14-year-old Kim wins U.S. Women's Amateur
NORTH PLAINS, Ore. — The youngest U.S. Women's Amateur champion had just played 36 tense holes under cloudless summer skies. So it's understandable how 14-year-old Kimberly Kim felt about finally hoisting the Cox Cup.
"I didn't know it was that heavy," she said, flashing a smile full of braces.
Kim beat former bank clerk Katharina Schallenberg of Germany 1-up in 36 holes of match play Sunday.
Schallenberg, 26, made a birdie putt from off the green on the par-5 36th hole. That placed the pressure on Kim to birdie for the victory at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Both players had birdied the 35th.
Kim sunk the putt from 5 feet out.
"I was shaking so much," Kim said. "I don't even know where I aimed or anything. I just, like, hit it."'
Schallenberg cried after failing to become the first German-born player to win a USGA event.
"I lost, but it was OK because we both played good golf," she said.
The championship match, on the 6,380-yard, par-71 Witch Hollow Course, featured very different players: Kim is a carefree teenager who didn't know going in that the Amateur was a "big" tournament, while Schallenberg is consistent and steady.
