Lauren Sung wins 121st PNGA Women’s Amateur Championship
Olympia, Wash. – Lauren Sung of Palo Alto, Calif., won the 121st Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur Championship with a 4&3 victory over Angela (Zi Lan) Zhang in today’s 36-hole final match. The championship was held this week, from July 10th to 14th, at Olympia Country & Golf Club in Olympia, Wash.
The championship began with 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying on July 10th and 11th, followed by 18-hole single-elimination match play on July 12th and 13th, concluding today, July 14th with a 36-hole final match.
Championship links:
In this morning’s round, Sung got off to a good start and built a two-up lead through the first seven holes. Zhang then bounced back and won three of the next four holes to grab a one-up lead before Sung tied it again on the 12th. The two players went back and forth, each taking a one-up lead before finishing the morning round in a tie.
In the afternoon round, Sung kept her foot on the gas. She and Zhang tied holes 19 and 20 before Sung won the next five holes in a row to build a five-up lead. This was simply too much for Zhang to overcome. She won the 27th hole to cut the deficit to four, and then the two players matched scores the rest of the way. Sung won the match 4&3 after the 33rd hole.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” said Sung when asked about taking home the title, “this course is not easy, and it’s not easy to walk, but playing here all week has been such a treat and I’m so glad to be able to walk away with a win.”
The road to the title for Sung, who was the No. 15 seed in the bracket, included a victory over her twin sister, Sydney Sung, in the round of 16. Both sisters play on the University of Michigan women’s golf team, and Sydney went on to caddie for Lauren during the rest of her championship run.
“That was a really fun match,” said Lauren, “it was a family affair, we had like five lead changes and got to trash talk a little bit out there. It was a lot of fun being out there and being comfortable in a competitive setting, since we compete every day already.”
Click here to watch Sung’s winning interview.
Sung is a rising sophomore on the Michigan women’s golf team. She played in 10 tournaments during her freshman year. In 2018, at the age of 14, she qualified for and played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.
First held in 1899, the Pacific Northwest Women’s Amateur Championship is one of the oldest amateur golf championships in the world. Past champions include Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers who made up the Golden Age of female golfers in the Northwest such as JoAnne Carner, Jo Ann Washam, Pat Lesser Harbottle, Edean Ihlanfeldt, Violet Pooly Sweeney, Marcia Fisher, and Betty Jean Hulteng, among others. Past champions also include many others who would later go on to the LPGA Tour, such as Jimin Kang, Peggy Conley, Ruth Jessen and Shirley Englehorn.
The PNGA Women’s Amateur is one of 11 major, regional, amateur championships for men, women, juniors and senior conducted annually by the PNGA throughout the Northwest.
About Olympia Country & Golf Club
The Olympia Country & Golf Club (OCGC) has a long history in Olympia. It was founded in 1917 and in 1925 the club was relocated to its current location on Butler Cove. It started as a 9-hole course and expanded to an 18-hole course in 1958. Known for its tight fairways and lightning-fast greens, the course has played host to Olympia families for generations.
