Jennifer Song, 19, of Ann Arbor, Mich., defeated Kimberly Kim, 17, of Hilo, Hawaii, 7 and 6, to win the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship at the 6,267-yard, par-72 Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, Mass.
With the usual match-play concessions, Song was nine under par for the 30 holes of the scheduled 36-hole match. Hitting tee shots in the 250-yard range, she never missed a fairway and missed hitting only five greens in regulation. Song, a business major in her sophomore year at the University of Southern
California, said it was the best golf she has played in competition.
Today, I was super hot, said Song, who was the runner-up at the 2008 championship. I can’t believe I made a bunch of birdies and some of the putts were really hard. The speed was really crucial and I didn’t expect to make them. I just said, ‘Jen, get the speed right, and I’ll be very happy.’ They just dropped in and I’m so grateful.
No putt showed more skill than the downhill, right-breaking 12-footer she made at the 25th hole to go 7 up.
At that point I thought, ‘OK, you’ve got it, so don’t change yourself. Stay in this attitude you had this whole week,’ said Song.
Song made 10 birdies in the final. Two were conceded, an 18-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole and a tap-in on the 26th hole. She made only one bogey in the match. With a 5-up advantage after 18 holes, Song captured the par-3 23rd with a birdie to go 6 up. Kim birdied the par-4 24th hole to trim the margin to 5 up, but Song birdied the next two par-4 holes, the 25th and 26th, to again go 7 up. The match ended on the 30th green.
Kim was one under par, with the usual match-play concessions, with five birdies and four bogeys.
I really tried hard to focus on my game, because she was having such a hot day, Kim said.
This was Song’s first national championship title. She was runner-up in the 2009 NCAA Division I Women’s Championship.