Pressel Survives Playoff In Adieu To Amateurs
Pressel, the St. Andrew's senior and No. 1-ranked women's amateur in the United States, needed a 10-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to earn the victory, outlasting Vicky Hurst at the Saints Golf Course on Wednesday.
The victory was Pressel's third in a row, tying the girls' record with three other golfers.With that clutch putt, a professional career awaits."I'm ready to do something else," Pressel said. "Hope to start playing full time in May."Pressel will compete in the finals of the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach Nov. 30-Dec. 4. The top 30 players will qualify for a tour card. Pressel will make her professional debut under a sponsor's exemption March 16-19 at the Safeway Classic in Phoenix.It wasn't until her final round drew to a close that Pressel began to realize her prized amateur career was about to conclude."I said to Stefanie [Kenoyer] walking to the 10th hole, `This is [the] last nine holes. I'm never going to carry my bag again,'" Pressel said. "Little did I know I had to go two more holes."Pressel needed to birdie her last two holes to force a playoff. Hurst, who played her 18th hole on the front nine, birdied her final hole as well. Pressel and Hurst each finished with consecutive rounds of 5-under-par 67.Pressel failed to birdie the par-5 15th hole after making birdies on the previous six par-5s. That forced her to make some big shots down the stretch."After [Tuesday] I was like, `I really don't want to be in a playoff because it would be really hard,'" Hurst said. "It was harder than I thought."Hurst admitted nerves got the best of her when playing with Pressel."I could barely swing [the putter on the second playoff hole]," Hurst said. "I was really nervous. It was fun and a good experience."When the ball dropped on the second playoff hole on the 11th green, Pressel showed some emotion with a mild fist pump."That wasn't very much emotion," Pressel said. "That was OK, we're done."If [Hurst] would have beaten me in the playoff, she would have deserved it."Last year she shattered the tournament record as a junior with a final-round 62 and a two-day total of 128, winning by 15 strokes. Pressel has never finished worse than second at the tournament, that coming in her freshman year.Looking back, Pressel made no bones about defending her title her senior year."I've had so much fun these four years, and I will remember that forever," she said. "It was something I wanted to do."
The victory was Pressel's third in a row, tying the girls' record with three other golfers.With that clutch putt, a professional career awaits."I'm ready to do something else," Pressel said. "Hope to start playing full time in May."Pressel will compete in the finals of the LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament at the LPGA International in Daytona Beach Nov. 30-Dec. 4. The top 30 players will qualify for a tour card. Pressel will make her professional debut under a sponsor's exemption March 16-19 at the Safeway Classic in Phoenix.It wasn't until her final round drew to a close that Pressel began to realize her prized amateur career was about to conclude."I said to Stefanie [Kenoyer] walking to the 10th hole, `This is [the] last nine holes. I'm never going to carry my bag again,'" Pressel said. "Little did I know I had to go two more holes."Pressel needed to birdie her last two holes to force a playoff. Hurst, who played her 18th hole on the front nine, birdied her final hole as well. Pressel and Hurst each finished with consecutive rounds of 5-under-par 67.Pressel failed to birdie the par-5 15th hole after making birdies on the previous six par-5s. That forced her to make some big shots down the stretch."After [Tuesday] I was like, `I really don't want to be in a playoff because it would be really hard,'" Hurst said. "It was harder than I thought."Hurst admitted nerves got the best of her when playing with Pressel."I could barely swing [the putter on the second playoff hole]," Hurst said. "I was really nervous. It was fun and a good experience."When the ball dropped on the second playoff hole on the 11th green, Pressel showed some emotion with a mild fist pump."That wasn't very much emotion," Pressel said. "That was OK, we're done."If [Hurst] would have beaten me in the playoff, she would have deserved it."Last year she shattered the tournament record as a junior with a final-round 62 and a two-day total of 128, winning by 15 strokes. Pressel has never finished worse than second at the tournament, that coming in her freshman year.Looking back, Pressel made no bones about defending her title her senior year."I've had so much fun these four years, and I will remember that forever," she said. "It was something I wanted to do."
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