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A
Major Feat |
Morgan
Pressel's hot streak continues at U.S. Women's Open |
By
John Egnot
Manager of Media Relations
Every once in a while in sports, a player comes along who changes
the landscape of the game and sets precedents that take years
to be match. As the AJGA enters the heart of its summer schedule,
one player is doing just that.
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| Pressel
poses with the Rolex Girls Junior Championship trophy,
marking her fourth consecutive victory at an AJGA Invitational. |
Morgan Pressel of Boca Raton, Fla., will take to White Manor
Country Club in Malvern, Pa., later this month in an attempt
to claim her fifth consecutive AJGA Invitational victory at
the McDonald’s Betsy Rawls Girls Championship. Over the
past year, Pressel has captured victories at the Rolex Tournament
of Champions, Polo Golf Junior Classic, Thunderbird International
Junior and most recently, the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.
Not to mention, she tied the all-time AJGA record for largest
margin of victory with a 16-shot win at the 2004 Valero Texas
Open Junior Shootout presented by Ingram Park Auto Center.
The 17-year-old has stretched her prowess beyond junior golf
as well. In June, Pressel wowed the crowds at the U.S. Women's
Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo.,
just outside of Denver.
Throughout the tournament and especially during the final round,
Pressel’s name had been hovering at the top of the leaderboard.
She entered the final round tied for first place at 1-over-par
with Karen Stupples and fellow amateur Michelle Wie. Before
long, it became apparent that Pressel truly had a shot at claiming
the national title and an LPGA Tour major championship.
Matching her elders shot-for-shot during the final round, Pressel
found herself in prime position to win the U.S. Women’s
Open as she walked up No. 18 fairway. Going into the 18th, Pressel
and the relatively-unknown Birdie Kim were tied at 4-over-par
for the tournament. Playing in the second-to-last group, Kim
hit her second shot into a greenside bunker, short and right
of the green. It was a spot that many players found themselves
in throughout the day, where getting up-and-down for par was
a nearly impossible task.
Meanwhile, back on the tee, Pressel striped her tee shot down
the fairway and looked to be in excellent shape to make par,
at worst. With Birdie Kim in the greenside bunker, it became
apparent that a par might just be enough for Pressel to take
home the title.
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| Pressel
will be seeking her fifth straight AJGA Invitational victory
at the McDonald's Betsy Rawls Girls Championship. |
However, Kim was going to make the 17-year-old work for the
championship. Kim’s third shot out of the bunker miraculously
found the flagstick and dropped into the hole for, ironically,
a birdie. Kim was in the clubhouse at 3-over-par, leaving Pressel
in a tough spot to extend the tournament into an 18-hole playoff
on Monday.
Pressel would go on to leave her second shot short of the green
and was not able to emulate the magic that had just occurred
on the 18th green. She would go on to make bogey, but in doing
so, finished tied for second with Brittany Lang, another amateur
and recent AJGA star who will be turning pro in the near future.
After becoming the youngest qualifier in U.S. Women’s
Open history by earning a spot in the field at age 12 back in
2001, Morgan Pressel nearly became the youngest champion in
a professional golf major at age 17. For now, she’ll be
heading back to junior golf, competing in the McDonald’s
Betsy Rawls Girls Championship where she will seek a fifth straight
AJGA Invitational victory.
The Boca Raton, Fla., native will be back at the U.S. Women’s
Open in 2006, looking to take that one final step toward earning
golf’s version of the national championship. |
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