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U.S. Junior Girls title winner to play in tourney at home
2010/07/26 20:00:28 |
Taipei, July 26 (CNA) Doris Chen, who became the first Taiwanese winner of the U.S. Girls Junior Championship over the weekend, will return to Taipei soon to play a tournament, according to a report posted on the U.S. Golf Association's (USGA's) official website.
Chen, who won four of five holes during a late stretch to beat American Katelyn Dambaugh 3 and 2 in the 36-hole final of the match-play tournament on Saturday, revealed her plans to return to Taiwan to play in an interview with the USGA.
The 17-year-old amateur golfer made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 No. 16 to close the match and win the title at the Country Club of North Carolina.
Chen, who was sent to Bradenton, Florida three years ago by her parents to study and pursue a golf career, said in the interview that she rarely outdrove her opponents but was good at taking care of business on the greens.
"I'm used to it," Chen said of others hitting longer drives. "My putting was really good the last five holes."
Participating in the pressure-packed event taught her how to adjust her emotions over the 36-hole final, she said.
"I learned a lot. This afternoon I really played in a different way than before. In the first round I was very serious. In the second round I was very relaxed," she recalled on Saturday after winning the title.
"I'm just going to enjoy and just play. I don't really care about win or lose," she said she told herself.
A 2009 semifinalist in the U.S. Girls Junior title, Chen said the just-concluded championship was the best tournament she ever won.
"I won some Japanese and AJGA Opens, but this is the biggest trophy I've ever won," she said, smiling radiantly.
Asked about her future plans, Chen said she will play in the U.S. Women's Amateur in mid-August. Before that, she will play a tournament in Taiwan. After the U.S. Amateur, she probably will take part in some AJGA events before heading back to school.
Chen began to play golf at the age of 9 as a fourth grader at Dongmen Elementary School in Taipei City. She soon fell in love with the sport.
One of her former coaches, Chen Yen-ji, recalled that he has long been impressed by Chen's diligence and resilience.
"She was my father's first student. She consistently arrived at the golf course at 4:30 a.m. to wait for him," Chen Yen-ji said.
To give the rising star a better environment in which to practice and play golf, Doris Chen's mother Lin Yu-kuei resigned from her job at Chunghwa Telecom three years ago and accompanied her daughter to Florida. (By Lee Wei-han and Sofia Wu) enditem/ls
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