Olympics On Yang's Mind
Amy Yang will head into Sunday’s final round two shots back of Gerina Piller’s lead as she looks for her third career victory at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout Presesnted by JTBC.
“I hit it very solid out there and I made some putts,” Yang said. “I left some putts short right in the heart, but I had bogey free round 6 under, can’t be frustrated about it. So I’m happy, yeah.”
Though she is ranked ninth in the world, Yang is currently on the outside looking in as a max of four players per country are allowed to qualify and South Koreans currently occupy the 2, 6, 7 and 8 spots in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings.
“You know, only thing golf playing in Olympics would be very honored to represent my country, represent South Korea,” Yang said. “Yeah, it’s tough competition between like all the players. I’ll just keep trying.”
Pair Of Shootout Winners Make It To Sunday
The shootout winners remaining in the field on Saturday found themselves in the spotlight as three of the four amateurs made it past the first cut at the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout. Inclement weather conditions forced half the field to finish the second round on Saturday morning, and Texas A&M sophomore Maddie Szeryk was well aware of what score she needed to post in her remaining holes to make it into the third round.
“I knew I needed to at least stay even,” Szeryk said. “So I had a couple birdie putts just go over the edge, a few just short, but it was pretty solid and I knew going in I needed to make pars or birdies, nothing more.”
Alabama freshman Cheyenne Knight (T26, -2) and 14-year-old high schooler Karah Sanford (T45, E) are the two remaining amateurs left in the field following Saturday’s third round results. Sanford, with her brother on the bag and her family in the crowd, was interviewed live on Golf Channel following her round and said she loves answering questions and being in the spotlight. The teenager will try to keep her composure as best as possible as she plays in the final round of her first career LPGA event.
“Just keep having fun with it,” Sanford explained of her strategy for Sunday, “Try not to let the nerves get to me too much and just keep going and try to make as many birdies as I can and minimize my bad shots.”
Knight was able to relive one of the highlights of the tournament thus far when she went home on Friday evening. Her second round began with a chip-in eagle on the 10th hole, and the replay was available to watch all over the internet by the time play was suspended.
“I loved seeing it on Twitter and like LPGA did it,” said Knight. “I’ve watched it probably like 30 times. It surprises me every time because it’s kind of uphill so I didn’t get to see it, but kind of one hopped it in, that was really special.”
Below is how all four shootout qualifiers have fared through Saturday.
| Name | RD1 Score | RD2 Score | RD2 Score | Total | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karah Sanford | 73 (+2) | 69 (-2) | 71 (E) | 213 (E) | T45 |
| Kristen Gillman | 77 (+6) | 71 (E) | NA | 148 (+6) | MC |
| Cheyenne Knight | 70 (-1) | 69 (-2) | 72 (+1) | 211 (-2) | T26 |
| Maddie Szeryk | 73 (+2) | 70 (-1) | 75 (+4) | 218(+5) | T79 |
)
)
)
)
