Jutanugarns advance at Women's Western Am
Ariya Jutanugarn
MONROE, Mich. (June 20, 2012) -- Match play began today at the 112th playing of the Women's Western Amateur. Ariya Jutanugarn, no. 5 in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com rankings easily won her first match over 64th seed Sarah Johnson of Wixom, Mi 7 & 6.
Jutanugarn of Bankock, Thailand took medalist honors yesterday after firing a course record 66 in the first round of qualifying and a second round 75 at the Monroe Golf & Country Club.
“I didn’t use my driver as much today,” she said. “I sacrificed distance for location and being able to hit the green on my approach shot. I hit a lot more fairways than yesterday and hit a lot more greens.”
Number 2 seed Mary Michael Maggio of Conway AK who qualified two back of Jutanugarn at 143 (72-71) defeated Emily Haas of Nicholausville, KY 5 & 4 and advanced to the second round of match play.
Jutanugarn's sister Moriya, the no. 1 ranked player in the country, qualified with 145 (74-71) taking the 7th spot. She won her first match against Milena Savich of Carmel, IN 6 & 5.
The sisters are in opposite brackets. We'll see if we have a family showdown in the finals on Saturday.
ABOUT THE
Women's Western Amateur
Held without interruption since its inception in 1901, the Women's Western Amateur is one of the longest-running annual championships in women's amateur golf. Each year, it draws many of the top amateur and collegiate players from around the world. The list of past champions includes LPGA greats like Nancy Lopez (1976), Cristie Kerr (1995), Stacy Lewis (2006), and Ariya Jutanugarn (2012).
ENTRY INFORMATION
The Women's Western Amateur is open to amateur women who have an up-to-date 18-hole handicap index that does not exceed 3.4 under the World Handicap System. The field is limited to 120 players. The championship begins with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, after which the field is cut to the low 32 players for match play. In the event of a tie for the 32nd position, a sudden-elimination playoff will determine the final match play qualifiers. Five rounds of 18-hole matches will decide the Women's Western Amateur champion.
The champion receives fully exempt status into the next ten Women's Western Amateur Championships (while eligible) and an exemption into the 2025 U.S. Women's Amateur. The event is recognized by World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and is part of the Women's Elite Amateur Golf Series.
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