Lauren Sung (PNGA Photo)
Olympia, Wash. – Lauren Sung of Palo Alto, Calif., won the 121st Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur Championship with a 4&3 victory over Angela (Zi Lan) Zhang in today’s 36-hole final match. The championship was held this week, from July 10th to 14th, at Olympia Country & Golf Club in Olympia, Wash.
The championship began with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying on July 10th and 11th, followed by 18-hole single-elimination match play on July 12th and 13th, concluding today, July 14th with a 36-hole final match.
In this morning’s round, Sung got off to a good start and built a two-up lead through the first seven holes. Zhang then bounced back and won three of the next four holes to grab a one-up lead before Sung tied it again on the 12th. The two players went back and forth, each taking a one-up lead before finishing the morning round in a tie.
In the afternoon round, Sung kept her foot on the gas. She and Zhang tied holes 19 and 20 before Sung won the next five holes in a row to build a five-up lead. This was simply too much for Zhang to overcome. She won the 27th hole to cut the deficit to four, and then the two players matched scores the rest of the way. Sung won the match 4&3 after the 33rd hole.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” said Sung when asked about taking home the title, “this course is not easy, and it’s not easy to walk, but playing here all week has been such a treat and I’m so glad to be able to walk away with a win.”
The road to the title for Sung, who was the No. 15 seed in the bracket, included a victory over her twin sister, Sydney Sung, in the round of 16. Both sisters play on the University of Michigan women’s golf team, and Sydney went on to caddie for Lauren during the rest of her championship run.
“That was a really fun match,” said Lauren, “it was a family affair, we had like five lead changes and got to trash talk a little bit out there. It was a lot of fun being out there and being comfortable in a competitive setting, since we compete every day already.”
Sung is a rising sophomore on the Michigan women’s golf team. She played in 10 tournaments during her freshman year. In 2018, at the age of 14, she qualified for and played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
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ABOUT THE
PNGA Women's Amateur
The Championship will be conducted in two stages:
Stroke Play – All players must complete the 36-hole
stroke play qualifying in order to determine
the 32 players who will advance to match play. In
the event of a tie for the final qualifying
spot(s), a sudden-death playoff will be used to
determine the qualfiiers. In the event of a tie for
the Qualifying Medalist, a sudden-death playoff will
commence.
Match Play – The General Numerical Draw will be in
effect. Single elimination match play, with a
36-hole Championship Final Match. All other matches
are 18 holes.
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