A perfect Southern California day at Santa Ana CC deserved a perfect champion. And that’s exactly what the 59th California Women’s Amateur produced. Katelyn Kong, of UC Irvine, defeated Darae Chung, of the University of Oregon, 4 & 3, with a stat sheet boasting a perfect 15 of 15 greens in regulation. And the only fairway she technically missed (10/11) was when she drove through the green of the short par 4 second hole and into a back bunker. Kong would make par, take the lead, and never look back.
Kong extended that early lead on the fifth hole at the expense of another bogey by Chung. But Chung got one back on the seventh when Kong three-putted a very tricky green complex. Unfortunately for Chung, that would be her only landed punch of the match.
The final two competitors made the turn in front of the clubhouse with Kong clinging to a 1 UP advantage. However, it only took the first hole on the back nine for Kong to reestablish a 2 UP lead after Chung was forced to take an unplayable lie when she hit it through the green on the par 5 tenth.
Two holes later, Kong stretched the lead to 3 UP after converting yet another one of her many steady two-putt pars on the day. With just six holes to play, Chung was going to need to mount a big comeback.
The comeback was not meant to be as Kong proved unflappable. Over the six holes played on the back nine, Kong shot one-under and capped off her win with a remarkable up-and-down birdie from a greenside bunker on the par 5 15th hole. While Kong played the par 5’s today at even, Chung was three over on the same holes. And it was likely the difference as Chung, herself, hit 13 of 15 greens and only missed one fairway.
The nearby Orange County Fair, just across the street from Santa Ana CC with plenty of roller coasters in view from the golf course, proved to be an analogous neighbor. The 59th California Women’s Amateur was ripe with owns thrills and twists and turns. And while patrons of the fair could be heard screaming with joy, there was equal joy on the other side of the road, albeit more tempered.
With her victory on Saturday, Kong outlasted 155 other players in what was the likely the deepest field in California Women’s Amateur history. She advanced to match play after finishing as one of the top-32 competitors in the opening 36 holes of stroke play and then went on to win five straight head-to-head contests.
What’s particularly impressive is that Kong played 75 holes over five matches and she was tied or in lead for 73 of those holes. Moreover, no match that she played ever reached the 17th hole. Put simply, her journey through the bracket was objectively dominant. And now she has rightfully earned an exemption to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes GC in just two weeks.
The event’s runner-up, Chung, had a valiant week in her own right. She bested all but one of the 155 other competitors and shot the low round of the championship on Tuesday with a blistering 64.
The stroke play medalist, Nicola Kaminski, shot 69-68 to top the 36-hole leaderboard at nine-under par before ultimately losing in the round of 16 during match play.
