Malixi's US Women's Amateur repeat bid ended by lowest seed Lau

August 7 ------ RIANNE Malixi’s title-retention bid in the US Women’s Amateur ended in disappointment on Thursday after she was ousted by Hong Kong’s Arianna Lau, 1-up, in a match where the Filipino star never led. The two players were tied going to the last hole and both reached the 502-yard, par 5 18th in two. But it was Lau who passed the stern test, sinking a 20-foot putt for eagle while Malixi missed hers from 15 feet. Malixi's co-medalist and No. 2 seed Asterisk Talley also lost her match against Ella Skaysbrook, 6 and 4, on a day of upsets at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.

What many had expected to be a walk in the park for Malixi, the tournament’s top seed, against a player who had to fight for a slot in a multi-player playoff to advance to match play, became a journey of attrition as Lau, the last qualifier, kept applying the pressure and at one point led, 3-up.

Malixi, who had topped the 36-hole qualifying, kept fighting back, erasing her deficit by winning three of the next four holes from the fifth, to tie the match. Lau, however, was undaunted. She led again by winning the 10th, Malixi tied it on the 12th, then Lau bounced back by taking the 13th. Malixi fought back to tie it on the 14th before Lau moved up again on the 15th.

The par 5, at 508 yards, was reachable. Malixi used 3-wood and a 5-wood to make the green, while Lau had driver, 3-wood to also reach it in two. Lau putted first and it was dead center. With so much pressure to make the putt and extend the match, Malixi missed hers to the right and her championship and back-to-back dreams painfully ended.

Asked how she survived, Lau said she decided to be aggressive from the start, knowing she was up against the defending champion. “I didn’t give up, I tried to be patient,” she said after turning back repeated comebacks by Malixi who had a chance to advance but couldn’t against a player who had nothing to lose.

Source: spin.ph