Elizabeth Schultz of Concord came from seven strokes down in the final round and sank a 60-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win the Women’s California State Open by one stroke over Amy Matsuoka of Newport Beach and Demi Runas of Torrance on the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta.
The 24-year-old Schultz, who played at San Jose State and competes on the Symetra Tour, carded a score of 76-70—146, 2-over-par, while Matsuoka finished at 74-73—147 and Runas wound up at 72-75—147.
“It was tough conditions, being windy, but I was just trying to play my best round today and wasn’t thinking a lot about where the leaders were,” said Schultz, who added that she simply rode a “hot putter.”
“This win has been so exciting for me, and its validation that all of my hard work is showing.”
Schultz was Northern California Girls Player of the Year as a senior at Acalanes High in Lafayette.
Amateur Jamie Jacob of Encinitas shot 69-79—148 to tie for fourth with Kathleen Scavo of Benicia, who totaled 73-75—148, and amateur Quynn Duong of San Jose, who came in at 73-75—148.
Natalie Vivaldi of Oceanside posted a score of 76-74—150 to tie for seventh with Jenny Lee of Van Nuys, who finished at 73-77—150, while Kassidy Glick of Vista was ninth at 73-78—151, and amateur Trussy Li of Diamond Bar shot 81-72—153 to tie for 10th with Erynne Lee of Los Angeles, who wound up at 76-77—153.
Past winners of the Women’s California State Openinclude Brianna Do, Alyaa Abdulghany, Marissa Chow and Haley Moore.
For complete results, visit https://scpga.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/scpga20/event/scpga20109/contest/9/leaderboard.htm
