Alexa Melton of Covina made par on the final hole and it was enough to secure a one-stroke victory over home-course favorite Zoe Campos of Stevenson Ranch in the Southern California Women’s Amateur Championship at Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita.
The 17-year-old Melton, a senior at South Hills High who has committed to Pepperdine, posted a score of 69-68-73—210, nine-under-par, while Campos, a sophomore at West Ranch high finished at 70-69-72—211.
“This week I kept it simple,” said Melton, who won the American Junior Golf Association’s ClubCorp Mission Hills Desert Junior in June. “I was driving it consistent, stuck it close and made putts.
“I really liked this setup at Valencia. I’m better with tree-lined courses, so that played to my advantage. Zoe is a great player and she’s also a member here, so she had the course knowledge. I just tried to stay on top of my game and continued to be consistent.”
Campos missed a downhill birdie chip on the last hole that would have forced a playoff and Melton two-putted for par from 20 feet after recovering from her drive into a fairway bunker, sinking a three-footer to win.
Lilia Vu of Fountain Valley and UCLA, the 2016 SCGA Women’s champion, was third at 71-71-71—213, followed by Natasha Oon of Malaysia and San Jose State, who wound up at 70-74-70—214, while Alyaa Adbulghany of Newport Beach and USC shot 73-69-73—215 to tie for fifth with Haley Moore of Escondido and NCAA Women’s champion Arizona, who finished at 69-74-72—215.
Brigitte Dunne of Camarillo and SMU totaled 72-71-73—216 to tie for seventh with Paris Griffith of San Diego and UC Riverside, who came in at 76-71-69—216.
Calista Reyes of San Diego and Stanford was ninth at 73-74-70—217, while Amy Matsuoka of Newport Beach and Oregon shot 70-72-76—218 to tie for 10th with Alana Uriell of Carlsbad and Arkansas, who finished at 71-75-72—218.
For complete results, visit https://scga-2018scgawomensamateurchampionship.golfgenius.com/pages/1277153
