Upon taking a casual glance at the final leaderboard of the U.S.
Women’s Open, it seemed like amateurs overran professional
women’s golf’s most prestigious event. One of the young
uprising stars that contributed to the ambush on the leaderboard
was 19-year-old UCLA sophomore women’s golfer Amie Cochran.
Despite finishing at a tie for 50th at 18-over par at the U.S.
Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills
Village, Colo., Cochran was part of a growing trend that saw young
talent as the new emerging force on the LPGA Tour. “These
young players are so good nowadays that it doesn’t surprise
me at all,” UCLA women’s golf coach Carrie Forsyth
said. “It’s been moving in this direction for a few
years. It just hasn’t been pronounced like this year. These
kids are fearless.” Two of the top three finishers, 17-year
old Morgan Pressel and 19-year old Brittany Lang, were amateurs,
and many other amateurs were in contention, including 15-year old
Michelle Wie and UCLA’s Cochran. The UCLA sophomore made the
36-hole cut with a 2-under par 69 in Friday’s second round,
jumping to ninth place on the leaderboard. During the weekend,
however, Cochran struggled in the U.S. Open, following a 9-over par
80 on Saturday with a 6-over par on Sunday to finish the
tournament. Though she was disappointed with her finish, Cochran
still finished as the fourth longest driver of the golf ball,
averaging nearly 272 yards per drive. “To play a USGA course
the way they set it up and to play a professional tournament with
the professionals is a huge achievement for her,” Forsyth
said. Cochran, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open last
year but missed the cut, came into this year’s tournament on
the heels of multiple consecutive strong performances. After pacing
UCLA to a second place finish at the NCAA Championships, Cochran
advanced through the first stage of the U.S. Women’s Open
Qualifying and won the sectional qualifying tournament to advance
to Cherry Hills. “Her performance shows how much she has
improved,” Forsyth said. “It’s definitely
something that should make her pretty hungry to improve even
more.”
NOT SO CHERRY: Unlike Cochran, former Bruin Hana Kim and
incoming Bruin Jane Park failed to make the 36-hole cut at Cherry
Hills Country Club. Kim and Park posted two-round scores of 10-over
par and 11-over par respectively.
INTERNATIONAL VICTORY: Incoming heralded men’s golf
recruit Erik Flores led the United States to a 12-stroke victory in
the Toyota Junior World Golf Cup in Japan. Flores, who was ranked
as the top amateur in men’s golf according by the Junior Golf
Scoreboard, broke the course record twice in the event, firing a
7-under par 65 in the first round and an 8-under 64 in the third
round. Flores finished with a four-round total of 20-under par and
won the individual competition by six shots.