Rei Nakatani of Japan had not been in the winner’s circle for a while, but she remembered the way.
Nakatani, a senior at UC Davis, came from three strokes behind in the final round by shooting 3-under-par 69 to win the Northern California Golf Association Women’s Amateur Championship by two shots over Annika Borrelli of Alamo at Poppy Hills Golf Course https://poppyhillsgolf.com in Pebble Beach.
“It’s very exciting,” said Nakatani, who last won during her days in junior golf. “I haven’t won a tournament in a while; it’s probably been four years since I last won an event. It feels awesome to win on a great course like Poppy Hills with a great field at this tournament.
“I had absolutely no idea where I stood, but I knew I needed to go low. I became a little bit smarter on the course, and learned when to be aggressive at the right time, and I think I just matured a little bit as a golfer.”
Nakatani, who collected four birdies and one bogey during the final round, posted a score of 75-69—144, even par, while Borrelli, a sophomore at USF, was second at 72-14—146 and Yoonhee Kim of San Ramon, a UC Davis senior, at 77-70—147.
Nicole Schroeder of Rocklin and Oregon State, who recently won the Sacramento City Women’s Championship, shot 75-74—149 to tie for fourth with Nishtha Madan of India and Sacramento State, who also finished at 75-74—149, while Elizabeth Scholtes of Alameda and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo totaled 76-78—154 to tie for sixth with Danielle Suh of San Ramon, who came in at 74-80—154.
Naomi Danner of Sunnyvale carded a score of 80-75—155 to tie for eighth with Sienna Lyford of Roseville and UC Irvine, who finished at 78-77—155, and Sydney Burlison of Salinas and Stanford, who wound up at 75-80—155.
Lynne Cowan of Rocklin shot 76-76—152, 8-over, to win the Senior Women’s Championship, while Karen Garcia of Cool was second at 75-79—154, followed by Patricia Cornett of Mill Valley at 82-76—158 and Christy Atencio of Reno at 79-81—160.
Marianne Towersey of Pebble Beach totaled 86-78—164 to tie for fifth with Sally Krueger of San Francisco, who finished at 86-78—164.
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