Australian Women's Amateur champion Hye-jin Choi
(Golf Australia)
VICTORIA, Australia (January 22, 2017) -- When the history of the women’s Australian Amateur Championship, presented by Swinging Skirts, is analysed in the future, one gets the feeling Hye-jin Choi’s name will sit very comfortably among its champions.
Choi, the world No. 4, said after her 4&2 win over compatriot So-mi Lee that she has her sights trained on becoming the world No.1 at some point in 2017 before turning professional and starting her next big climb.
Whether she can achieve that first feat before taking up entry into next month’s ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open – one of her grand prizes today – is debatable.
But that she’ll get there soon is a likelihood that would surprise nobody who saw her dominate at Yarra Yarra and Kingswood in Melbourne this week.
Choi, the individual champion as Korea romped to the World Amateur Teams Championship in Mexico last year, was a comfortable winner of the medal as the stroke play champion on Wednesday, too.
And she lived up to her No. 1 seeding with some timely birdies and, simply, fewer mistakes to finally overpower Lee, the tournament’s great surprise packet.
Choi, who played at The Grange in last year’s Women’s Australian Open, said she wasn’t ready to tackle for higher honors in 2016.
But, through an interpreter, she said her game had improved to the point that she would feel far more comfortable at Royal Adelaide next month.
“My game is better than it was last year. My teammates have really pushed me and I’m excited to get the chance to come back to the Australian Open and do better this time,” she said.
“We (the Korean team) have had a good year and it’s that they push me and I push them that makes us better.
“I think So-mi is a very good player, but she just didn’t play her best today,” Choi said modestly.
The surprisingly powerful Choi was 2 up at the halfway point of the 36-hole final at Yarra Yarra and was quickly under pressure when she bogeyed the 19th hole in the afternoon to have her lead halved.
But every time Lee pushed, Choi had a response and eventually won the 34th hole to take an unassailable 4 up lead.
“It’s a great honor (to win this trophy),” she told the crowd at the presentation.
One suspects the trophy will be proud to have her name in the future.
ABOUT THE
Australian Women's Amateur
The Australian Men's and Women's Amateur
Championships are Australia's
oldest Amateur Golf Championships, with both having
been played since 1894.
Long held as a match play event, in 2021 the format
changed to 72 holes of
stroke play.
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