California golfers win PNGA events

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 of Vancouver, B.C. in the 36-hole final match. The championship was held tat Olympia Country & Golf Club.

In the morning 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.

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.

• Joshua Koo of Cerritos, Calif. defeated Ben Borgida of Shoreline, Wash. 1-up in the 36-hole final match to win the 121st Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship, held this week at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

Borgida had built a commanding 4-up lead after the morning 18, and still held a 3-up lead after 27 holes. But Koo won four of the next six holes, and grabbed his first lead of the match on the 33rd hole, when Borgida couldn’t save par after missing the green on the par-3.

On the 36th hole, a 541-yard par-5, Koo hit a 242-yard 3-iron for his second shot, with the ball stopping 10 feet from the hole. His two-putt birdie clinched the match.