Na Yeon Choi Wins 2012 United States Women’s Open

Na Yeon Choi

After Na Yeon Choi blitzed the field with a course record 7-under 65 in the 3rd round of the 2012 US Women’s Open, 12 shots better than the average round that day and building a 6 shot lead, it looked like the final round might turn out to be more of a coronation than competition. But this is sports and strange things can happen en route to championships, particularly when a golfer is seeking their first Major. With Amy Yang refusing to roll over and give up, NYC found her fortitude tested after a triple bogey on the 10th hole put the tournament in doubt. As she walked away from the par 5 10th with a snowman (8), Na Yeon Choi had the opportunity to show what she was made of. Would she shrink from the pressure or emerge a champion? We found out the soft-spoken Choi has fire inside of her. She immediately birdied the 11th, showing she has the short memory necessary for golfers, the ability to quickly move on from mistakes. The best was yet to come. Sometimes in golf, it isn’t a birdie or eagle that defines a round. Sometimes a par can do just as well. On the par 4 12th, Choi hooked her second shot into the tall grass to the left of the green. It was the kind of lie that spells a possible double bogey. She discussed the possibility of taking a drop as her ball was buried deeply. NYC decided to take a swing and knocked it cleanly onto the green. It was a beautiful shot that left her with a long putt that would probably end up only costing her a bogey. However, Choi stepped up and knocked down the par putt to save what could have been a disaster with a par. The golf gods then smiled on her on the 13th hole, as her tee shot twice hit the rocks bordering a water hazard. Instead of getting wet, as others had done, Na Yeon’s ball ricocheted to just off the backside of the green. She again avoided what could have been a double bogey with a par. After adding birdies on 15 and 16, the coronation was on.

Se Ri Pak hugs Na Yeon Choi

Any US Women’s Open win is special. Any Major is special. However, this one was especially meaningful for the Korean players as Blackwolf Run was where Se Ri Pak started the Korean Wave with her win in 1998. Se Ri waited and was among the group of players who showered Na Yeon with celebratory champagne. Before she hugged Se Ri, Choi bowed out of respect. With the win, Na Yeon reclaims the #2 ranking in the world. I was a little put off by some of the commentators on The Golf Channel discussing after the win why Choi would be different than Hilary Lunke and Birdie Kim, players that haven’t done much after their US Open win. That shouldn’t even be discussed. Na Yeon was a multiple winner on the LPGA before winning the US Women’s Open. Na Yeon also was previously the #2 ranked player in the world. And lest people forget, Na Yeon Choi won both the Vare Trophy for scoring average and the Money List in 2010. To compare NYC to those other players is an insult, even if they agreed she would be different than them. Why even make that comparison? They wouldn’t have compared Suzann Pettersen to those players had she won. Choi has been a great player, is a great player and will continue to be a great player.

NA YEON CHOI

AMY YANG

SANDRA GAL

PAULA CREAMER

MIKA MIYAZATO

NICOLE CASTRALE

LEXI THOMPSON

LYDIA KO (low amateur)

