July 30, 2016
San Jose resident Sabrina Iqbal picked up a California Women’s Amateur Championship title in her debut, doing it on one of golf’s greatest stages.
Iqbal, a junior at Pioneer High, scratched a CWAC win off her rapidly growing list of achievements, defeating Palo Alto resident Anna Zhou, 4 and 3, in Saturday’s 18-hole final at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
Along with playing in her first California Women’s Amateur Championship, it marked the first time that Iqbal had ever played Pebble Beach. Following Friday’s semifinals at Quail Lodge Resort, Iqbal and her father, Shaheen, only took a look at the course from a cart.
“It’s awesome to win and do it at Pebble Beach. This is one that I wanted to win ,” said Iqbal, who joins Mina Harigae, Juli Inkster and Patty Sheehan as champions of the event. “It’s great to be a part of that list.”
Entering the final, Zhou, a sophomore at Harvard, had never trailed in any of her four previous matches. That changed right off the bat, as Iqbal took a 1-up lead on the opening hole.
On the scenic par-4 8th, Zhou got it back to all-square when Iqbal three-putted for a double-bogey. After that, however, it was all Iqbal.
Having already verbally committed to Texas Christian University, Iqbal won hole No.9 with a par and then won hole No.10 after sinking a 15-foot birdie putt to grab a 2-up lead.
On both the 11th and 12th holes, a door appeared to open for Zhou when Iqbal found two greenside bunkers. But Iqbal didn’t flinch, making two great up-and-downs for pars to maintain her lead.
“I was excited to hit those bunker shots. Bunker shots used to not be my favorite,” said Iqbal, who had Shaheen, a PGA teaching professional at Los Lagos GC on the bag as caddie . “I didn’t play all that great early on. After the 9th hole I was like, ‘Okay, I’m getting better.’”
Still 2-up, on the 13th Iqbal drained a quick downhill 11-footer for another birdie to increase her lead. To cap the match, she’d sink yet another birdie putt on the 15th green.
From the 9th to 15th holes, Iqbal went 3-under. Not bad for your first round at Pebble Beach. Not bad either for starting your day at 3:30 a.m. Iqbal, her father and mother and brother Sebastian left San Jose for their 6:30 a.m. tee time at 4 a.m.
“I putted really well today. Anna played well, too,” said Iqbal, whose other wins this year include the NCGA Junior Championship and San Francisco City. “It was fun.”
For Zhou, the tables finally turned, as she was never able to grab a lead despite playing holes No.9 through No.15 at only 1-over.
“I was a little disappointed in my game but Sabrina played really well,” said Zhou, who had her brother Andy on the bag as caddie. “It was great being out here at Pebble. I was just trying to make the most of it.”
Over her five matches, Iqbal only trailed over two holes. She was down two with two to play in her quarterfinals match at Quail Lodge, but played the 17th, 18th and eventually 19th holes at 2-under to avoid elimination.
“That match was a real test for me. All I wanted to do was try to get it back to all-square. Winning that one was a big boost,” Iqbal said.
Being that it was the 50th anniversary of the CWAC, the final was held at Pebble Beach. The championship, founded by women’s golf legend Helen Lengfeld in 1967, was held at Pebble Beach through 1986.
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July 29, 2016
Anna Zhou
Anna Zhou and Sabrina Iqbal will square off for the title at the 50th California Women’s Amateur Championship, and they’ll do it on one of golf’s greatest stages.
Zhou, a sophomore at Harvard, and Iqbal, a junior at Pioneer High in San Jose, both punched their tickets to Saturday’s 18-hole final at Pebble Beach Golf Links by sweeping their quarterfinals and semifinals matches Friday at par-72 Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel Valley.
The No.20 seeded Zhou, who hails from Palo Alto, earned her spot after knocking out No.9 Monica Matsubara via a 4 and 3 victory. Matsubara began the day by ousting No.1 seed Kathleen Scavo, 1-up, after Scavo double-bogeyed the 18th.
