The Kat Takes Yan Into Playoff in Ohio!

Katherine, The Kat, Muzi, 13, from Walnut, CA., started the day 3 shots behind the leader Hiu Lam Vanessa Yan, from Hong Kong. The third and final round begin in the rain. Players were scrambling to keep their equipment dry and to fight the tendency to “wilt” under the pressure of the bad weather. Katherine’s father, Steve had communicated with her coach, George Pinnell, before the round for advice on how to manage the rain. Pinnell, told her to “embrace the weather and use it to your advantage. The majority of the girls will fall prey to the rain and therefor they won’t be at the top of their game. This will give you a chance to move up the leader board and possibly challenge the leader.”

The front side started with a bogey and then birdies on 2, 4, and 5 gave her confidence, but a bogey on 8 left her with a -1, 35 on the front nine. Kat stayed steady with 5 back to back pars on the back 9 and then a birdie on 15 gave her more confidence. She needed a birdie on the final hole to push the event into a playoff with Yan. The Kat made a 6′ putt for birdie while Yan pared in the group behind Kat.

On the first playoff hole Yan hit a 3 wood approximately 210 yds from a downhill lie to within about 6 feet. Kat left her approach shot roughly 30′ from the hole and left her birdie putt at the edge of the hole. Yan made the putt and won the event.

Katherine opened the event with a 75, followed by 70-69. Pinnell has coached Katherine to eliminate “big number’s” like double bogies. He goes on to say that it is super difficult to win with double’s on your card but one can win with bogies on the card, but not double’s.” Two doubles in the opening round, seemed to support Pinnell’s coaching.

Her final round 69 was the low round of the day and won her The Scotty Cameron Award and the coveted Head Cover that come’s with the award.

Katherine will take about two weeks off and spend a couple of days with her father and grandparents in up state New York, before leaving for a vacation to Italy with her father.

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