Maria Jose Uribe, an incoming freshman on the UCLA women’s golf team, might not be so nervous when she lines up her first putt in NCAA competition.
This weekend she won the most intense competition in women’s amateur golf.
Uribe, a 17-year-old Colombian, won the 107th United States Women’s Amateur Championship on Sunday at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. She survived the week-long marathon event to capture her first tournament win on a U.S. golf course.
She is the first Colombian ever to win a United States Golf Association title.
“I haven’t won a tournament in the States and I win this one.” Uribe said in the press conference after her win. “That’s great for me. I’ll take it.”
Uribe defeated Duke’s Amanda Blumenherst, a two-time national collegiate player of the year, in the 36-hole final match, one up. The two were tied at the 35th hole of the match when Blumenherst three-putted the par-three 17th, opening the door for Uribe.
“It’s really good to get it done and with a great opponent,” Uribe said in the post-match press conference. “(Blumenherst) is a great player. She has so much talent.”
The future Bruin made a five-foot putt on the final hole of the match to seal the win. She had six birdies and an eagle in the match.
“I like to play with pressure,” she said. “I just feel at home.”
Uribe made a remarkable trek through the tournament. She shot a 3-under-par 141 in the 36-hole stroke play competition to qualify for the match play tournament. She trailed on the back nine of her first two matches before battling back for close victories. In the semifinal she faced Mina Harigae, Golfweek’s top-ranked amateur golfer, and cruised to an easy 5 and 4 victory. And in the final she held her own against Blumenherst, the star of women’s collegiate golf.
Uribe even became a bit of a fan favorite as she shouted “vamos” after sinking clutch putts and played with a rare passion for the tight-lipped golf world. A crowd of supporters followed her throughout the tournament.
UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth is sure to be pleased by the results. Uribe was one of three Bruins at Crooked Stick last week. Junior Tiffany Joh reached the round of 16 and sophomore Sydnee Michaels made it through to the second round of the match play tournament.
The grueling match play format is unlike the team events that the UCLA team plays in collegiate golf.
“(Team competition) is not too different from playing as an individual,” Joh said. “For me I feel less pressure, because I don’t feel like there are five other girls counting on me. At the same time, if you lose, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
Match play is undoubtedly one of the greatest challenges in golf. Whereas stroke play forces a player to focus on competing against the course, match play presents a unique, psychological 1-on-1 challenge.
“I like stroke play more,” Joh said. “But it’s good to play match play once in a while because it brings out a side of you you don’t always see. It makes you play more aggressively, there are times when you know you have to make a shot to stay alive. That makes you better.”
Joh, who won the Pac-10 Individual Championship last spring, had a stellar week at Crooked Stick. She won her first match against Azahara Munoz in 21 holes, after trailing for most of the back-nine. Then she beat Andrea Messer easily in her second match, 6 and 5, with three birdies and no bogeys. But she lost that top form in her third match against Ha Na Jang, losing in 20 holes after leading for most of the match. Jang went on to fall to Uribe in the semifinal. Joh was the team’s top ranked player last season.
Michaels was a few shots from facing Uribe in the round of 16, slipping in the second round of the tournament to Emma Jandel after bogeying the 21st hole of the match. Uribe defeated Jandel in the next round, 2 up.
The three Bruins showcased their talent on the grandest stage in amateur golf. All three of them could turn to lucrative professional careers after their time at UCLA.
“Everyone gets that itch (to leave college),” Joh said. “Girls are leaving high school early to play professionally, and when you see people your age and younger doing it, it makes you wonder.
“The one question for me is how much you value the college experience; would I give it up to play professionally? No way.”
The trio is sure to make a brilliant combination next year for UCLA, which finished in third place at the NCAA Championship last spring. The Bruins will return Joh, Michaels and standout Hannah Jun for their 2008 season.
Uribe called UCLA her dream school this week.
“I liked (UCLA) but I never thought that I was going to be able to get in,” Uribe told the USGA. “For me it’s really important to have a team.”
Uribe’s win comes a month before the first event of the season for the UCLA team, the Mason Rudolph Invitational in Nashville, Tenn. on Sept. 14. The Bruins will play four events in the fall before their spring season.
It won’t be the last USGA tournament for Uribe, either.
Her win earns her a 10-year exemption at the women’s amateur championship and a two-year exemption at the U.S. Women’s Open.