Kwon and Li Set to Face Off in 59th PNGA Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship Final
The final match is set in the 59th Pacific Northwest Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship. #4 seed Brittany Kwon of Bremerton, Wash., will face off against #6 seed Marianne Li of Bellevue, Wash., Thursday morning at Olympia Country & Golf Club in Olympia, Washington.
Kwon won a close match in this morning’s Quarterfinal round by defeating #12 seed Maddie Nelson of Sammamish, Wash., 2&1. Neither player led by more than a single hole throughout the match until Kwon, up one, made birdie on the 17th to close out Nelson and advance to the Semifinals. Kwon’s opponent in the afternoon was #8 seed Michelle Kim of Surrey, B.C., who held a 1-up lead for much of the front nine but was unable to extend it further. Kwon squared the match on hole 9 and never looked back as she would would win four of the next six holes and walk away with a 4&3 victory and a spot in the final.
Li’s path to the final saw much less resistance and she won both her morning Quarterfinal and afternoon Semifinal matches in convincing fashion. She first faced #3 seed Ashley Fitzgibbons of Sammamish, Wash., in a match that would end after the 14th hole. After going up 1 on the first, Li made birdies on holes 3 and 5 to help build an early 4-up lead. Both players birdied the 6th and then matched pars through the 11th hole. A par won Li the 12th, and after squaring the next two, she earned a 5&4 victory. In the afternoon, Li went up against #2 seed and co-medalist Alisha Lau of Richmond, B.C. and would only need 13 holes to get the victory. The match was close through the first 8 holes, as Li held a 1-up lead heading to the 9th tee. From there, she would win five consecutive holes, capped off with a birdie on the par-3 13th, and come away with a 6&5 win. Li did not trail at any point in either of her matches today, and more impressively, did not lose a single hole.
The Final Match will commence tomorrow morning at 8:00am from the #1 tee followed by the remaining flight championship matches.
