Smith ends amateur career with US win
IN: News | US Womens Amateur | North and South Women's Amateur (2008) | Round Four | by Liz White | 21 Jul 2008
Kristie Smith has capped off a wonderful amateur career winning the prestigious US North and South Amateur title in North Carolina today.
Georgetown’s Chelsea Curtis was simply left in Kristie’s ‘smithstream’, with the 19-year-old blazing away to a stunning 8 & 7 win on the famed Pinehurst No 2 course.
“It is huge. It has basically topped of my amateur career this year,” she said.
“It is nice to get my first amateur win in the US and it is even more special because I won it at Pinehurst.”
“This place has a really eerie feeling about it. I am so happy to have won it.”
Today, Smith didn’t get off to a great start with a bogey on the first to give Curtis a gift one up start to the match. It was however Curtis’ only moment in the sun, with Smith birdying the fifth to peg it back to square.
As she has done all week, Smith was able to raise her game to another level. A solid par on the par four 7th gave Smith a one up lead. She then birdied her favourite hole, the 9th, yet again, to go two up at the quarter way mark of the 36 hole final.
“I wasn’t really nervous today at all,” she said.
“I was more pumped up about it. This was my last tournament before I went home and I wanted to come home with the win.”
Although she was two up after 18 Smith was disappointed it wasn’t more.
“I was feeling like it should have been more like four up because on 16 I was three up, I hit a pitch shot to 4 feet and missed the putt to go 4 up,” she said.
“I then bogeyed 17 to let it slip back to two up. The break was nice after the first 18 because it gave me time to refresh and practice a bit more before heading out for the back half.”
After bogeying the 19th hole, all of a sudden Smith was only one up.
“That was when I started to get a bit nervous,” she said.
“But still I was one up so it was important to keep telling myself that.”
At this stage of the match, the title was there for the taking and it was Smith, proudly wearing an Australian tattoo on her cheek, who grabbed the ascendancy.
A par on the 21st hole and then an eagle on the 22rd hole, a par 5, and Smith had one hand on the famous Putter Boy Trophy.
“I hit a good drive and then a nice little three wood into about three or four feet and sank the putt, to her par,” she said.
“When that put me to 3up I was starting to feel really confident.”
Try as she might Curtis struggled with bogeys on the next two holes and with 12 holes remaining, it was Smith in the box seat with an advantage of 5.
“Chelsea kept scrambling all day, making some great up and downs out of nowhere and Stace (caddy) and I kept saying there was no way she could keep that up all day,” Smith said.
Their assessment was correct, with Curtis bogeying the par three 27th hole, while Smith herself made a great up and down for par to stretch out to 6.
Smith has said all tournament long that making pars at the difficult Pinehurst No 2 would ensure a victory more often than not and so it proved today. The current Australian Amateur champion parred the 28th and 29th hole to score a magnificent 8 & 7 victory.
It’s been an outstanding week of golf for Smith who qualified fourth for the matchplay with a two under round of 143. She steadily worked her way through the rounds, and once she was able to hand the bag carrying duties over to a caddy, her game went up a gear.
“It was relief to have a caddy and Stace was great. It was a pleasure to have her on my bag,” she said.
“She kept me calm, we were singing a few tunes out there and she was helping me with the line of my putts. It was also fantastic to have Steph supporting me on the sidelines as well.”
Curtis, who has not contested matchplay for three years, was disappointed she couldn’t keep up with Smith today but has already put her name down for next year’s event.
Smith too would love to be back in the US next year, but this time she is hoping it is as an LPGA member.
Immediately after winning the title, Smith announced that she is turning pro.
“This win has given me a lot of confidence and it is great to have that feeling back, like I had at the Australian Open, that I am unbeatable.”
“I know when I get to Q school it is definitely a higher standard but this win has helped me enormously. I am looking forward to the challenge.”
