Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle: Nikki Oh wins her second event of 2023
Nikki Oh (Arizona Silver Belle photo)
15-year-old Nikki Oh from Torrance, Calif., shot 10-under 206 following her rounds of 73-68-65 to win the Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship by two-strokes at Briarwood Country Club in Sun City, Ariz.
Oh entered the final round trailing Amy Lee, the 36-hole leader, by three strokes. Lee had maintained the lead at 6-under par with consecutive rounds of 69-69. Oh carded a flawless 7-under 65 in the final round, a new course record, bridging the gap and securing the title with a two-stroke victory over Lee.
Lee from Langley, BC, added a final round 70 to finish as the runner-up at 8-under 208.
This also marked Oh’s second title of the season, following a win at the Ping An Bank Junior Open in July this year.
Oh is the daughter of noted instructor Ted Oh, who works with former world No. 1 Lydia Ko and qualified for the U.S. Open 30 years ago at age 16 was also a member of one of the teams which stood as co-medalist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball event after 36-holes, prior to the match-play side of the tournament at the Home Course in DuPont, Wash. Additionally, she advanced to the Round of 16 in the U.S. Women's Amateur in August.
Lydia Portlock of San Antonio, Tex., shot rounds of 68-73-68 to finish third at 7-under 209, closely followed by Alona Avery of Riverside with rounds of 76-69-65 for a fourth-place finish at 6-under 210.
ABOUT THE Arizona Silver Belle Championship
Prominent amateur golf tournament for junior girls
and women 13 - 23 years of age who compete over
54 holes of stroke play. The field is flighted by age,
but the overall champion may come from any age
group.
Joanne Winter, one of 14 original
Master Professionals in the LPGA's Teaching and
Club
Professional Division, founded the Arizona Silver
Belle 1971. Winter was a noted athlete before
beginning her love affair with golf. She pitched with
the Racine Belles in the All-American Girls
Professional Baseball League from 1943-50 and later
served as a consultant for the film, "A League Of
Their Own," which chronicled the women's league.
After retiring from the diamond, she turned to golf
and won the Arizona State Women's Championship
in
1962.
Entrants must provide a USGA Handicap
Index
of 15.0 or lower and supply a
resume of tournament scores and other
information as required by the golf
registration
system. The selection process is based
upon
this information and national ranking.
View Complete Tournament Information