Pepperdine golfer wins amateur title

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Danielle Kang

Pepperdine University sophomore Danielle Kang overcame her underdog status and captured the biggest title of her young career when she won the 2010 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship at Charlotte Country Club in North Carolina on Sunday.

In the 36-hole final, Kang defeated tournament favorite Jessica Korda, 2 & 1. With the match all square after 33 holes, Kang won both the 34th and 35th to claim the victory.

The victory capped off a tremendous summer for Kang, who ended her first collegiate season with a tie for 15th place at the NCAA Championships and earned All-American second team honors from Golfweek. She qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open for the second time and went on to be one of only six amateurs to make the cut.

She also had a second-place showing at the Canadian Women’s Amateur, and Kang was the medalist in the stroke-play portion of the U.S. Junior Girls Championship before losing in the quarterfinals of match play to the eventual champion. That was the second time that Kang has been the medalist in stroke play at a USGA championship, having also earned that distinction at the 2009 U.S. Women’s Amateur.