Reona Hirai (WEGA photo)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC (June 14, 2018) - Reona Hirai (Summerville, SC) won the Women's Eastern Amateur Championship by four shots at Palmetto Hall Plantation.
Hirai, who just completed her college career at Furman University, took a four-shot lead into the final round on the strength of the round of the tournament, a 5-under 67, in round two. In the final round, she gave her chasers little chance to catch her, closing with a 1-under 71 for a 54-hole total of 213 (-3).
Courtney McKim, a mid-amateur from Raleigh, NC, finished second at 1-over 217 after matching Harai with a 71.
Related: Courtney McKim: Mastering the Mid-Amateur Learning Curve
In fact, each of the top four finishers had matching rounds of 71. Maggie Ashmore (Kingston, GA), a rising senior at Augusta University, finished third at 219.
Magdalena Simmermacher, an Argentina native who finished her college golf career at Old Dominion University, made 7 birdies in her round of 71 that propelled her to a fourth place finish at 220.
The Women's Eastern Golf Association (WEGA) also awarded prizes to:
5th place: Sophie DiPetrillo (224) (University of Richmond)
6th place: Amanda Hollandsworth (226) (Virginia Tech University)
7th place: Elisa Yang (228) (University of Georgia)
8th place: Alexis Kershaw (228) (UNC – Greensboro)
ABOUT THE Women's Eastern Amateur
The Womenfs Eastern Golf Championship has been
played since 1906 and is one of the oldest and most
prestigious womenfs amateur championships in the
United States.
Must belong to a WEGA member club or have
a school affiliation in one of the following Eastern
states: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,
Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New
Jersey,
New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island,
South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of
Columbia. 54 hole stroke play championship.
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