ChAmpionShipS mediA GUide - USGA

Brianna Do only led for three holes. Luckily for her, she led the
one that counted most.
Do, 21, of Vietnam, won the 2011 U.S. Women’s Amateur
Public Links Championship, defeating Marissa Dodd, 17, of
Allen, Texas, 1 up, in the 36-hole championship match, which
was conducted at the 6,098-yard, par-71 Old Macdonald
layout at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
In victory, Do became the second UCLA player in three years
to win the Women’s Amateur Public Links, joining Tiffany Joh,
who won the title in 2006 and 2008. Mary Enright, also a former
UCLA player, won the title in 1981.
“I don’t really know what it feels like right now,” said an overwhelmed
Do, a UCLA senior. “I don’t think it’s hit me. But it
feels good as of right now. I don’t really know how to describe
it.”
While Do ultimately took the victory, it was Dodd, an incoming
freshman at Wake Forest University, who dominated much of
the morning round, holding the lead for 10 of the first 11 holes.
However, Dodd’s early run was halted when she bogeyed the
par-3 12th to square the match. Another Dodd bogey after a
tough run-in with a bunker on the par-4 16th gave Do her first
lead of the match.
“It was a couple of unlucky kicks,” said Dodd, whose only previous
match-play experience was a first-round loss at the 2010
U.S. Girls’ Junior. “But that’s the way the course works and
you’ve got to come back from them.”
And come back she did. Dodd was able to capitalize on consecutive
Do bogeys on 17 and 18 to take a 1-up lead into the
lunch break.
In the afternoon, Dodd came out on a tear, carding birdies on
three of the first four holes to take a 3-up lead, the largest of
the final. But the lead evaporated with consecutive bogeys on
holes 23-25, squaring the match once again.
“I just kind of took my time,” said Do of her mindset in fighting
back from the deficit. “I was patient and kind of chipped away
at it.”
Do briefly regained the lead when Dodd bogeyed the par-4
29th hole. But her own bogey on the ensuing par-3 30th
quickly squared the match again.
Dodd took the lead back with a well-timed birdie on the
par-4 32nd hole and carried the advantage until the par-5
35th. But when Dodd’s approach landed 9 feet past the
hole, Do put hers even closer and won the hole with a birdie,
squaring the match going into the 36th hole.
Do Wins the 2011 Championship
U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links 5
“I got back to all square, one up, one down,” said Do, who
was born in Lakewood, Calif., but represented her parents’
home country at the championship. “The last two holes is
where it counted. My putting kind of showed up today in
those two holes.
“Going to 18 all square was a lot better than going in one
down knowing you have to birdie to keep it going.”
What Do coined as a “perfect” drive on the 36th set the tone
for the finish. While Dodd found a fairway bunker, Do’s clean
approach from the fairway gave her the chance to safely reach
the green in regulation. With her short par putt conceded, Do
watched Dodd fail on her par attempt and give Do the title.
“I played and I hit some really good shots after I was 3 down,
and I had some really good opportunities,” said Do. “I just
took advantage.”
In winning the national title for female public-course golfers,
Do was also able to take some consolation for not participating
in UCLA’s NCAA Division I title run the past spring. While she
is a member of the UCLA women’s golf team, she was not part
of the five-woman squad that went to College Station, Texas,
for the championship.
“I am a Bruin, and I’m representing [as] a Bruin this week, but
this is kind of my national championship,” said Do, who added
her name to past Women’s Amateur Public Links champions
such as Candie Kung, Michelle Wie and Yani Tseng.
As a relative unknown before this championship, Dodd admitted
to exceeding her own expectations with her performance.
With her father, Mark, as her caddie and her mother, sister,
grandparents and many other family and friends in the gallery
after making a last-minute trip from Texas, Dodd did shed a
few tears after missing her final putt.
“Happy tears, sad tears,” said Dodd. “It was all really good,
though. I had so much fun. I had a blast out here with my
dad and everybody who came out here to watch me. I really
appreciate it all and had a great time.”
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