Baba Is 9 Under for 27 Holes, Wins U.S. Women's Am Final 11&9

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UNIVERSITY PLACE, Wash. -- Did anyone get the number of that truck?

Monet Chun was run over on Sunday in the U.S. Women's Amateur final at Chambers Bay. Saki Baba, a 17-year-old from China, got off to a fast start in the 36-hole match, winning the first hole with a par, tying the second with a birdie and then winning the next three in a row. She was 5 up on Chun after eight holes, and 7 up after 14. Chun tied Baba's birdie on the 18th hole, to keep from going 8 down, made another birdie on the 20th hole and won the 21st with a par, which reduced Baba's lead to 5 up. Baba responded by winning the next six holes in a row -- five of them with birdies -- to complete an 11&9 victory.

"Honestly, I was trying to match it up," said Chun, a 21-year-old Canadian who will start her senior year at the University of Michigan in two weeks. "But it was pretty amazing just to watch. She was going for every pin, making every putt, and that's hard to match up against."

After qualifying in two rounds of stroke play at the Women's Am with an even-par 73 on Monday and a 74 on Tuesday, Baba went into the match-play portion of the Women's Am as the No. 34 seed. She then proceeded to get better and better with each match, and as she approached the end, she was destroying everything in her path.

In the quarterfinals, Baba faced Lauren Lehigh, the No. 39 seed. Leihigh was 10 under in the four rounds she played preceding that match, but Baba dispatched her 4&3, playing 15 holes in 3 under par. She played another 17-year-old prodigy, No. 54 seed Bailey Shoemaker, in the semifinals. Shoemaker became the first junior player to win the Florida Women's Amateur in late June, not long after she made the cut at the U.S. Women's Open and tied Baba for 49th place. But at Chambers Bay, Shoemaker was no match for Baba, who made five birdies in 12 holes and won 7&6.

Baba ended up being 24 under par for her six matches, and needed only 106 holes to win them all. She was 9 under for the 27 holes she played against Chun on Sunday. 

Chun came into the final having played 87 holes in 12 under. But the 2022 Big Ten individual champion bogeyed the first hole on Sunday, fell behind and never really had a chance after that. Baba was 3 under and 5 up through 12 holes. She won the 503-yard, par-5 13th with a birdie and the 14th with a par to go 7 up. Chun was 1 under for the next 14 holes after that -- but Baba was 5 under -- and the match was over. 

"It's just amazing. I just can't believe it," marvelled Baba, through a translater. "I was able to play my kind of golf. Yeah, everything just went smoothly." 


U.S. Women's Amateur 

At Chambers Bay

Par 73, 6,561 yards

University Place, Wash. 

Stroke play (the top 64 advance to match play Wednesday morning)

T1. Latanna Stone                          71-65--136 (-10)

T1. Alice Ziyi Zhao                          67-69--136 

T1. Laney Frye                                68-68--136

T4. Kelsey Bennett                           69-70--139

T4. Megha Ganne                            71-68--139

T4. Amari Avery                                72-67--139

T7. Maddison Hinson-Tolchard         69-71--140

T7. Taglao Jeeravivitaporn                70-70--140

T7. Catherine Rao                             73-67--140

T7. Casey Weidenfeld                       68-72--140

T26. Taylor Ledwein                        73-73--146

T53. Julia Gregg                              74-75--149

T53. Vanessa Borovilos                   74-75--149

T61. Julia Misemer                           75-75--150 (was the last player to emerge from an 8-for-4 playoff; she went bogey/par/par)

Did not advance

Grace Curran                                     74-81--155


Match play

Round of 64

(64) Julia Misemer def. (1) Latanna Stone 2&1

(8) Catherine Rao def. (57) Izzy Pellot 1 up

(4) Kelsey Bennett def. (61) Jieni Li 3&1

(60) Julia Gregg def. (5) Megha Ganne 19 holes

(28) Taylor Ledwein def. (37) Lauren Zaretsky 5&4

(2) Alice Ziyi Zhao def. (63) Camryn Carreon 4&3

(50) Aneka Seumanutafa def. (15) Jensen Castle 1 up

(58) Anna Fang def. (7) Taglao Jeeravivitaporn 3&2

(3) Laney Frye def. (62) Jennifer Rosenberg 1 up

(59) Vanessa Borovilos def. (6) Amari Avery 1 up


Round of 32

(33) Annabel Wilson def. (64) Julia Misemer 4&3

(8) Catherine Rao def. (25) Sara Im 2&1

(4) Kelsey Bennett def. (29) Nika Ito 5&4

(45) Brianna Navarrosa def. (52) Rachel Heck 2&1

(60) Julia Gregg def. (28) Taylor Ledwein 2&1

(34) Saki Baba def. (2) Alice Ziyi Zhao 3&1

(50) Aneka Seumanutafa def. (18) Leigha Devine 3&2

(39) Lauren Lehigh def. (58) Anna Fang 6&5

(30) Leigh Chien def. (3) Laney Frye 2&1

(14) Rachel Kuehn def. (19) Brooke Seay 2 up

(6) Amari Avery def. (38) Megan Yang 6&5


Round of 16

(33) Wilson def. (49) Katie Li

(8) Catherine Rao def. (24) Annabelle Pancake 4&3

(45) Brianna Navarrosa def. (4) Kelsey Bennett 21 holes

(53) Monet Chun def. (60) Julia Gregg 4&3

(34) Saki Baba def. (50) Aneka Seumanutafa 3&1

(39) Lauren Lehigh def. (42) Mia Hammond 4&3

(30) Leigh Chien def. (14) Rachel Kuehn 1 up

(54) Bailey Shoemaker def. (6) Amari Avery 2 up


Quarterfinals

(33) Wilson def. (8) Rao 3&1

(53) Chun def. (45) Navarrosa 19 holes

(34) Baba def. (39) Lehigh 4&3

(54) Shoemaker def. (30) Chien 5&3


Semifinals

(53) Chun def. (33) Wilson 2&1

(34) Baba def. (54) Shoemaker 7&6


Final 

(34) Baba def. (53) Chun 11&9 (36-hole final)