RYE, N.Y. – After winning nail-biters in her opening two rounds of match play at the U.S. Women's Amateur, junior Kan Bunnabodee cruised to a berth into the quarterfinals with a 6-and-5 victory over Kailie Vongsaga in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
Bunnabodee, who rallied to win four the final five holes in the Round of 64 yesterday to narrowly advance and needed 19 holes in the Round of 32 Thursday morning to win, jumped out to an early lead on Ohio State sophomore Vongsaga and never looked back in her second round of the day. Bunnabodee was flawless in her play in her second 18 of Thursday, posting a pair of birdies and 11 pars in the 13 holes needed to move on.
The Boilermaker from Chonburi, Thailand, faced a battle to even make it to the second round of Thursday. Squaring off against Emma Spitz of Austria in the Round of 32, Bunnabodee controlled most of the 19 holes and never trailed, but Spitz made the going tough by pulling equal twice and never allowing Bunnabodee more that a 2-hole edge. All square through the final four holes of regulation, Bunnabodee ended the match with a par on the first extra hole to Spitz's bogey.
Bunnabodee, seeded 11th in the field, will take on 14th-seeded Rachel Heck on Friday with a shot to reach the semifinals on the line. Heck, from Memphis, Tennessee, won the NCAA individual national title and was the Ping/WGCA Player of the Year as a freshman at Stanford in the spring.
Quarterfinal action begins at 1 p.m. ET, with Bunnabodee and Heck slated for a 1:30 p.m. tee time. Live action from Westchester Country Club can be found on NBC's Peacock streaming service beginning at 2 p.m.
Bunnabodee, who rallied to win four the final five holes in the Round of 64 yesterday to narrowly advance and needed 19 holes in the Round of 32 Thursday morning to win, jumped out to an early lead on Ohio State sophomore Vongsaga and never looked back in her second round of the day. Bunnabodee was flawless in her play in her second 18 of Thursday, posting a pair of birdies and 11 pars in the 13 holes needed to move on.
The Boilermaker from Chonburi, Thailand, faced a battle to even make it to the second round of Thursday. Squaring off against Emma Spitz of Austria in the Round of 32, Bunnabodee controlled most of the 19 holes and never trailed, but Spitz made the going tough by pulling equal twice and never allowing Bunnabodee more that a 2-hole edge. All square through the final four holes of regulation, Bunnabodee ended the match with a par on the first extra hole to Spitz's bogey.
Bunnabodee, seeded 11th in the field, will take on 14th-seeded Rachel Heck on Friday with a shot to reach the semifinals on the line. Heck, from Memphis, Tennessee, won the NCAA individual national title and was the Ping/WGCA Player of the Year as a freshman at Stanford in the spring.
Quarterfinal action begins at 1 p.m. ET, with Bunnabodee and Heck slated for a 1:30 p.m. tee time. Live action from Westchester Country Club can be found on NBC's Peacock streaming service beginning at 2 p.m.