July 1, 2011
WASHINGTON - Georgetown University women's golfer Alice Choi (Whitestone, N.Y./Holy Cross) did not make the cut at the United States Amateur Public Links Championship, but she left the course in Oregon with something, perhaps, even better - confidence.
Choi, a rising sophomore who played in seven tournaments as a freshman and posted a 77.71 stroke average in 2010-11, advanced to the Public Links, one of the top amateur events in the country, after a strong performance at a qualifier last month.
She made the trip all the way to the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon and nearly advanced to the match play portion of the event. Playing under tough conditions, with rain and strong winds, Choi shot a 9-over par 79 in the first round and followed with up with a 10-over par 80.
Choi finished stroke play in a nine-way tie for one of the two final spots in the match play portion of the event. She advanced to a playoff but was the last player eliminated.
"It was really a great experience," Choi said over the phone from Oregon. "I met a lot of people and it was great to get that chance. The golf course was totally different from what I'm used to playing. It was more of a links course and the greens were big and fast. There were so many hills on the greens that everything was just based on your short game."
"I'm so proud of Alice and her representing the Hoyas out in Oregon," Head Coach Katie Brophy said. "She put together two great rounds of golf given the conditions, and exposure to pressure situations like playoffs will definitely pay dividends in the future. It's fabulous for collegiate golfers to have experience at the USGA level during the summer months, and I'm looking to build on Alice's week at Bandon Dunes as something from which we can draw as a team this year."
Choi was one of nine players to advance to a six-hole playoff. She recorded pars on each of the first five holes and was one of two players left for the final spot. Choi again recorded a par, but did not advance when Ashley Edwards of California had a birdie.
"It was great and I met a lot of people," Choi said. "The golf course was totally different from the ones I'm used to playing. It was more of a links course and the greens were big and fast. There were so many hills on the greens, that everything was really based on your short game."
Choi, who was still upset over a quadruple-bogey on one hole that could have avoided her even having to go through a playoff, said that had she made it through the playoff, she felt good about her prospects in match play."Once I got here and saw the course, I wasn't sure how I was going to play it, but I did well through some tough conditions," Choi said. "I played well during the second round and during the playoff, it was kind of like match play. I was a bit nervous again and my hands were sweaty, but I just kept getting pars. We were playing in near pitch black, but I was confident that because of going through that, I could do well in match play."
Choi, who battled a knee injury in the spring, was not expecting to advance to Oregon and admitted that the chance to play was a nerve-wracking. "I was a bit nervous," she explained. "I had only played in one U.S. Girls (Amateur), probably two years ago, and in the qualifier, I wasn't really expecting to get in because I hadn't played in a while. But once I qualified, I wanted to have fun and play a nice course."
More than anything, however, Choi felt that she left Oregon with the confidence she needs to have entering her sophomore year at Georgetown. "It's given me a lot (of confidence)," she said. "I've always felt I was on the bottom but as I had some success it's given me a lot more. For me, it's like the light bulb going off to say that I can play. It gives me a lot of confidence coming back for this season."
