Rose Zhang wins Augusta Amateur in playoff; Georgia Hall denied again
World No. 1 Women's Amateur Rose Zhang prevails in two-hole playoff to win at Augusta National
Rose Zhang showed everyone exactly why she's the top women's amateur in the world on Saturday by winning the Augusta National Women's Amateur on the second playoff hole over 21-year-old Jenny Bae.
Zhang put on a historic performance over the week, breaking the tournament record on Thursday with a 66, and then doing it again the next day with a 65 to head into the final round with a five-stroke lead at 13-under par. Those two rounds were contested on the Island and Bluff nines at Champions Retreat Golf Club before the tournament moved to Augusta National for the final round.
The 19-year-old's 13-under total broke the previous 36-hole tournament record by eight strokes.
Despite having such a significant lead heading into the final round, the Stanford University sophomore couldn't keep pace Saturday, recording a 4-over 76 in a rain-delayed final round at Augusta National that began with a double-bogey.
Bae, a fifth-year student at the University of Georgia, tied 17-year-old Saki Baba for the lowest round of the day with a 2-under 70. It brought Bae's tournament total to 9-under par, good enough to force a playoff with Zhang.
Both players tied the first playoff hole, the par-4 18th, before heading to the par-4 10th for a second time. Zhang ultimately came out victorious after making par when Bae made bogey.
The winning moment for Rose Zhang.#ANWAGolf pic.twitter.com/ivya9lfNG8
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) April 1, 2023
Andrea Lignell, a 22-year-old senior at the University of Mississippi, finished third at 6-under, while 17-year-old Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio finished fourth in her Augusta National Women's Amateur debut. Anna Davis, who was thrust into the spotlight this time last year after winning the Amateur as a 16-year-old, missed the cut in her title defence.
Ruoning Yin wins LPGA Tour's LA Open; Georgia Hall agonisingly falls short again
On the other end of the U.S., Ruoning Yin was making her own historic run on the LPGA Tour on Sunday. The 20-year-old shot a final-round 1-under 70 to win the DIO Implant LA Open by one stroke over Georgia Hall, becoming just the second Chinese golfer to win on the LPGA Tour.
Yin entered the final round with a 2-stroke lead over Hyo Joo Kim. Two-time LPGA winner Georgia Hall entered the final round four shots back, but jumped into second after a 4-under final round. It marks back-to-back runner-up finishes for the 26-year-old.
Kim shot even par on Sunday and fell back into a tie for third with Patty Tavatanakit who had one of the lowest rounds of the day with a 6-under 65 at Palos Verdes Golf Club. Three players finished in a tie for seventh, including Danielle Kang, who was forced to withdraw from the LPGA Drive On Championship a week prior and was taken to the hospital.
