Standing on the 17th hole of her quarterfinal match of the U.S.
Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship Friday afternoon,
UCLA sophomore women’s golfer Amie Cochran found herself one
hole away from advancing to the semifinals. Two holes later, she
found herself eliminated. Holding a 1-up lead with one hole to
play, Cochran’s opponent Tiffany Churdy won the 18th hole of
match play and won the first playoff hole to send the Bruin
sophomore home from Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City,
Missouri empty-handed. In a 144-player field, Cochran was the fifth
remaining before she was ousted in what is regarded as
women’s amateur golf’s second most prestigious
tournament. Churdy, who eliminated Cochran, blew a 4-up lead in
Saturday’s 36-hole championship match to Korean native Eun
Jung Lee.
U.S. WOMEN’S AMATEUR: Of the 144 participants scheduled to
compete at the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Ansley Golf Club in
Atlanta, Ga. from August 1-7, three will be current members of the
UCLA women’s golf team. Both junior Hannah Jun and incoming
freshman Tiffany Joh punched their ticket to the U.S. Amateur via
sectional qualifying last month. In the one round free-for-all, Jun
advanced from the Mesa, Ariz. qualifying site with a 70, one stroke
behind first place, while Joh advanced with a 73 from the same
course. Amie Cochran received an automatic exemption by virtue of
claiming medalist honors at last year’s U.S. Women’s
Amateur.
U.S. MEN’S AMATEUR: BYU’s Clay Ogden rallied from a
four-hole deficit after the first nine holes of the 36-hole final
match to defeat Martin Ureta, of Chile, 1-up, to capture the 2005
U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship at Shaker Run Golf Club in
Lebanon, Ohio. Ogden, a junior, defeated 15 year-old phenom
Michelle Wie en route to his head-to head match against Ureta.