Semifinal Matches Set at 96th Women's Amateur Championship
Defending NJSGA Women's Amateur Champion, Eunice Kim
RUMSON, N.J. - Just four golfers remain in the hunt for the 96th New Jersey State Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship at Rumson Country Club: defending champion Eunice Kim, 36-hole stroke play medalist Ami Gianchandani, London native Ashleigh Greenham, and last year’s runner-up Yoona Kim. All four players won a pair of matches on Thursday to secure a spot in Friday’s semifinals.
Eunice Kim rallied from a 2-down deficit in her first match of the day against Sydney Kuo, finishing with three consecutive pars to secure a 1-up victory. In her quarterfinal match, Kim, of White Beeches Golf & Country Club opened with back-to-back birdies to take an early 2-up advantage, winning seven holes en route to a 5 & 4 victory over Kelsey Solan.
“That was a long match,” Kim said, referencing her first match of the day. “I definitely persevered through. I started off 2-down through two holes, so I knew it was going to be a long match.”
Kim won last year’s Women’s Amateur Championship by collecting four consecutive wins over two days, and she will be looking for the same result on Friday. When asked what she needs to do to go back-to-back, Kim said, “I just need to keep it slow and steady, not expect too much of myself, not put too much pressure on myself, and not get too ahead of myself.”
Defending champion Eunice Kim is victorious in both her matches today and earns a spot in tomorrow's Semifinals! pic.twitter.com/FcRNs4Gft8
— NJSGA (@NJSGA1900) July 29, 2021
Eunice Kim’s semifinal opponent Friday will be Yoona Kim in what will be a rematch of last year’s championship match. While Eunice Kim is looking for a repeat, Yoona Kim will be seeking redemption.
“I need to take it one shot at a time,” Yoona Kim said. “Over the past year I’ve kind of learned to not take myself too seriously on the course. I think really trusting each shot is key out here. Tomorrow is just about enjoying myself and focusing on each shot, not letting myself think about the bigger picture.”
Ashleigh Greenham, who servces as the volunteer assistant women’s golf coach at Rutgers University, also advanced to the semifinals. After shooting a 3-under par 69 on Wednesday to earn her spot in the match play, Greenham defeated Anushka Sawant 2 & 1 in the round of 16 and Samantha Galantini, 2-up in the quarterfinals to secure a position in the semifinals. Greenham’s opponent will be Ami Gianchandani, the 36-hole stroke play medalist, who defeated Anna Bowman 7 & 5 and Samantha Perrotta 3 & 2 to advance to the final day.
“Today was about just staying steady, not a lot of mistakes. The wind picked up a lot, so it was a lot about just hitting greens and hitting fairways,” Gianchandani said.
And on her mentality for Friday? “Clean slate, start every hole over like I haven’t played it before, and just try to take it one shot at a time.”
The semifinal matches of the 96th NJSGA Women’s Amateur Championship will begin at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning at Rumson Country Club. The winner of Eunice Kim and Yoona Kim will play the winner of Greenham and Gianchandani in the final match Friday afternoon with the trophy on the line.
Coverage will be available at NJSGA.org, where live scoring, news, and recaps will be featured throughout the week. Fans and players can also follow the organization on its social media outlets at Facebook.com/njsga1900, @NJSGA1900 on Twitter and @njsga1900 on Instagram.
