Women's Amateur Golf | Blumenherst, Uribe in Amateur final

Blumenherst, Uribe in Amateur final

By BETH ANN BALDRY
Senior Writer

CARMEL, Ind. – It’s easy to forget these women are amateurs. The play was so spectacular during the semifinal matches of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Aug. 11 it seemed these players should be competing for oversized cardboard checks rather than pride.

But then again that’s what makes these championships so special, pitting a girl not old enough to drive a car against a girl not old enough to rent one. And watching them play lights out.

Click here for Golfweek’s Women’s Am photo slideshows.

Amanda Blumenherst, the queen of college golf, squared off against defending champion Kimberly Kim while the bubbly Ha-Na Jang of Korea took on Maria Jose Uribe of Colombia.

Blumenherst, 20, dominated the front nine at Crooked Stick, building a 4-up lead at the turn thanks to three birdies. The Duke junior didn’t slow down on back nine, knocking down the flagstick to post four consecutive birdies on Nos. 10-13. How did Kim manage to extend the match to the 15th hole despite all those red numbers? Easy, the 15-year-old poured in four consecutive birdies of her own on Nos. 11-14.

“I didn’t want them to say I gave up, so I didn’t give up,” said Kim, referring to Golf Channel commentators who insinuated that Mina Harigae gave up Friday in her quarterfinal match against Uribe.

The hole proved too deep, however, and Blumenherst won, 5 and 3, with a par on the 15th. She notched seven birdies, several of them within tap-in range, on a blemish-free card. Kim’s birdie run didn’t even make her flinch.

“I was kind of thinking all right, maybe I’ll be able to see a few more holes than I thought,” said Blumenherst, who will face Uribe in the 36-hole final Sunday. “But I knew that I was hitting the ball so well and I was going to par at worst. Yeah, I was confident.”

Blumenherst hasn’t had much success at match play. She made it to the finals of an Indiana state junior tournament at age 13 but hadn’t done much else until this summer.

Armed with a new game plan that forces her to focus more on playing the course rather than the opponent, Blumenherst set out to conquer matches the same way she rules stroke play. Bad news for the rest of the field.

Dave Blumenherst said his daughter brought her “A+” game to Indiana, which means she’s almost unstoppable.

Blumenherst lists Scottsdale, Ariz., as her address, but likes nothing more than to be back home in Indiana. Around 20 relatives made the trip to Carmel Saturday to show support. There’s even talk they might show up Sunday with homemade T-shirts, but Blumenherst said that might be more of an effort to get on TV than anything else. She expects even former elementary school teachers will make the trek down from Fort Wayne tomorrow.

No family member has impacted Blumenherst more this week than her uncle Bill, who is making his caddying debut. Blumenherst has relied heavily on the PGA teaching pro’s ability to read greens and help her maneuver around the course. Because both are feel putters, it’s easy to agree on the lines. Bill Blumenherst won the 1991 Indiana PGA State Open and is head pro at Autumn Ridge Golf Club.

Uribe also felt a lot of support from Indiana residents during her semifinal match as practically the entire maintenance staff at Crooked Stick came out to watch the South American.

“I have been here for two weeks now, so I have seen them like a lot of times,” said Uribe of the Hispanic workers. “It’s good and I know that Amanda has a lot of family and I don’t have anybody.”

While the second match was a blowout early on, Jang and Uribe kept things close. One hole down with two to play, Jang thought she had the advantage on the 17th green until Uribe rolled in a triple-breaking 55-footer for birdie to win, 2 and 1. Jang immediately put her towel over her head and started to cry.

“Shock” was all she could say.

Both Uribe and Blumenherst walk fast and fist-pump hard. Blumenherst quit talking to her playing partners earlier this year after she decided it made them too comfortable. She prefers to have opponents stare at her back as she races to perfectly placed tee shots.

In Sunday’s 36-hole final, however, Uribe will be right on her heels. The rising UCLA freshman has practically made Carmel her second home, playing Crooked Stick six times before the tournament even started.

Should she upset Blumenherst in the final, the passionate Colombian promised she’ll do some salsa dancing.

Nothing like a Midwest fiesta.

