Japan’s Saki Baba routs Canada’s Monet Chun, 11 and 9, to win U.S. Women’s Amateur
UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. – Saki Baba routed Monet Chun of Canada, 11 and 9, on Sunday to become the second Japanese winner in U.S. Women’s Amateur history.
The 17-year-old Baba won the last six holes, ending the match with a birdie on the par-3 ninth – the 27th hole of the 36-hole match – at Chambers Bay.
Baba joined 1985 champion Michiko Hattori as the only Japanese winners.
Match scoring from the U.S. Women’s Amateur
Baba was one of four amateurs to make the cut in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles, tying for 49th. She shared medalist honors and reached the round of 32 in the U.S. Girls’ Junior at The Club at Olde Stone.
The 21-year-old Chun won the Canadian Women’s Amateur on July 23 to earn a spot in the event and the CP Women’s Open. She led Michigan to its first Big Ten championship in April while earning medalist honors.
The margin matched the third-largest in a 36-hole final in the event. Anne Quast Sander set the record in 1961, beating Phyllis Preuss, 14 and 13. Glenna Collett beat Virginia Van Wie, 13 and 12, in 1928, and Babe Didrikson Zaharias routed Clara C. Sherman, 11 and 9, in 1946.