Shin falls short at Amateur
Cape Coral resident Michelle Shin came up on the short end of a thrilling third-round match Thursday in the 109th U.S. Open Women’s Amateur at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis.
Tiffany Lua of Rowland Heights, Calif., birdied the par-4 18th hole to defeat Shin 1-up. The players were all square heading to the 18th.
Shin, 18, reached the 64-player match play tournament for the third time in her fourth appearance in the U.S. Amateur. She opened with a 3 and 2 victory over Stephanie Meadow of Northern Ireland Wednesday, and defeated Caroline Masson of Germany 3 and 1 earlier Thursday in a second-round match.
In the second-round victory, Shin grabbed the lead on the fifth hole and remained in front the rest of the way. She made eagle at the par-5 6th hole to go 2 up. The match ended on No. 17 with the combination of Shin’s par and Masson’s bogey.
The third-round match against Lua went back and forth.
Shin, a Canterbury High School graduate, went 2 up after five holes. She birdied the par-4 4th and picked up another stroke when Lua made bogey on No. 5.
Lua won the next three holes and remained 1 up until the 10th hole when Shin pulled even with a par.
Shin made birdie at 12 and was 1 up through 15 holes. Lua tied it with a birdie at the par-5 16th and won the match with a birdie on No. 18.