One of the cruel truths about dramatic championship wins is that they typically come at the expense of a gutted opponent. Such was the case at the Victoria Club in Riverside where the local member, Sofia Vargas, engineered a thrilling comeback victory that never looked probable until her final holed putt.
The final match pitted Vargas against Chloe Lam, a Santa Clara Bronco who competed in the California Women’s Amateur Championship earlier this summer and just authored a T-26 at Torrey Pines GC over three days at the SCGA Women’s Amateur Championship. Lam’s game has been trending and she dominated her first three matches at the Victoria Club with none of the contests reaching the 16th tee box.
And while Vargas might have had the head-to-head edge as a member of the venue with plenty of friends and family in attendance, it was Lam who drew first blood by taking the opening hole. Vargas would settle in and take the next two, but the battle went back and forth as neither player halved a hole until No. 8.
But Lam would win the ninth and take a 2 UP advantage to the turn. After winning the 13th, she matched her biggest lead at 3 UP and had only five holes remaining between her and victory.
Vargas would then ferociously punch herself off the ropes as she won three of the next four holes to improbably draw the match back to even heading to 18. Each player made the par 5 green in regulation but Vargas was 60 feet underneath the hole while Lam had a reasonable look from much closer. Vargas cozied up an incredible roll that scared the hole and was conceded her brilliant par. Lam missed her 12-footer and the two headed up the hill back to No. 1 for their 19th hole.
Both players found the fairway, but it was Lam again who knocked her approach tight while Vargas fell off the false front. Knowing she had to have par, Vargas stoned a short chip shot to less than a foot and was once again conceded an unlikely clutch par. Lam played too much break and missed on her second consecutive birdie try that would have ended the championship.
On their 20th hole, Vargas pulled her drive deep left into a tree line just short of the green. Lam was in the fairway but considerably further back and hit the green, leaving herself 16 feet for birdie. Vargas found herself with a fortunate window to the dance floor and judged the rough perfectly as she hit a hero shot to four feet and all of sudden flipped the script on Lam who looked to have been in control of the match every step of the way since the ninth hole.
Lam’s third consecutive birdie try missed yet again and Vargas converted her winning putt in front of a raucous crowd who generously applauded the incredible fight to continuously find the must-have shot.
The final match of the SCGA Women’s Match Play Championship was a feast for the senses. Both players competed admirably and the crowd was treated to a roller coaster ride that saw only five of the 20 holes halved. Truly an amazing display of the match play format.
