BANDON, Ore. (AP) — Stanford senior Megha Ganne won three straight holes against mistake-prone Brooke Biermann and was never seriously threatened on her way to winning her first USGA title Sunday with a 4-and-3 victory in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Three times that Biermann won a hole in the afternoon, Ganne responded with a birdie to remain 4 up and make it only a matter of time before she won. Biermann twice went well over the green and conceded holes in the afternoon and never could put any pressure on Ganne.
“Brooke didn’t make it easy on me. She showed so much fight,” Ganne said. “This is likely my last Women’s Amateur, and I really, really wanted to get this done.”
Ganne, who starts her senior year on The Farm next month, has been chasing a USGA title for nearly a decade. She reached the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2019 at age 15, losing in 19 holes to Albane Valenzuela.
She nearly didn’t even get a chance at Bandon Dunes.
Ganne was 4 down with seven holes to play in the semifinals against Ella Scaysbrook when she rallied to force extra holes, winning with a birdie on the 19th hole.
There wasn’t much drama in the championship match. Ganne never trailed, although each player won three holes and the match was all square through 11 holes in the morning.
Biermann lost the next three holes with bogeys and never caught up. Ganne was 3 up after 18 holes, and Biermann never got any closer.
“Megha is a great player,” Biermann said. “I was trying to stay in my own thoughts. Unfortunately, the putter went cold today. Overall, I felt like I gave it my all. I had a blast out here.”
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Biermann, who just finished her college career at Michigan State, battled to at least stay in the game. On the 14th hole, she had a 20-foot putt from the collar of the green. She had to make that to cut the deficit to 2 down with four holes to play.
But she left it short, missed the next putt and suddenly was 4 down with four to play. Ganne two-putted from 15 feet for par on the next hole to close out the match.
“I can’t believe I’m standing here right now,” Ganne said as she held the trophy. “I’m not going to lie, I was thinking about this trophy the entire day.”
