Mehaffey sixth as Liu outlasts teenager Zhang for Symetra Tour win

China's Ruixin Liu celebrates her fifth Symetra Tour win

Banbridge amateur Olivia Mehaffey put a bad start behind her and picked up three shots in her last four holes to tie for sixth in the Carlisle Arizona Women's Golf Classic after a one-over 73.

The Arizona State University star (23) went into the final round just two strokes behind China's Ruixin Liu after rounds of 69, 64 and 71. Scores

But after struggling with her ball-striking — she found only 50 per cent of the fairways and greens — she turned in three-over 39, then slipped to four-over through 11 holes before finishing eagle-bogey-birdie-birdie to finish on 11-under par.

“It was a great week,” Mehaffey said. “I learned a lot from being in contention and leading in a professional event for the first time. Also learned a lot from [caddie] Davy [Jones], so overall great week and experience.”

As for her struggles on Sunday, she played the mental rather than her physical game.

“It was mental,” she said. “It’s something I’ve been working through the past few months. I struggle to commit and see a shot.”

She returns to action in a warm-up for next week’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur in the PING/ASU Invitational at Arizona State from Friday.

She was playing with world amateur number one Rose Zhang, who closed with a 66 and as Liu shot 69 to leave them in a playoff for the title 17-under, two strokes clear of Spain's Fatima Fernandez Cano.

Liu eventually won her fifth Symetra Tour title with a birdie on their visit to the 18th for the second time in the playoff.

The first playoff-hole both would make par. Back to the tee, Liu and Zhang found the fairway again. But Zhang’s second shot found the desert left of the fairway and she would have to take an unplayable, while Liu found herself on the green in three and sunk her birdie putt.  

“Obviously she is well known and a really good player so there was definitely pressure,” said Liu. “It was also my first time ever playing in a playoff, which is a lot of pressure in itself too. I am just glad I was able to pull it off with a birdie on the second playoff hole.”  

Thanks to the $30,000 payday, Liu climbs to No. 1 in the Race for the Card. In 2018, she claimed three wins and ended the season at the top of the money list. Liu hopes to build off what she learned from that experience, as well as the 2019 LPGA Tour season, to find her way back to a full LPGA Card. 

“This is a really good start to the season for me. I am just trying to do my thing, keep my pace, and be patient,” said Liu. “If I could get my full LGPA card back that will be the second time I play on the Tour. I really just want to see improvement in myself and I feel like I have seen that over the last few years.”  

The defending U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, Zhang had a weekend to remember.

The 17-year-old   from Irvine, California, played in the Symetra Tour event on a sponsor’s exemption and fired back-to-back rounds of 66 on Saturday and Sunday at the Longbow Golf Club to finish the week at 17-under par, good enough for the clubhouse lead.

But Liu, who held the lead after the first round and reclaimed it on Saturday, had a birdie putt on the final hole of regulation to win outright. When she missed, Liu and Zhang headed back to 18 for extra holes.    

Despite still being in high school, Zhang is no stranger to the big stage. In 2020, she faced off in the U.S. Women’s Amateur final against 2019 champion Gabi  Ruffels. That event also went to extra into overtime. Zhang won with a par on the 38th hole in what was the second-longest final in U.S. Women’s Amateur history.

A month later, Zhang was low amateur in the ANA Inspiration, finishing tied for 11th in the LPGA Tour major championship. That finish moved Zhang into the top spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and earned her the Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top amateur of 2020.    

Despite her youth, Zhang’s experience showed. After opening with rounds of  70  and  69, she fired a seven-birdie one-bogey 66 on Saturday. On Sunday, Zhang opened with a bogey on the par-5 first hole she reeled off seven birdies in the next 17 holes. But she failed to capitalize on the par-5s, playing them one-over-par on Sunday and then making two pars on the par-5 18th in the playoff.    

"I think that this counts as a great debut for the Symetra Tour. I am super proud of myself for how I carried myself throughout the four days. Just being here with the pros and learning so much has really given me motivation to keep playing well,” Zhang said. “Rachel played amazing so congrats to her and I am super happy for her. It’s a good step towards the right direction for me. 

“I think my biggest take away was being able to stay composed throughout the four days and watching everyone play. Everyone has an amazing game and it shows me that I can continue working hard and keep in my stride. 

“This course was not a very long course, especially in Arizona the ball tends to go a bit further. Even though there is a slight amount of wind in air it still carries a lot. I was able to hit a lot of wedges which helps my game a lot and I was able to convert some putts throughout the week. I think it I was able to make a few more putts it would have been a little different.”