Co-medalists Angel Yin, Jennifer Hahn fall in US Women's Amateur
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Co-medalists Angel Yin and Jennifer Hahn dropped out of the U.S. Women's Amateur on Wednesday, losing first-round matches at Portland Golf Club.
France's Justine Dreher beat the 16-year-old Yin, from Arcadia, California, 5 and 4. Vanessa Ha of Plano, Texas, topped Hahn, the 21-year-old Vanderbilt player from Henderson, Nevada, 4 and 3.
The 23-year-old Dreher, the oldest player to advance to the round of 42, won four of the last five holes on the front nine to open a 5-up lead and finished off Yin with a birdie for a halve on No. 14.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I putted really, really well," said Dreher, coming off her senior season at South Carolina. "I didn't miss any 10-footer or less besides hole No. 3, and I had a lot of them."
The 19-year-old Ha, a rising sophomore at San Francisco, won four straight holes on the front nine to take a 4-up lead. Hahn twice pulled within three holes before falling with a halve on the 15th.
"I was focusing mostly on my mental game, and that's the biggest indicator for my putting," Ha said. "The key was that I wasn't focusing on trying to make the birdies. They just went in."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dreher and Ha survived a playoff Wednesday morning to reach match play.
Defending champion Kristen Gillman of Austin, Texas, advanced with a 2-up victory over Kelly Su of Scottsdale, Arizona. The 17-year-old Gillman won last year at Nassau Country Club in New York.
Hannah O'Sullivan of Chandler, Arizona, routed Haley Mills of Tyler, Texas, 7 and 6. The 17-year-old Sullivan won the Symetra Tour's Gateway Classic in February in Mesa, Arizona, at 16 to become the youngest winner in the history of the professional circuit.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Eun Jeong Seong, the 15-year-old South Korean player who won the U.S. Girls' Junior last month in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beat Duke's Celine Boutier of France 1 up.
Mariel Galdiano, the 17-year-old from Pearl City, Hawaii, who won the Canadian Women's Amateur last month, topped Kimberly Mitchell of Woodbridge, Virginia, 7 and 5.
Elizabeth Wang of San Marino, California, beat Stanford star Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale, Georgia, 1 up. Stackhouse three-putted the final hole for a bogey.