17-year-old wins USGA Women’s Am at Chambers

Displaying superb ball striking, near-flawless putting and a killer competitive instinct, Saki Baba put on a clinic at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. The 17-year-old from Japan defeated 21-year-old Monet Chun of Canada, 11 and 9, on a chamber of commerce day at Chambers Bay. With the victory, Baba becomes just the second player from Japan to win a USGA championship, after Michiko Hattori won this title in 1985.

Baba’s kind of golf was very effective at Chambers Bay. She won the first hole with a par after Chun, a junior at the University of Michigan, hit into the dunes to the right and struggled to get back into play. After the two finalists tied the second hole with birdies, Baba won the next three in a row to build a 4-up lead that quickly felt much larger.

Baba, who relentlessly hits fairways and greens and seems to make just about every putt inside 10 feet, increased her lead to 5 up through eight holes. Chun, a steady player in her own right, was not able to mount a sustained comeback even when she hit quality shots.