Mehaffey ninth after final round 75 in Augusta National Women's Amateur
Olivia Mehaffey of Northern Ireland plays her stroke from the No. 2 tee during the final round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur, Saturday, April 3, 2021.
Olivia Mehaffey put up a brave final round battle but came up two shots short of making a playoff where Japan’s Tsubasa Kajitani beat American Emilia Migliaccio with a par at the first extra hole to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
The Royal County Down Ladies and Arizona State University star (23) went into the final round tied for third on level par with Auston Kim, one shot behind leader Sweden’s Ingrid Lindblad and American Rose Zhang, the world No 1 and the reigning US Women’s Amateur champion.
While she got off to an excellent start, making birdie at the second to tie for the lead, then birdied the seventh and eighth to keep pace with Zhang, she bogeyed the ninth and 10th, then double-bogeyed the 12th after a visit to Rae’s Creek and couldn’t birdie either of the par-fives on the back nine.
A rollercoaster back nine for many of the leading contenders left six players tied for the lead at one stage of a thrilling afternoon.
Mehaffey still came to the 18th needing a birdie to join Migliaccio (70) and Kajatani (72) in the clubhouse lead on one-over.
But she drove into a fairway bunker and after coming up short right of the green, she failed to chip in for birdie and ended up missing a three-footer for par, coming home in 40 to card a three-over 75 that left her ninth on three-over-par.
Zhang and Lindblad both needed to birdie the 18th to make the playoff but both made par and shot 75 instead, finishing in a six-way tie third on two-over with Pauline Roussin-Bouchard (70) of France, American Rachel Heck (72), Austria’s Emma Spitz (71) and Denmark’s Karen Fredgaard (73).
in the playoff, 21-year-old Migliaccio - a teammate of Lauren Walsh at Wake Forest - missed the green right of the bunker as Kajatani hit her approach to the back of the green, a long way from the traditional Sunday pin at the Masters.
Forced to chip over the bunker, Migliaccio came up a yard short in the sand and made bogey as Katajani (17) lagged to four feet and calmly rolled in the putt become the second winner of the new women’s amateur at Augusta National.
It was nevertheless an impressive week for Mehaffey (23) who will undoubtedly make her mark when she turns professional at some stage this year.
She will certainly learn much from the shots and pressure situations she faced in Saturday’s final round, sharing the lead heading into the most famous back nine in golf.
After starting par-birdie, she bogeyed the always dangerous, short par-four third, then had to get up and down from greenside sand at the par-three fourth to remain a shot behind Zhang as Lingblad bogeyed two of her first three holes.
Slightly-built Zhang (17) parred her first three holes but as Mehaffey came up short with a 20 footer at the fifth, the American rolled in a right to left putt from 20 feet for birdie at the fourth to move two strokes clear of the field on two-under.
Mehaffey had to scramble for par at the short sixth, rolling in a three-footer for her par after her tee shot rolled off the false front.
With birdie at the par-4 seventh hole, Olivia Mehaffey moves to just one back. #ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/dynzKEVXgQ
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) April 3, 2021
But the Royal County Down Ladies and Arizona State University star (23) was soon tied for the lead again as she birdied the seventh and the eighth.
She hit a massive drive up the 330-yard seventh, spun her short approach back to three feet and rolled in the birdie putt to get to within a shot of Zhang on one-under, then knocked in a 20 footer at the eighth to get to two-under-par.
Following a birdie at No. 7, Olivia Mehaffey makes another birdie at No. 8 for a share of the lead. #ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/hqIZz9Vii9
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) April 3, 2021
Zhang hit a superb shot over the pin to 15 feet at the 165-yard par-three but her left to right breaking putt missed low.
But as Mehaffey pressed, she had to scramble for par at the seventh, where she was forced to go over a tree with her approach from the right rough, then get up and down from between the two bunkers that guard the shallow green.
Zhang found trouble off the tee at the 480-yard, par-five eighth, however, finding the fairway bunker on the right. She couldn’t find the green in three but after pitching to 10 feet, she showed why she’s the world No 1 when she rattled in the right to left breaking putt to remain tied for the lead.
Mehaffey came up short with her approach at the ninth and left herself a testing putt from 40 feet. She came up five feet short and hit her par putt too firm, lipping out for par to turn in one-under 35.
Zhang ended up between clubs at the ninth but after overshooting the green, she opted for the putter and knocked her third shot 25 feet past before two-putting for her first bogey of the day to head down the back nine tied for the lead with Mehaffey on one-under.
The leaders were a shot clear of Denmark’s Karen Fredgaard and just two ahead of Austria’s Emma Spitz, Japan’s Tsubasa Kajatini and Lindblad.
Mehaffey hit a good drive down the 10th but with the ball below her feet, she found the right bunker with her approach and failed to make a 25 footer for par
Fredgaard suddenly appeared at the top of the leaderboard, knocking in her third birdie in five holes at the 11th to join Zhang on one-under with Mehaffey third on level par.
Mehaffey looked between clubs at the 11th and came up 20 feet short with an accessible approach, then left the birdie putt woefully short.
With the pressure mounting, she stepped off her tee shot at the 12th but again looked between clubs and came up 15 yards short of dry land in Rae’s Creek. She then hit her third over the green and two-putted from the back fringe for a double-bogey five that left her four strokes behind new leader Fredgaard, who birdied the 13th to move to two-under-par.
Mehaffey then went for broke at the par-five 13th but her long iron approach failed to carry on the right and fell into Rae’s Creek.
She managed to get up and down brilliantly from the drop zone short left of the green for bogey but was still three shots off the lead as Fredgaard bogeyed the 14th to join Kajitani and Zhang on one-under.
After missing birdie chances at the 15th and 16th and leaving herself a tough two-putt at the 17th, Mehaffey came to the 18th needing a birdie to join Migliaccio and Katajani in a share of the clubhouse lead on one-over.
As Fredgaard bogeyed the last to fall back to two-over, Mehaffey drove into the fairway bunker on the left and came up short right of the green. She needed to chip in but ended up taking three to get down instead.