• • •

Beth Ann Baldry is a Golfweek senior writer. To reach her email bbaldry@golfweek.com.

Results from the semifinals of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, played Aug. 11 at the par-72, 6,497-yard Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.:


SEMIFINALS
Maria Jose Uribe def. Ha Na Jang	2 and 1
Amanda Blumenherst def. Kimberly Kim	5 and 3

QUARTERFINALS
Maria Jose Uribe def. Mina Harigae	5 and 4
Ha Na Jang def. Alexis Thompson	5 and 4
Amanda Blumenherst def. Jennie Lee	5 and 4
Kimberly Kim def. Jennifer Song	21 holes

THIRD ROUND
Mina Harigae def. Vicky Hurst	1 up
Maria Jose Uribe def. Emma Jandel	2 up
Alexis Thompson def. Lizette Salas	5 and 4
Ha Na Jang def. Tiffany Joh	20 holes
Jennie Lee def. Sara-Maude Juneau	6 and 5
Amanda Blumenherst def. Marci Turner	6 and 5
Jennifer Song def. Nicole Smith	2 up
Kimberly Kim def. Alison Walshe	4 and 3

SECOND ROUND
Vicky Hurst def. Kristina Wong	3 and 1
Mina Harigae def. Rebecca Kim	4 and 3
Maria Jose Uribe def. Candace Schepperle	2 and 1
Emma Jandel def. Sydnee Michaels	21 holes
Lizette Salas def. Kira Meixner	19 holes
Alexis Thompson def. Pearl Jin	5 and 4
Ha Na Jang def. Mi Jung Hur	6 and 5
Tiffany Joh def. Andrea Messer	6 and 5
Jennie Lee def. Margaret Shirley	3 and 1
Sara-Maude Juneau def. Jane Rah	1 up
Amanda Blumenherst def. Jenny Suh	5 and 4
Marci Turner def. Mallory Blackwelder	1 up
Jennifer Song def. Michelle Shin	1 up
Nicole Smith def. Shanshan Feng	1 up
Kimberly Kim def. Rikako Morita	20 holes
Alison Walshe def. Catherine O’Donnell	6 and 5

FIRST ROUND
Kristina Wong def. Kaitlin Drolson	5 and 3
Vicky Hurst def. Lisa McCloskey	5 and 4
Mina Harigae def. Kristie Smith	3 and 2
Rebecca Kim def. Taylore Karle	2 and 1
Maria Jose Uribe def. Lee Lopez	1 up
Candace Schepperle def. Sydney Burlison	5 and 3
Sydnee Michaels def. Jennifer Ackerson	20 holes
Emma Jandel def. Victoria Park	2 up
Lizette Salas def. So Yeon Ryu	2 and 1
Kira Meixner def. Tiffany Lua	1 up
Alexis Thompson def. Evan Jensen	3 and 2
Pearl Jin def. Ashley Tait	2 and 1
Mi Jung Hur def. Danielle Kang	3 and 1
Ha Na Jang def. Lindy Duncan	22 holes
Tiffany Joh def. Azahara Munoz	21 holes
Andrea Messer def. Lauren Hunt	27 holes
Margaret Shirley def. Stacy Lewis	2 and 1
Jennie Lee def. Katharina Schallenberg	3 and 1
Sara-Maude Juneau def. Dolores White	3 and 2
Jane Rah def. Courtney Ellenbogen	3 andd 2
Jenny Suh def. Amanda Costner	7 and 6
Amanda Blumenherst def. Kristin Ingram	19 holes
Marci Turner def. Brianna Do	5 and 4
Mallory Blackwelder def. Becca Huffer	1 up
Jennifer Song def. Natalie Sheary	5 and 4
Michelle Shin def. Mari Chun	1 up
Shanshan Feng def. Kylene Pulley	3 and 1
Nicole Smith def. Tamasin Clelland	4 and 3
Rikako Morita def. Blair Lamb	6 and 4
Kimberly Kim def. Ayaka Kaneko	1 up
Alison Walshe def. Katie Miller	19 holes
Catherine O’Donnell def. Tanya Wadhwa	5 and 4

• • •

Click here to view stroke-play qualifying scores.

Posted: 8/11/2007

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