White Finishes Runner-up at Michigan Women's Amateur
8/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Golf
Aug. 12, 2016
• Michigan Women's Amateur Bracket
• Golf Association of Michigan Recap
LINDEN, Mich. --After a strong run and effort in the hot and humid weather, University of Michigan women's golfer Emily White finished as the runner-up at the 2016 Michigan Women's Amateur Championship today (Friday, Aug. 12) after dropping the championship match, 5 and 4, to No. 1 seed and defending champion Allyson Geer at Spring Meadow Country Club.
Heading into this morning's semifinal match, No. 2-seeded White had not trailed the entire event but found herself quickly three down to No. 14 seed Julia Dean (Brighton HS) after six holes. As White battled back she cut the deficit by two by winning Nos. 7 and 8 and made the turn only one down. She won the 14th hole to square the match and took her first lead after winning the 15th.
As the Saline native White looked to close out her semifinal and advance to the title match, she lost the 18th, as Dean forced extra holes. Needing just one hole, White ended the match in 19 holes, setting up the championship between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.
The battle between the top two seeds saw White fall down early after losing the second hole. As the pairing halved the next four holes, White remained one down through six. White dropped two of the final three front-side holes and turned to the back down three. On the back side, White was unable to repeat her morning rally, losing two more holes and eventually falling, 5 and 4.
"Overall I'm pretty pleased with the week," said White. "It could have ended better, but I lost to a great player who made a lot of birdies and challenged me to be more aggressive. I saw a lot of my work paying off this week, which is reassuring, but I also saw what I need to get better on going into the fall season. Long story short, good week, disappointing ending."
En route to her runner-up finish, White secured the No. 2 seed after nearly winning medalist honors of stroke play qualifying with an even-par 144 tally (73-71). She finished just a shot back of Geer, who was the medalist with a one-under 143 (73-70).
Entering match play, White cruised to the semifinals after a 5-and-4 first-round victory over No. 31 seed Elle Nichols (Oakland University), a 4-and-3 Sweet 16 win over No. 18 seed Julie Guckian (Grand Valley State) and a 3-and-2 quarterfinal triumph over No. 31 seed Elayna Bowser (Loyola Chicago).
Communications Contact: Tom Wywrot
