DuPONT, Wash. - Gonzaga University senior-to-be Alice Kim, junior-to-be Raychelle Santos and 2014 graduate Tai Jade 'TJ' Kliebphipat have advanced to match play at Women's Amateur Public Links (WAPL) Championship being held at The Home Course.
Current Gonzaga assistant women's golf coach and 2013 graduate Victoria Fallgren missed advancing by one shot as the 36-hole qualifying ended Tuesday to pick the top 64 who advance to match play.
Kliebphipat shot a 2-under par 70 Tuesday to go with Monday's opening-round 71 for a 36-hole total of 141 for a six-way tie for 11th. Santos also shot a 70 Tuesday over the 6,242-yard, par 72 layout to go with Monday's 74 for a 144 and a seven-way tie for 26th. Kim posted a 76 Tuesday to go with an opening-round 71 for a 147 and a 10-way tie for 50th.
Fallgren, meanwhile, who has played very little competitive golf since graduating a year ago, put together rounds of 76-73 for a 149 to just miss the playoff for the final match play spots. There was a playoff Tuesday night to settle the six-way tie for the final five match-play spots at 148.
Santos, the 28th seed, will be the first Gonzaga player to start the match play Round of 64, facing No. 37 seed Elyse Smidinger of Crofton, Md., at 10:27 a.m. PDT. Smidinger qualified with a 145.
Kim, the 61st seed, will face No. 14 seed Katharine Patrick of West University Place, Texas, at 12:24 p.m. PDT. Smidinger quailed with a 141.
Kliebphipat, the 11th seed, will meet No. 54 seed Abby Newton of Katy, Texas, at 1 p.m. PDT. Newton had a qualifying score of 147.
The Round of 32 and Round of 16 matches will be played Thursday, the quarterfinals and semifinals will be played Friday and the championship will be played Saturday.
Eun Jeong Seong, 14, of Korea, shot an 8-under 64 in a blemish-free round of eight birdies to set a championship record, breaking the previous mark of 65 held by Brittany Lang at the 2004 championship at Golden Horseshoe Golf Course in Williamsburg, Va. Seong's two-day total of 10-under 134 breaks the previous record of 135 held by Lang in 2004 and Ariya Jutanugarn at the 2010 championship at The Warren Golf Course at Notre Dame in Indiana.
Complete match play pairings can be seen by clicking here.
