KINGSTON SPRINGS, Tenn. — Kristen Gillman won the U.S. Women’s Amateur for the second time Sunday, beating Alabama teammate Jiwon Jeon 7 and 6 in the 36-hole final at The Golf Club of Tennessee.
“It’s really cool to be able to have it on there again,” Gillman said about her name on the Robert Cox Trophy. “Everyone who was playing in this tournament was picturing their name on it at the end of the week, so it’s really nice to be able to do that and accomplish that.”
The 20-year-old Gillman, from Austin, Texas, also won in 2014 as a 16-year-old at Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, New York.
“It was definitely more emotional to win this time,” Gillman said. “And my mom (Laura) wasn’t able to come the first time, so she flew here last night to watch me play in the final match. So it was really cool to have her be able to be here, too, to experience this win because I know that last time she wanted to be here, but she just had eye surgery, so she couldn’t fly.”
On Sunday, Gillman was 5-up after nine holes, winning four straight from Np. 4-7. She was 5-up after 18 holes and increased the margin to seven on the second 18.
Gillman won the Japan LPGA’s Century 21 Ladies Golf Tournament last month for her first victory in a professional event. She also starred in U.S. victories in the Curtis Cup and Palmer Cup, and tied for 27th this year in the U.S. Women’s Open.
Gillman’s four-year span between titles is the second-largest in event history. Dorothy Campbell Hurd had a 14-year period between titles, winning in 1910 and 1924. Margaret Curtis also had a four-year span between titles, winning her first in 1907 and second in 1911. She also won again in 1912.
The 21-year-old Jeon is from South Korea. She transferred from Daytona State Junior College to Alabama, with Gillman serving as Jeon’s host when she took her recruiting trip to Tuscaloosa last fall.
“She was very consistent all day,” Jeon said. “It was a little difficult for me to catch up on her. But that is the one I cannot control. So I was trying to play my best. I didn’t play my best today, but I tried my best on the course. I really appreciate that she played great today.”
n Ole Miss, Alabama players will compete in U.S. Amateur: At Pebble Beach, California, Ole Miss seniors Beau Briggs and Braden Thornberry and Alabama’s Davis Riley and Davis Shore will open play Monday at the United States Amateur Championship, which will be co-hosted at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course.
Briggs will tee off from No. 10 at Spyglass Hill at 3:06 p.m. Monday. Thornberry will tee off at 4:09 p.m. at Pebble Beach alongside fellow Ben Hogan Award finalist Collin Morikawa. On Tuesday, Briggs will play Pebble Beach at 9:51 a.m. and Thornberry will play Spyglass Hill at 10:54 a.m.
Riley will tee off at 10:54 a.m. at No. 10 at Spyglass Hill, while Shore will begin his round at 10:33 a.m. at Hole No. 1 at Pebble Beach.
As the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world, Thornberry highlights the star-studded field. Having qualified for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills this past summer, Thornberry was one of 61 players who were exempt into the event. At last year’s U.S. Amateur, he made it to the round of 32 after knocking off then-world No. 1 amateur Joaquin Niemann in the first round of match play.
Briggs will make his first appearance in the U.S. Amateur. The All-American Scholar qualified after firing a 36-hole total of 136 (66-70) and winning a three-man playoff at Hattiesburg Country Club in Hattiesburg.
Riley, who earned third-team All-America honors last year and will be entering his senior season at Alabama this fall, will compete in his fifth U.S. Amateur. In 2016, the Hattiesburg native advanced to the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills after he matched a North Course record with a round of 64 in stroke play.
Shore also has had a strong summer after a stellar rookie season at Alabama in 2017-18. Like Riley, Shore also reached match play at the Western Amateur where he fell to Hammer in the round of 16. The Knoxville, Tennessee, native will compete in his second-consecutive U.S. Amateur Championship.
Following two rounds of stroke play, the field will be cut to 64 for match play. The match play portion will be televised on FS1 and FOX. On Wednesday-Friday, the rounds of 64, 32, and 16 will be on FS1. The finals will be on FOX this weekend.
Live stats can be found at USGA.org.
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