By Tom LaMarre
Jennifer Song made the jump from amateur golf to the pros this season, and now she’s going to the highest level.
The 20-year-old Song, who left USC last spring, holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to turn back Jenny Shin of Torrance and claim her second Duramed Futures Tour victory, winning the $100,000 Greater Richmond Golf Classic at Richmond Country Club in Richmond, Va.
By winning, Song collected $14,000 and ran her earnings to $51,375, fourth on the Futures Tour money list, and virtually assured herself an LPGA Tour playing card for 2011. The top 10 at the end of the season move on to the big tour.
“I feel so relieved,” said Song, of Ann Arbor, Mich. “A lot of players have played a full season and I’ve felt like there was a lot of catching up to do (after turning pro following the Curtis Cup in June).
“I usually don’t make fist pumps, but I’ve wanted this win for quite a while. There was definitely a lot of pressure and I definitely was shaking a lot out there. It was like I saw the line (on the winning putt) burned into the green. I could see exactly where I wanted to hit it. I just needed to hit it a little firm.”
Song, who captured the U.S. Women’s Amateur and thee U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links championships last year, posted a score of 68-70-66–204, 12-under par.
The 17-year-old Shin, who won the 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, finished at 71-67-66–204 and made $10,000, moving to fifth on the money list with $49,296, and also should be heading to the LPGA Tour next season.
Stephanie Na of Australia was third at 68-70-69–207, followed by Jenny Gleason of Clearwater, Fla., at 72-68-68–208.
Dewi Claire Schreefel of USC and the Netherlands shot 69-72-68–209 and tied for fifth with Cindy LaCrosse of Tampa, Fla., who wound up at 72-69-68–209, and Amelia Lewis of Jacksonville, Fla., who finished at 68-70-71–209.
Christine Song of Fullerton totaled 69-74-69–212 and tied for 14th with Ashley Prange of Newport Beach and the University of North Carolina, who came in at 70-71-71–212, while Tiffany Tavee of Tempe, Ariz., and Arizona State tied for 16th at 72-74-67–213.
Ryann O’Toole of San Clemente and UCLA shot 70-77-67–214 to tie for 18th with
Esther Choe of La Quinta, who finished at 74-71-69–214, Paola Moreno of USC and Colombia, who turned in a score of 72-71-71–214, and Eileen Vargas of Pepperdine and Colombia, who wound up at 72-70-72–214.
Jessi Gebhardt of Chandler, Ariz., and Oregon State carded a score of 74-71-70–215 and tied for 25th with Veronica Felibert of USC and Venezuela, who totaled 72-72-71–215, and Sophia Sheridan of the University of California and Mexico, who came in at 74-69-72– 215.
Carolina Llano of Pepperdine and Colombia wound up at 73-72-72–217 and tied for 34th with Leanne Bowditch of Pepperdine and Australia, who finished at 73-72-72–217.
Jane Rah of Torrance and Oklahoma State shot 74-73-71–218 and tied for 42nd with Selanee Henderson of Apple Valley and UC Irvine, who totaled 72-73-73–218, and Mo Martin of Altadena and UCLA, who finished at 70-72-76–218.
Tiffany Joh of San Diego and UCLA posted a score of 71-76-72–219 and tied for 49th with Ayaka Kaneko of Pepperdine and Honolulu, who wound up at 73-72-74–219, and
Hannah Jun of San Diego and UCLA, who came in at 74-71-74–219.
Erica Moston Belmont and San Jose State shot 70-75-75–220 and tied for 58th with Sofie Andersson of Cal and Sweden, who finished at 72-72-76–220, and Kristin Ingram of Pasadena and the University of Arkansas, who finished at 70-72-78–220.
Nicole Smith of Riverside and the University of Tennessee tied for 71st at 74-73-76–223.
Song, who won the Tate and Lyle Players Championship in her Futures Tour and pro debut in June, played bogey-free in the final round at Richmond, hitting 12-of -14 fairways and 16-of-18 greens in regulation while taking 29 putts.
However, Shin also was playing error-free golf and carded three birdies on the back nine to pull even before having a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole of regulation skirt the right edge of the cup and hang on the back lip.
“The way I was putting today, I could have putted it with one hand,” said Shin, who claimed the title at the International at Concord, N.H., in July. “It was an easy putt, but I was really nervous.
“I woke up at 6 this morning and told my mom that I was really nervous. I had a feeling that Jennifer would shoot at least three or four under. I was chasing her. I had the fist pump in my mind. I had my speech in my head. I wanted to do it right.”
Song, who left her 20-foot birdie putt barely short on the final hole of regulation, and Shin both made par on the first extra hole and went back to the 18th tee for the third time.
This time, Shin’s 35-foot birdie putt burned the right edge of the cup but would not fall.
“I thought that putt was going in,” Shin said. “When I missed it, I knew Jennifer would make hers.”
And so it was Song who got to make that fist pump.
Song Wins Second Duramed Futures Title
