21, of Suffolk, Va., 4 and 3. Like Song, Doughtie will be competing in next week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Interlachen Country Club in Edina, Minn.

Playing what she said was her best round of the championship so far, Kono won five of the last six holes to put away the match. With the match all-square going to the par-3 ninth hole, Kono took advantage of an errant tee shot by her good friend Shin.

“On nine she hit it in the bunker and it took her two to get out, said Kono, a 2007 WAPL quarterfinalist. “I was just trying to lag my putt down there and it went in. After that all my putts started going in.”

The other semifinal features 2006 WAPL champion and 2008 USA Curtis Cupper Tiffany Joh, 21, of San Diego, Calif., against 17-year-old Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif., who has made a verbal commitment to attend UCLA in the fall of 2009. Lua also is headed to Interlachen to play in her second consecutive Women’s Open.

Joh defeated Lee Lopez, of Whittier, Calif., 2 and 1. Joh and Lopez battled back and forth all morning. With the match all-square through 13, Joh eagled the par-5 14th for a 1-up lead, an advantage she would not relinquish.  She then birdied 16 and halved 17 for the narrow win.

Lua, the 2007 WAPL stroke-play medalist who was defeated in the first round by Kono, controlled her entire match, bolting to a 5-up lead after 11 holes.

“[Kim] was making some mistakes and I was able to take advantage of that,” said Lua, who has never gone this far in any of her USGA competitions. “I missed a few shots, but other than that I was able to keep it steady..”

As for the all-Los Angeles connection in the semifinals, Lua added: “It’s exciting. I mean I know both Stephanie and both players in that last match. So it’s going to be fun.”

Kent Zakour is a summer intern with the USGA Media Relations Department. E-mail him with questions or comments at kzakour@usga.org.