Kimberly Kim, who later would play golf for the University of Denver, made history by winning the U.S. Women’s Amateur at age 14 in 2006.
What Morgan Sahm of Centennial accomplished on Monday certainly isn’t in that league, but when a 14-year-old even qualifies for a USGA championship that’s open to all ages, it’s still quite a feat.
Sahm, who won’t be a freshman in high school until the fall, earned one of four available spots in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship in qualifying held Monday at Spring Valley Golf Club in Elizabeth.
“It’s definitely awesome,” said Sahm (pictured above), who’s just in her fourth year playing golf. “This means a lot. It kind of does (surprise me), but I work really hard. I just hope I can continue playing this well this year.”
Sahm shot a 5-over-par 77 to share third place out of Monday’s qualifying field, which was reduced to 16 by three withdrawals. She’ll be joined at the national Women’s Publinks by qualifying medalist Kayla Riede of Dixon, Calif. (74), Jennifer Yang of Seattle (76) and former Coloradan Lindsay McGetrick (77).
The U.S. WAPL will be played June 18-23 in Neshanic, N.J. Riede and Yang will be going to the national tournament for the second time, while McGetrick and Sahm will be making their U.S. Women’s Publinks debut.
It should be noted that all of the other three qualifiers are college golfers — Riede (pictured at left with USGA official Bob Austin) goes to the University of Tulsa, Yang to the University of Washington and McGetrick to North Carolina State — while Sahm won’t start high school at Grandview until the fall.
On Monday, McGetrick and Sahm prevailed in a three-person playoff for the final two national berths. It looked like Sahm was going to be the odd player out when she mis-hit her opening drive in sudden death and ended up about 100 yards short of both McGetrick and Paige Crawford of Colorado Springs.
McGetrick advanced with a routine par on the hole, and when Sahm came up short with her approach on the par-4 and later missed an 8-foot par putt, it opened the door for Crawford. But the Montana State golfer couldn’t convert her 3-foot par putt and she and Sahm moved on to the par-3 second hole.
There, both players hit their tee balls into the front bunker, and Crawford’s sand shot ran 15 feet past the pin. Sahm cozied her bunker shot to within a foot, and after Crawford missed, Sahm earned the final national berth with a tap-in par.
“Every time I’m in a playoff, I lose, so I thought, ‘It’s OK, another loss,'” said Sahm, who went 2 under par in her last four holes of regulation to force a playoff. “I honestly thought I was going to lose to Paige.”
McGetrick, whose father Mike is an acclaimed golf instructor, grew up in Highlands Ranch but now lives with her family in South Carolina. However, she continues to make her mark in Colorado. During her time in the state, she won the 2010 CWGA Junior Match Play Championship and the 2011 4A state high school title, and she made it to match play at the 2010 U.S. Girls’ Junior.
Monday marked a visit back to Colorado to visit friends, as well as a last week packed full of tournaments — the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open at Green Valley Ranch, the U.S. Women’s Open qualifying at the Broadmoor, and the U.S. WAPL qualifying at Spring Valley.
And while she missed the cut in the Colorado’s Women’s Open and finished in the middle of the pack in the U.S. Women’s Open qualifying, McGetrick isn’t leaving the state without another USGA championship berth.
“It was an exciting way to end things,” she said of Monday’s playoff. “I’m glad I came through and was able to make it. It’s definitely an accomplishment. I’m excited to be able to qualify.”
Riede played the same trio of Colorado tournaments as McGetrick did. In her case, it worked out nicely as a weeklong stopover in the Centennial State on her drive back home to Dixon, Calif., from Tulsa, Okla.
“I’ve been here for a while,” Riede said, noting that she also played an NCAA regional tournament at Colorado National Golf Club in Erie last month.
Yang, meanwhile, is spending the summer in Colorado with her Korean-born parents and her brother, Andy Yang, who plays golf for the University of Denver.
U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Sectional Qualifying
At Par-72 Spring Valley GC in Elizabeth
Qualified for U.S. WAPL
Kayla Riede, Dixon, Calif. 39-35–74
Jennifer Yang, Seattle, Wash. 38-38–76
Lindsay McGetrick, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 37-40–77
Morgan Sahm, Centennial, Colo. 40-37–77
Alternates (in order)
Paige Crawford, Colorado Springs, Colo. 38-39–77
Allie Johnston, Castle Rock, Colo. 41-38–79
Failed to Qualify
Katherine Scott, Cherry Hills Village, Colo. 39-40–79
Molly Dorans, Erie, Colo. 41-39–80
Katie Kim, Riverwoods, Ill. 40-40–80
Patricia Lee, Highlands Ranch, Colo. 37-44–81
Maren Scoggins, Denver, Colo. 40-42–82
Hannah Wood, Centennial, Colo. 43-39–82
Bryce Schroeder, Pueblo, Colo. 39-44–83
Jennifer Kempton, Littleton, Colo. 44-40–84
Jodie Streeter, Englewood, Colo. 45-43–88
Jennifer Hocking, Colorado Springs, Colo. 45-45–90
Taylor Buck, Littleton, Colo. WD
Tori Glenn, Castle Rock, Colo. WD
