[su_spacer size=”20″] Bailey Tardy, an incoming freshman on the Georgia women’s golf team, rallied to a thrilling 1-up victory over Dylan Kim in the first round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship on Wednesday.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Tardy, a native of Peachtree Corners, Ga., and a graduate of Norcross High School, fell behind early and did not lead until she birdied No. 16. Both she and Kim, an All-American for Baylor last season, recorded pars at No. 17 and No. 18 as Tardy’s 1-up lead held up.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Kim jumped out to a quick 3-up advantage by winning holes No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 at the Portland Golf Club. Tardy got hot near the turn and secured No. 7, No. 9 and No. 10 to return the scoreboard to all-square. Kim immediately regained a 1-up edge at No. 11; however, Tardy knotted the match two holes later at No. 13 and took the lead with a birdie at the par-4, 371-yard No. 16.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Tardy moved into the 64-player match play bracket after shooting 72-73=145 to tie for 24th in stroke play qualifying rounds on Monday and Tuesday. Two other representatives of Georgia Golf qualified for the Am but failed to advance to match play. Incoming freshman Rinko Mitsunaga, who won the USGA’s inaugural Four-Ball Championship in May, shot 78-73=151, while former Bulldog All-American Emilie (Burger) Meason carded rounds of 75-79=154.
[su_spacer size=”40″] Tardy will now face Hannah Green, who tied for third in stroke play, in Thursday’s second round at 10:40 a.m. ET. Tardy is currently No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, while Green is No. 53. Live scoring for the match can be found at http://www.usga.org/championships/2015/u-s–women-s-amateur/scoring.html.