Jennifer Yang of Coquitlam, B.C. shot a 5-under par 67 and took medalist honors in leading the field who competed today in sectional qualifying at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash.
Along with Yang, seven other players advanced from this qualifier, earning spots in the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, which will be held July 14-19 at The Home Course.
The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) is the local representative of the United States Golf Association (USGA) and conducted this qualifier for the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.
Yang, a junior at the University of Washington, had six birdies on the day, with her lone bogey coming on the par-3 12th hole. She missed tying the course record by one shot, and finished three shots ahead of the field.
Originally from South Korea, Yang spent her high school years in British Columbia, where she won consecutive BC Junior Girls’ championships (2010, 2011) and the 2011 Canadian Junior Girls’ Championship.
The other players to qualify are Eimi Koga of Honolulu, a freshman at the University of Washington and a teammate of Yang’s; Marianne Li of Bellevue, Wash., who was the runner-up in the 2012 Pacific Northwest Junior Girl’s Amateur; Jacqueline Bendrick of Mercer Island, Wash.; Monica Vaughn of Reedsport, Ore., a freshman on the Arizona State women’s golf team who was a two-time Oregon high school state champion, and holds women’s course records at four different golf courses in Oregon; Alexis Keating of Elma, Wash.; Kendall Gray of Federal Way, Wash., the reigning Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Champion who qualified for last year’s championship as well; and Katie Lee of Silverdale, Wash., who competed in the championship last year after earning medalist honors at the sectional qualifier, also held at The Home Course. Lee, a senior at Central Kitsap High School, is the younger sister of Erynne Lee, who just competed on last week’s victorious Team USA in the Curtis Cup.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, which is often called the “WAPL,” began in 1977 as a national championship for women who play the nation’s public courses. This will be the final WAPL held, as the USGA will be retiring the championship after this year.
Entries for the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship were open to female amateur golfers who, since Jan. 1, 2014, have been bona fide public course players and have not held privileges of any course that does not extend playing privileges to the general public, or privileges of any private club maintaining its own course and have a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4.
Opened in June 2007, The Home Course has been the site of numerous regional and national championships, as well as USGA qualifiers. The last USGA national championship that was staged at The Home Course was when it served as the companion course to Chambers Bay for the 2010 U.S. Amateur Championship.
The Home Course is cooperatively owned and operated by the WSGA and Pacific Northwest Golf Association and will eventually house their offices, USGA activities in the Northwest, as well as other allied golf associations.
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
