Writing from Northfield, Illinois
Saturday, June 23, 2022
Championships are lost as much as they’re won, and Saturday’s title match for the 122nd Women’s Western Amateur crown is an excellent example.
Tagalo Jerravivitaporn of Thailand, by way of Iowa State, was 3 down after only six holes of the 18-hole championship test at Sunset Ridge Country Club. Her fate seemed as dark as the storm clouds that rolled through just after dawn.
“I was chilling,” Jerravivitaporn said, comparing her first few holes to a practice round. “I couldn’t concentrate that much. Then I realized I’m 3 down and only six holes, and I’m, ‘I have to go, chop chop!’ ”
At that point, Annabelle Pancake, of Zionsville, Ind., by way of Clemson, was cruising. She’d won the first, fifth and six holes, sandwiching a birdie 2 on the par-3 fifth after dropping her tee shot five feet from the cup around two hole wins garnered by Jerravivitaporn bogeys.
Pancake was still 3-up on the ninth tee. Then she drove into a fairway bunker, and that led to a bogey and a 2-up advantage at the turn. And Jerravivitaporn pounced.
“She missed a little bit,” Jerravivitaporn said. “She gave me a chance, and now I have to take it.”
Jerravivitaporn, who will be a fifth-year senior in the fall, did just that. She hit five of six fairways and every green on the inward nine on a breezy day. She ran down a 35-foot birdie putt to square the match on the par-4 12th – the only fairway she missed coming in. She calmly two-putted for par from 45 feet on the par-3 15th, where Pancake’s major misread, thinking a flattish putt was uphill, caused her to gun her 25-footer six feet past the hole, from which she missed. That brought Jerravivitaporn her first lead of the match.
Pancake’s early brilliance wasn’t duplicated later. Aside from nearly holing a bunked shot on the par-4 14th, knocking it to 18 inches for a halve, she was 3-over-par in her final nine holes.
“I wasn’t as confident with my wedges and didn’t make as many putts,” Pancake said of her back nine. “On the 15th, the putt had way too much pace. I kinda got lost in the moment.”
Two holes later, Jerravivitaporn closed Pancake out, sinking a 10-footer for birdie, a 2-and-1 margin, and the title – her first since high school in Thailand.
“JJ hit some really awesome shots,” Pancake said.
Jerravivitaporn was the third seed after her 71-72–143 stroke play on the par 71 layout, compared to Pancake’s 9-over 151 aggregate, which forced her into a nine-for-three playoff to make the 32-women match play field. Then Pancake, after a 2-and-1 victory over medalist Sadie Engelmann, went on a tear through match play, and didn’t have another close match until Saturday.
Jerravivitaporn had a couple of fourth-place finishes in college play the last two years, but no wins. Now, she’s won one of the most honored titles in world amateur golf, the result of a stronger mental attitude compared to a year ago, when she didn’t qualify for match play.
“Patience easily got me (before),” Jerravivitaporn said. “Now when I play golf, I don’t care about anything. If I lose, I lose. It’s fine. (I had put) a lot of pressure on myself. Now, I just have to play my game. If I miss something, it’s fine. Now I have a chance to get it back.”
Saturday, she did. Chop chop.
Around Sunset Ridge
Both players have qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay near Seattle. … Both were sharp despite a three-hour thunderstorm delay that dumped nearly 1.5 inches of rain on the Northfield area. Sunset Ridge drains exceptionally well, but the greens were a touch slower after the downpour. … Jerravivitaporn is the third Thai native to win the Women’s Western Am, following Ariya Jutanugarn (2012) and Chakansim Khamborn (2015). … White Eagle Golf Club in Aurora, which hosts next year’s Women’s Western Am and next month’s Illinois Open, was hit by a microburst at daybreak Saturday. Many trees were uprooted, carts tossed about like toys and the scoreboard broken in half. No injuries were reported. … Onwentsia Club in Lake Forest hosts in 2024. … Pancake’s father Tony is the head pro at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind., a many-time site of professional and amateur tournaments.
– Tim Cronin