Aug. 13, 2002
SCARBOROUGH, NEW YORK - Aztec junior Shayna Miyajima advanced to the match play portion of the 2002 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship today by finishing among the top 64 scores in the stroke play segment of the tournament. After shooting a one-over-par 72 yesterday, Miyajima carded a three-over 74 today for a two-day total of 146 that placed her in a tie for 21st out of the 150 qualifiers that began the tournament.
Tied for 34th when she finished her second round in the early afternoon, Miyajima continued to move up the leaderboard as the day progressed and scores went higher. The Wailuku, Hawaii, native finished stroke play 11 shots behind top-seeded Courtney Swaim of Sugar Hill, Ga.
"I'm just psyched," San Diego State women's golf coach Felicia Brown said. "She's worked so hard and just put so much effort into her game that she's a great example to the rest of the team."
Miyajima moves on to face Emma Duggleby of England tomorrow at 7:10 a.m. PDT in the 18-hole first round of match play. Should Miyajima advance from that match, she would play another 18-hole match tomorrow against either Jennifer Perri of Eden Prarie, Minn., or Mallory Crosland of Bethesda, Md., at 12:50 p.m. PDT.
The third round and quarterfinals of match play are scheduled for Thursday, while the semifinals are Friday and the 36-hole final is set for Saturday.
Miyajima's scorecards reflect how the hilly, 6,190-yard Sleepy Hollow Course has played up-and-down for most of the competitors. Her one-over round on Monday produced five birdies - including a string of three in four holes - and four bogeys and a double-bogey. Today, Miyajima registered only two birdies - both coming on par-fives - against five bogeys, but she played the final nine holes at one-over to finish strong.
A fixture in the Aztec line-up as one of the program's most consistent performers, Miyajima possessed San Diego State's third-best stroke average (77.4) as a sophomore in 2001-02. She boasted the Aztecs' best count percentage (.962) with 25 of her 26 rounds on the season placing among the team's top four scores, including a career-best, even-par 71 in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Championship.
Miyajima claimed her home state's lone berth in the championship by shooting a one-over-par score of 73 in sectional qualifying.