Monica Matsubara
A finalist at the 2014 San Francisco City Amateur, Zhou took a 2-up lead after a birdie on the par-5 4th hole and never looked back. Matsubara, who was coming off a win at the recent CWC Championship, trimmed the lead to 1-up when Zhou bogeyed the 7th, but by the time the two reached the 11th tee Zhou’s lead was back to 3-up courtesy of a par and birdie win on the 9th and 10th holes, respectively.
In the morning quarterfinals, Zhou dispatched No.12 seed and defending NCGA Women’s Amateur winner Camille Orito with a 4 and 2 win. In all four of her matches, Zhou has never trailed.
Sabrina Iqbal
While Zhou continued to cruise through the brackets, the No.2 seeded Iqbal finally found herself severely tested in her quarterfinals match against No.7 Desiree Gillapsy.. Through the first 14 holes, Iqbal either led or the match was all-square. On both holes No.15 and No.16, however, Gillapsy made birdie to go dormie. With her back against the wall, Iqbal responded with a birdie win on the par-3 17th and a par win on No.18.
On the 19th hole (No.1), Iqbal again made a birdie while Hutchinson could only manage a par. Hutchinson’s birdie on the 15th marked the first time that Iqbal had ever trailed in a match.
Katherine Zhu
In the afternoon semifinals, Iqbal got back to business. The recent NCGA Junior Championship winner took a 1-up lead with a birdie on the first hole and never gave it up. Zhu, a junior at Harker High, brought it back to all-square with a birdie on the 7th but two costly bogeys later handed Iqbal a 2-up lead through the 13th.
On the 15th, Iqbal made birdie to go 3-up. Zhu tried to mimic Iqbal’s quarterfinals comeback by making birdie on the 16th, but the two halved the 17th for a 2 and 1 Iqbal victory.
The championship, founded by women’s golf legend Helen Lengfeld in 1967, was annually held at Pebble Beach until 1987.
Former champions of the event include four-time winner and current LPGA Tour member Mina Harigae and Natalie Gulbis.
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July 28, 2016
Camille Orito
Where there were 32, there is now only the Elite Eight.
No.1 seed Kathleen Scavo punched her ticket to the quarterfinals, as did No.2 seed Sabrina Iqbal after the pair swept their way through the opening rounds of match play at this week’s annual California Women’s Amateur Championship at par-72 Quail Lodge Resort.
Scavo, a sophomore at the University of Oregon who hails from Benicia, ended up cruising in her two matches. She’d beat No.32 Caris Kim 6 and 5 in the morning Round of 32 and then dispatched four-time champion Lynne Cowan of Rocklin, 6 and 4, in the Round of 16. In her match against the savvy Cowan, Scavo would go 4-under through her 14 holes.
After cruising through her morning match, Iqbal, the reigning two-time Junior Tour of Northern California Player of the Year, found herself all-square through eight holes in her match versus former champion Lauren Kim. Iqbal, however, went 2-under over the next four holes to grab a commanding 3-up lead.
Also moving on was No.3 seed Katherine Zhu, Zhu, who a junior at Harker High in San Jose, toiled her way to a 2 and 1 win and 2-up victory.
The big upset of the day was No.4 Erika Salinas of Sacramento falling, 2 and 1, to No.20 seed Anna Zhou. A sophomore at Harvard, Zhou went 2-up through the first five holes and held on for the victory.
In Friday’s quarterfinals, Zhou will take on No.12 Camille Orito. Orito, who won this year’s NCGA Women’s Amateur Championship, came through in the clutch in a pair of 1-up wins.
Zhu, meanwhile, will face No.11 Yoonhee Kim. In a matchup of teammates, Kim, a freshman-to-be at UC Davis, knocked out No.6 Samantha Hutchison, a sophomore at UC Davis, 2-up.
