June 22, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Fighting Irish women’s golfers Becca Huffer (Denver, Colo./Littleton) and Nicole Zhang (Calgary, Alberta/Bishop Carroll) qualified for the match play portion of the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship (WAPL) at Notre Dame’s Warren golf course on Tuesday afternoon. The duo advanced by virtue of finishing in the top-64 (out of 156 entrants) after two rounds of stroke play.
Zhang, who is an incoming freshman, fired an even-par 71 in the first round on Monday and followed with a three-over par 73 in Tuesday’s second round. Her two-over par 144 tied for seventh at the conclusion of stroke play. Huffer, who just completed her sophomore year with the Irish, shot a three-over par 74 in the first round and followed with a two-over par 73 in the second round to finish in a tie for 32nd (+5/147).
The final cut for match play was made at 152 (+10). In USGA amateur Championships such as the WAPL, match play consists of two opponents playing against each other (while there may be other players on the course, each group is its own match and has nothing to do with the rest of the field). The winners of each match keep advancing until there is only one player left. With 64 players, this occurs after six matches.
Match play at the 2010 WAPL is slated to begin on Wednesday, June 23. Zhang, Huffer and the rest of the 64-player field will be seeded according to their stroke play totals. The USGA will release pairings and tee times later this evening and post them on the WAPL website, which can be accessed at: http://www.usga.org/ChampEventScoringIndex.aspx?eid=17179869344&year=2010&id=2147486828
The U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association. The tournament is open to amateur golfers who, since Jan. 1, 2010, have not held privileges at any private club maintaining its own course.
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