Grace Jin defends title at 104th Women’s Texas Amateur
TeCORPUS CHRISTI – Grace Jin of Huntsville defended her title, winning the 104th Women’s Texas Amateur. Jin defeated Tillie Claggett of Spring, 2 and 1, in an intense championship match.
Corpus Christi Country Club welcomed back Jin and Claggett for the Championship Match in the Championship Flight on Friday, June 27. Jin entered the day looking to defend her title after winning the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur at Spanish Oaks Golf Club.
Claggett jumped to a 1-up lead after two holes, but Jin responded immediately with a birdie on No. 3 to square the match. The players remained tied through four, before Claggett regained a 1-up advantage on No. 5. Jin answered again, winning back-to-back holes on Nos. 7 and 8 to flip the match and take a 1-up lead heading into the back nine.
From there, Jin never relinquished her advantage. Claggett briefly pulled even with a win on No. 11, but Jin responded with a win on No. 12 to go back to 1 up. Jin rolled in an incredible birdie putt on No. 13 to stretch her lead to 2 up and added another birdie on No. 14 to move 3 up with four to play. She closed out the match on No. 17 to successfully defend her title.
Jin becomes the first player since Emma McMyler to win back-to-back Women’s Texas Amateur titles, joining an elite list of two-time champions.
“It feels great,” Jin shared after the win. “I never thought I’d win back-to-back titles. I came in expecting nothing. I really just wanted to make it to the finals, but I’m glad I got the job done.”
Jin credited her strong play to staying focused on one hole at a time.
“I think it’s all just about winning one hole at a time,” Jin said. “It doesn’t really matter what score you get. Obviously, birdies help you win holes easily, but just taking it one hole at a time is probably the best mindset for me because I tend to get ahead of myself.”
For the second consecutive year, the Women’s Texas Amateur was an Official USGA Exemption Event. Jin earned an exemption into the 125th U.S. Women’s Amateur, set for August at Bandon Dunes.
This marks the second straight year Jin has taken advantage of the automatic exemption, after qualifying for the 124th U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa by winning the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur.
“It feels nice that I don’t have to go to a qualifier next week,” the SMU golfer said with a laugh. “But I’m glad to represent Texas at Bandon Dunes. I know that’s a very historic golf course, so I’m really excited to play.”
Ava Murcer of Dallas was the Flight One winner after defeating Chloe Sirkin from Colleyville 5&3 in the Final Match.
In Flight Two, Erin Flynn of League City defeated Kate Pickrell of Austin 5&4 to become the flight winner.
Melissa Loh of Dallas defeated Camilah Porras of New Braunfels 4&2 in Flight Three to be crowned the flight winner.
In Flight Four, Claudia Ramirez of San Antonio defeated Kaitlyn Canales of Corpus Christi in 19 holes to be the flight winner.
For Flight Five, Danica Lundgren of Austin defeated Leslie Henry of Corsicana 7&5 to be crowned the flight winner.
Caroline Garcia of Spring Branch defeated Haiping Tang of Austin 1 UP in Flight Six to be the Flight Winner.
Lastly, in Flight Seven, Tracey Calloway of Round Rock defeated Lili Taufa of Austin 2&1 to be crowned the flight winner.
The Texas Golf Association extends its gratitude to the staff and members of Corpus Christi Country Club for their outstanding hospitality in hosting the 104th Women’s Texas Amateur. The club went above and beyond in welcoming players and providing a premier stage for some of the best women’s amateur golfers in Texas.
To view the final results from the 104th Women’s Texas Amateur, click here.xt