Scavo, who’s never trailed yet in match play, will take on No.9 Kaho Monica Matsubara, the recent winner at the CWC Championship. Iqbal’s quarterfinals match will be against No.7 Desiree Gillapsy.
Friday’s play will consist of the quarterfinals, to be followed by the semifinals. The final will be held Saturday morning at Pebble Beach Golf Links.
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July 27, 2016
Benicia resident Kathleen Scavo and San Jose’s Sabrina Iqbal will be the No.1 and No.2 seeds, respectively, at this week’s annual California Women’s Amateur Championship.
Scavo, a sophomore at sophomore at the University of Oregon, shot a 2-under 70 in the second round of stroke play qualifying to move up and tie Iqbal for medalist honors at 1-over 145 on Wednesday at par-72 Quail Lodge Resort. Iqbal, who’s coming off a win at the recent NCGA Junior Championship, followed up an opening round 71 with a 74.
A two-time winner of the California Junior Girls’ State Championship, Scavo had quite a turnaround. Through her first nine holes of qualifying on Tuesday, she was in danger of missing the cut after going 6-over. The former Justin-Siena High standout rediscovered her game, however, as she’d go 5-under over her next 27 holes.
Iqbal, the Player of the Year each of the past two seasons on the Junior Tour of Northern California, was at a total of 3-under through the first 31 holes, but played her final five at 4-over.
In Thursday morning’s Round of 32, Scavo will take on No.32 seed Caris Kim while Iqbal will face No.31 Kyleigh Moreno of San Jose.
The No.3 seed is San Jose’s Katherine Zhu, who came in at 146 after a 71. The No.4 seed is Sacramento’s Erika Salinas, who also shot 146 after a 73.
Former four-time champion Lynne Cowan of Rocklin (150), who is looking to become the event’s first five-time champion, is the No.16 seed and will open versus No.17 Elizabeth Scholtes of Alameda. Should both Scavo and Cowan win their opening matches, they’d face each other in Thursday’s afternoon Round of 16.
San Ramon’s Yoonhee Kim, the runner-up at last year’s championship, is the No.11 seed and will open against No.22 Sadie Strain of Arbuckle. Brooke Riley of Manteca shot 148 and would’ve made the cut, but is playing in next week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur and opted to drop out to let another player into the bracket.
Friday’s play will consist of the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the 18-hole final to be held Saturday morning at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The championship, founded by women’s golf legend Helen Lengfeld in 1967, was annually held at Pebble Beach until 1987.
Former champions of the event include four-time winner and current LPGA Tour member Mina Harigae and Natalie Gulbis.
July 26, 2016
Get into the match play brackets.
That was the primary goal as the first round of stroke play qualifying for this week’s annual California Women’s Amateur Championship got underway Tuesday at par-72 Quail Lodge Resort in Carmel Valley.
Consisting of 36 holes this year, a pair of players–Sabrina Iqbal of San Jose and Laura Hoskin of New Zealand–each grabbed a share of the early lead by posting matching scores of 1-under 71.
Hoskin, who formerly played at Oregon State, penciled in an eagle and a birdie to go against just two bogeys. Iqbal, who’s coming off a recent victory at the NCGA Junior Championship, carded four birdies and three bogeys.
Three players—Camille Orito of Fresno, Danville’s Hailey White and Erika Salinas of Sacramento–are tied for third at 73. Lynne Cowan of Rocklin, a four-time winner of the event (1999, 2000, 2005, 2007) is T-20 following an opening 76.
Following Wednesday’s second round of stroke play qualifying, a cut will be made with the low 32 advancing to match play.
On Thursday, play will consist of both the Round of 32 and Round of 16 of match play. Friday’s play will consist of the quarterfinals and semifinals, with the final to be held Saturday morning at Pebble Beach Golf Links. The championship, founded by women’s golf legend Helen Lengfeld in 1967, was annually held at Pebble Beach until 1987.