Georgia rising junior Jenny Bae completed an amazing week on Friday, winning the Georgia’s PGA’s Georgia Women’s Open at the University of Georgia Golf Course. Bae did so just two days after winning the Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship.
Bae fired even-par 72 in the final round of the Open on Friday to secure a two-stroke victory at 6-under 136. All told, Bae played 90 holes this week at a combined 17-under. The Collins Hill High graduate from Suwanee, Ga., won the Georgia Amateur at Coosa Country Club in Rome by shooting 11-under 205.
“I’ve probably won twice in a week at some point but not recently,” Bae said. “I feel very, very satisfied. It’s been a while since I’ve played like this in a tournament with such low scores and a large gap. I think everything went well. I know golf is something you can’t really predict, but taking my time and thinking about everything in a step-by-step process really helped.”
Bae wasn’t the only Bulldog to perform well in the Open. Jo Hua Hung tied for sixth, Zoë Walker tied for ninth and Alison Crenshaw tied for 24th.
Bae began the day with a three-stroke lead and opened her round with consecutive birdies to move to 8-under overall. She gave one of those shots back with a bogey at No. 9 to turn at 7-under and then endured a near-disastrous quadruple-bogey at No. 13. Bae was briefly tied with runner-up Minji Kang at 3-under; however, she bounced back to birdie No. 15, No. 16 and No. 17 to regain control. Soon after Bae tapped in a par-putt on No. 18 to seal the victory she was doused with water by her Bulldog teammates for the second time this week.
“Obviously this is my home course, and I was pretty glad and happy to see a course that I’m so familiar with,” Bae said. “I think that’s what got me back in my comfort zone after messing up on one hole. I realized I had a couple of holes left plus I knew all those holes by heart. I knew I still had a chance and didn’t give up.”
Earlier this week, Bae joined current LPGA member Mariah Stackhouse as the only two golfers to win the Georgia Girls’ Amateur, Georgia Match Play Championship and Georgia Women’s Am. Bae and Stackhouse also won the Georgia Open.
“I feel very honored,” Bae said. “I know this is something that not everyone gets, but I also know I personally tried my best and put in all my hard work both in the season and during the off season. After hearing that, I was half surprised, but I know how hard I’ve worked to get here.”
Bae has now won three of her last four tournaments. She captured medalist honors at the NCAA Columbus Regional in May, leading Georgia to a 15-stroke victory over the team lead. After placing 59th individually to lead the Bulldogs to an 18th-place team finish at the NCAA Championships, Bae returned to competition this week to secure back-to-back victories.
The victory also was Bae’s third-consecutive strong showing in the Georgia Open. She finished as runner-up last year, two shots back, and tied for third in 2019.
Numerous Georgia Golfers will be back in action next week competing in qualifiers for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Bae, Crenshaw, Hung and incoming freshman LoraLie Cowart will play on Monday at Woodmont Golf and Country Club north of Atlanta. Caroline Craig and Céleste Dao will attempt to qualify in tournaments in Sanford, N.C., and Vancouver, B.C., respectively.