Friday, September 5th, 2008

Photo

<p>UCLA women&#8217;s golfer Amie Cochran, shown here at the NCAA Championships, was in ninth place

UCLA women’s golfer Amie Cochran, shown here at the NCAA Championships, was in ninth place

Bruin part of amateur surge at U.S. Open

Upon taking a casual glance at the final leaderboard of the U.S. Women’s Open, it seemed like amateurs overran professional women’s golf’s most prestigious event. One of the young uprising stars that contributed to the ambush on the leaderboard was 19-year-old UCLA sophomore women’s golfer Amie Cochran. Despite finishing at a tie for 50th at 18-over par at the U.S. Women’s Open at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., Cochran was part of a growing trend that saw young talent as the new emerging force on the LPGA Tour. “These young players are so good nowadays that it doesn’t surprise me at all,” UCLA women’s golf coach Carrie Forsyth said. “It’s been moving in this direction for a few years. It just hasn’t been pronounced like this year. These kids are fearless.” Two of the top three finishers, 17-year old Morgan Pressel and 19-year old Brittany Lang, were amateurs, and many other amateurs were in contention, including 15-year old Michelle Wie and UCLA’s Cochran. The UCLA sophomore made the 36-hole cut with a 2-under par 69 in Friday’s second round, jumping to ninth place on the leaderboard. During the weekend, however, Cochran struggled in the U.S. Open, following a 9-over par 80 on Saturday with a 6-over par on Sunday to finish the tournament. Though she was disappointed with her finish, Cochran still finished as the fourth longest driver of the golf ball, averaging nearly 272 yards per drive. “To play a USGA course the way they set it up and to play a professional tournament with the professionals is a huge achievement for her,” Forsyth said. Cochran, who qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open last year but missed the cut, came into this year’s tournament on the heels of multiple consecutive strong performances. After pacing UCLA to a second place finish at the NCAA Championships, Cochran advanced through the first stage of the U.S. Women’s Open Qualifying and won the sectional qualifying tournament to advance to Cherry Hills. “Her performance shows how much she has improved,” Forsyth said. “It’s definitely something that should make her pretty hungry to improve even more.”

NOT SO CHERRY: Unlike Cochran, former Bruin Hana Kim and incoming Bruin Jane Park failed to make the 36-hole cut at Cherry Hills Country Club. Kim and Park posted two-round scores of 10-over par and 11-over par respectively.

INTERNATIONAL VICTORY: Incoming heralded men’s golf recruit Erik Flores led the United States to a 12-stroke victory in the Toyota Junior World Golf Cup in Japan. Flores, who was ranked as the top amateur in men’s golf according by the Junior Golf Scoreboard, broke the course record twice in the event, firing a 7-under par 65 in the first round and an 8-under 64 in the third round. Flores finished with a four-round total of 20-under par and won the individual competition by six shots.