Survive And Advance

Anai’s Birdie On Second Playoff Hole Gets Her Into Match-Play Draw

 

By David Shefter, USGA

 

Fairfield, Conn. – Lala Anai admits that her English is not quite up to par. Having moved to the United States two years ago from her native Japan, Anai still has plenty of work left to become fluent in a second language.

 

The same cannot be said for her golf game. On Wednesday Anai – who now lives in the historic Massachusetts town of Lexington where a famous Revolutionary War battle was waged – proved she can survive under intense pressure. Involved in a 10-for-1 playoff for the final spot in the 64-player match-play

draw at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at Brooklawn Country Club, the

15-year-old hit the 3-wood shot of her life to stay alive in the championship.

 

That approach to the par-4 18th hole, the second hole of the playoff, set up a 3-foot birdie putt to knock out Da Sol Chung of Korea, who had recorded the only par in the previous group. The other five players remaining – three golfers were eliminated at the 17th hole – all made bogey or worse at 18.

 

“I was very surprised,” Anai said in her heavy Japanese accent. “I didn’t think (the approach shot) was on the green.”

 

Anai, along with the nine playoff participants, all finished the 36-hole

stroke-play portion of the competition at 18-over 160. With 63 players in at

159 or lower, it meant that only one girl from the 10 would advance to play medalist and defending champion In-Bee Park . Park finished at 2-under 140, a shot ahead of Michelle Wie and Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff .

 

“I have never played her,” said Anai. “I need to go practice hitting my driver. I hit the tree twice (off the tee at 17 and 18).”

 

Anai should feel quite at home on the practice range since that’s where she honed her skills in Japan . Because her family did not have the money to belong to a private club (public courses are non-existent in Japan ), Anai worked a driving range, where she could practice before and after work.

 

She must have practice hard on recovery shots because at 17, she hit another brilliant approach from the rough to some 20 feet above the hole where she easily two-putted for a par.

 

Meanwhile, Kandy Carland, who played in the first fivesome, recorded an all-world par after hooking her tee shot into the rough and then hitting her third shot from 75 yards to within 5 feet of the hole.

 

Two other prominent players, however, were not so fortunate. Taylor Leon, competing in her third Girls’ Junior, and Allison Martin, a semifinalist in 2002,

failed to get up and down on the first playoff hole. Martin, headed to the University of Georgia this fall, hit her approach into the bunker and missed a

10-footer for par. Leon, meanwhile, sent her fairway-metal approach over the green and chipped to within 25 feet. Her par putt was left inches from the hole.

 

“Actually, I’ve had a back injury all summer so I really didn’t know what to expect,” said Martin . “I just wanted to get my game back in shape. But I have only played a total of four rounds coming into this tournament all summer, and one of those rounds was the Women’s Amateur qualifier (1-under-par 71). I wasn’t on top of my game (at the qualifier). The only thing that saved me was my putting.

 

“I thought if I could come here and putt and chip well I was going to be able to make the cut and get into match play and maybe advance and go to the finals. It didn’t happen like that.”

 

Sara Brown of Tucson, Ariz., was trying to earn a match-play date with In-Bee Park for the second consecutive year. A year ago, Brown was the final qualifier in a 12-for-6 playoff at Echo Lake Country Club and subsequently faced off against the medalist (Park). Brown suffered a 7-and-5 defeat and Park rolled through her final five matches to take the championship.

 

“The only thing I remember (about last year) is that we had to come back in

the morning and I went bogey, bogey, double (bogey) to get into the playoff,” said Brown . “I wanted to get into match play (this year) because if I won, it would be funny. I’d play In-Bee Park again.”

 

Brown made a par save at the first playoff hole, but could not get up and down from the front of the green at 18, missing a 10-foot downhiller.

 

Chung, of Korea, also had long birdie putts at 17 and 18, but came up short on both attempts.

 

David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. He can be reached at dshefter@usga.org . USGA intern Andrew Robinton contributed to this story.