VICKY HURST

STACY LEWIS

Pos

Player

Ctry

Total

Hole

Today

1

2

3

4

Total

1	CHOI, Na Yeon		-7	F	+1	71	72	65	73	281
2	YANG, Amy		-3	F	-1	73	72	69	71	285
3	GAL, Sandra		+1	F	+2	71	70	74	74	289
T4	LEE, Il Hee		+2	F	-2	72	71	77	70	290
T4	FENG, Shanshan		+2	F	-1	74	74	71	71	290
T4	SERGAS, Giulia		+2	F	E	74	71	73	72	290
T7	CREAMER, Paula		+3	F	+2	73	73	71	74	291
T7	MIYAZATO, Mika		+3	F	+4	71	71	73	76	291
T9	PAK, Se Ri		+4	F	-1	72	73	76	71	292
T9	PETTERSEN, Suzann		+4	F	+3	71	68	78	75	292
T9	KERR, Cristie		+4	F	+3	69	71	77	75	292
T9	PARK, Inbee		+4	F	+3	71	70	76	75	292
T9	CASTRALE, Nicole		+4	F	+3	73	70	74	75	292
T14	LACROSSE, Cindy		+5	F	E	73	74	74	72	293
T14	RYU, So Yeon		+5	F	+2	74	71	74	74	293
T14	KANG, Danielle		+5	F	+2	78	70	71	74	293
T14	THOMPSON, Lexi		+5	F	+6	70	73	72	78	293
T18	SEO, Hee Kyung		+6	F	-3	72	73	80	69	294
T18	LINCICOME, Brittany		+6	F	-1	69	80	74	71	294
T18	HURST, Vicky		+6	F	+6	71	70	75	78	294
T21	JUNG, Yeon Ju		+7	F	-3	74	72	80	69	295
T21	LANG, Brittany		+7	F	-1	73	74	77	71	295
T21	LUNA, Diana		+7	F	-1	76	72	76	71	295
T21	LEE, Jennie		+7	F	E	70	74	79	72	295
T21	KANG, Jimin		+7	F	+1	72	72	78	73	295
T21	GULYANAMITTA, Numa		+7	F	+1	73	76	73	73	295
T21	MUNOZ, Azahara		+7	F	+4	73	73	73	76	295
T28	NORDQVIST, Anna		+8	F	-1	72	74	79	71	296
T28	HARIGAE, Mina		+8	F	+1	77	71	75	73	296
T28	PHATLUM, Pornanong		+8	F	+3	76	69	76	75	296
T28	MIYAZATO, Ai		+8	F	+5	70	74	75	77	296
T32	YOO, Sun Young		+9	F	-4	76	72	81	68	297
T32	PAK, Jinyoung		+9	F	E	73	72	80	72	297
T32	SALAS, Lizette		+9	F	+8	69	73	75	80	297
T35	SHIN, Jenny		+10	F	+3	76	71	76	75	298
T35	JOHNSON, Jennifer		+10	F	+4	76	70	76	76	298
T35	RECARI, Beatriz		+10	F	+5	70	75	76	77	298
T35	WIE, Michelle		+10	F	+8	74	66	78	80	298
T39	KO, Lydia (a)		+12	F	+3	74	72	79	75	300
T39	YOUNG, Heather Bowie		+12	F	+3	75	73	77	75	300
T39	CIGANDA, Carlota		+12	F	+3	76	72	77	75	300
T39	FUTCHER, Katie		+12	F	+6	73	75	74	78	300
T39	YOKOMINE, Sakura		+12	F	+8	75	70	75	80	300
T39	KORDA, Jessica		+12	F	+8	74	71	75	80	300
T39	JANG, Jeong		+12	F	+8	73	72	75	80	300
T46	TALLEY, Emma (a)		+13	F	E	73	75	81	72	301
T46	SONG, Jennifer		+13	F	+2	72	74	81	74	301
T46	LEWIS, Stacy		+13	F	+3	77	69	80	75	301
T46	WALSHE, Alison		+13	F	+9	74	71	75	81	301
T50	WEBB, Karrie		+14	F	+2	75	72	81	74	302
T50	PILLER, Gerina		+14	F	+5	73	71	81	77	302
T50	TSENG, Yani		+14	F	+6	74	72	78	78	302
T50	REID, Melissa		+14	F	+7	79	69	75	79	302
T54	STANFORD, Angela		+15	F	+4	75	71	81	76	303
T54	LEE, Meena		+15	F	+6	71	78	76	78	303
56	GUSTAFSON, Sophie		+16	F	-1	77	72	84	71	304
T57	SCHREEFEL, Dewi Claire		+17	F	+2	73	76	82	74	305
T57	HULL, Katherine		+17	F	+4	75	73	81	76	305
T57	OH, Angela		+17	F	+4	75	74	80	76	305
T60	LEE, Jihee		+18	F	+2	79	70	83	74	306
T60	LEE, Alison (a)		+18	F	+6	75	74	79	78	306
T60	MCPHERSON, Kristy		+18	F	+7	75	71	81	79	306
63	KANE, Lorie		+19	F	+4	76	73	82	76	307
64	MACKENZIE, Paige		+21	F	+5	75	74	83	77	309
65	KIM, Sue		+25	F	+9	75	72	85	81	313
			Missed the Cut
	KIM, I.K.			Cut		74	76			150
	BOELJON, Christel			Cut		75	75			150
	BURNETT, Katie			Cut		72	78			150
	WARD, Wendy			Cut		72	78			150
	TEACHMAN, Tessa			Cut		75	75			150
