Aug. 12, 2010
U.S. Amateur Match Play Results
Vanderbilt junior Marina Alex had her U.S. Amateur run come to an end Thursday in the round of 16, when she dropped the match to Kristen Park of Buena Park, Calif., in 20 holes, 1-down. Alex advanced to the afternoon session after defeating the number one seed, Rachel Rohanna, 1-up in 19 holes in the round of 32 match earlier in the day.
Alex had a roller coaster of a day in both rounds. In the morning round, she jumped out to a 3-up lead through six holes, but Rohanna, a rising sophomore at Ohio State, evened the match at the turn. Alex regained the lead, but Rohanna once again evened the match, this time tying the match on hole 14 and then taking a 1-up advantage on number 15. Alex battled back on 16 and made the match all-square, and then claimed the match on the 19th hole by making a par 4.
An hour later, Alex went back out on the golf course to take on Park in the Round of 16. This time, Alex fell behind early, and was two-down after five holes. However, she bounced back and evened the match on number eight, and then took the lead on number 10 after parring the par-4, 372-yard hole while Park bogeyed. Alex kept the lead until 12 and 13, when Park moved to one-up with a par and birdie, respectively. Alex tied it again on number 16 with a par, and the match remained tied until the 20th hole, when Park made a par and Alex made bogey.
Quotable
Greg Allen
-“She played really well this morning, and didn’t have her A game this afternoon. It’s so hot out here, and I think she was a little tired at the end.”
-“She made a clutch par putt on the first playoff hole – a 15 foot par to save the round.”
-“On the last hole, she ran it by six feet, but missed it coming back for the par.”
