It was an all-New York final in Flagstaff, Arizona at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Forest Highlands Golf Club.
Talia Campbell, 25, faced off against Ina Kim-Schaad, 35, both of New York City, in an 18-hole final.
Kim-Schaad never trailed in the match. She birdied the first hole for the early lead, then went 2 up with a birdie on 3.
She kept her lead all day, although Campbell got to 1 down with a birdie on 12. But after both golfers parred 13 and 14, Kim-Schaad went back to 2 up with a birdie on 15 and then closed it out with a birdie on 16.
“I’m sure it will sink in tonight or maybe later in the week, but it’s pretty amazing,” said Kim-Schaad, a Northwestern grad who celebrates her next birthday on Sunday. “The women I got to play with this week have been amazing. The golf course was amazing. It’s just a pretty surreal experience overall.”
Kim-Schaad never had to play the 17th or 18th holes in any of her six matches in the tournament. She needed to play only 89 holes in all.
She actually stopped playing for more than a decade, having just returned to golf three years ago.
With this victory, Kim-Schaad has earned an exemption into the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open, the 2020 and 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the next 10 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs.
The last time two players from the same hometown faced off in a USGA final was in 1990 when Phil Mickelson defeated fellow San Diego resident Manny Zerman in the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club.