	KIM, Mindy			Cut		72	78			150
	KIM, Kyung (a)			Cut		77	73			150
	GRANADA, Julieta			Cut		81	70			151
	KUNG, Candie			Cut		74	77			151
	HAN, Hee Won			Cut		77	74			151
	TAMULIS, Kris			Cut		76	75			151
	HUR, Mi Jung			Cut		80	71			151
	MATTHEW, Catriona			Cut		75	76			151
	KIM, Christina			Cut		75	77			152
	LEE, Seon Hwa			Cut		78	74			152
	DO, Brianna			Cut		74	78			152
	STUPPLES, Karen			Cut		76	76			152
	UEDA, Momoko			Cut		77	75			152
	CLANTON, Cydney			Cut		79	73			152
	NOMURA, Haru			Cut		75	77			152
	BERNABE, Elisabeth (a)			Cut		74	79			153
	JACQUES, Kelly			Cut		77	76			153
	HJORTH, Maria			Cut		77	76			153
	WOODS, Cheyenne			Cut		75	78			153
	RANKIN, Reilley			Cut		80	73			153
	GLEASON, Jennifer			Cut		73	80			153
	GREEN, Jaye Marie (a)			Cut		75	78			153
	PARK, Hee Young			Cut		74	79			153
	CHEN, Doris (a)			Cut		76	77			153
	ALTOMARE, Brittany (a)			Cut		78	76			154
	O’SULLIVAN, Hannah (a)			Cut		76	78			154
	AYADA, Hiroko			Cut		76	78			154
	TANCO, Victoria			Cut		81	73			154
	SUH, Jenny			Cut		75	79			154
	JI, Eun-Hee			Cut		76	78			154
	JOH, Tiffany			Cut		75	79			154
	PARK, Jisoo (a)			Cut		76	78			154
	CHOI, Chella			Cut		81	73			154
	DOMINGUEZ, Gabriella (a)			Cut		80	74			154
	MORENO, Paola			Cut		77	78			155
	GULBIS, Natalie			Cut		76	79			155
	PERRY, Katherine (a)			Cut		74	81			155
	SHON, Kelly (a)			Cut		78	77			155
	KHANG, Megan (a)			Cut		75	80			155
	FELIBERT, Veronica			Cut		79	76			155
	BEISIEGEL, Isabelle			Cut		81	74			155
	PANCAKE, Brooke			Cut		79	76			155
	MARTIN, Mo			Cut		78	77			155
	NAKAYAMA, Mina			Cut		78	77			155
	WILSON, Haley			Cut		78	78			156
	HULLETT, Jamie			Cut		78	78			156
	MOZO, Belen			Cut		76	80			156
	PRAMMANASUDH, Stacy			Cut		76	80			156
	JUTANUGARN, Moriya (a)			Cut		80	77			157
	O’TOOLE, Ryann			Cut		75	82			157
	BLUMENHERST, Amanda			Cut		75	82			157
	MORGAN, Becky			Cut		81	76			157
	HEDWALL, Caroline			Cut		77	80			157
	BAE, Kyeong			Cut		78	79			157
	SIM, Hyun Hwa			Cut		81	76			157
	KIM, Birdie			Cut		81	77			158
	BRISTOW, Cathryn			Cut		83	75			158
	KEEL, Jisoo (a)			Cut		81	77			158
	LOPEZ, Gabriela (a)			Cut		80	78			158
	YANG, Soo Jin			Cut		77	82			159
	LEE, Mi Hyang			Cut		74	86			160
	WEAVER, Lindsey (a)			Cut		79	81			160
	PACE, Lee-Anne			Cut		78	83			161
	INKSTER, Juli			Cut		79	82			161
	ALVAREZ, Lili			Cut		84	77			161
	NEFF, Aimee			Cut		81	80			161
	BABA, Yukari			Cut		78	83			161
	GRIMES, Lisa			Cut		83	78			161
	MEADOW, Stephanie (a)			Cut		77	84			161
	HUFFER, Becca			Cut		79	82			161
	AUBERT, Shannon (a)			Cut		82	79			161
	HARRIS, Katy			Cut		82	80			162
	HURST, Pat			Cut		81	81			162
	PULLEY, Kylene			Cut		81	81			162
	ARMSTRONG, Ashley (a)			Cut		80	82			162
	HUNG, Amy			Cut		82	81			163
	MEIER, Christine (a)			Cut		80	84			164
	ALVAREZ, Anya Sarai			Cut		82	82			164
	YIN, Angel (a)			Cut		78	87			165
	PARK, Annie (a)			Cut		81	84			165
	MAO, Briana (a)			Cut		85	81			166
	MARKS, Samantha S. (a)			Cut		87	79			166
	RAH, Jane			Cut		80	88			168
	MITSUNAGA, Rinko (a)			Cut		87	81			168
	STOLL, Gigi (a)			Cut		86	84			170
WD	PRESSEL, Morgan					74				74

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