Chun's 61 in the Chattanooga Classic eclipses all kinds of records as she leads Michigan to team crown

 

   There was a brief pause in the second round of the Chattanooga Classic at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn.

   Chattanooga was just outside the path of totality for Monday’s solar eclipse, so the golf course was plunged into a few minutes of eerie midday darkness.

   While you were warned to not try to look at the sun as the moon passed between the sun and the earth, the most blinding light of the day was delivered by Michigan’s Monet Chun, a senior from Canada and No. 74 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), as she became just the seventh player in the history of women’s college golf to shoot a 61, the first to accomplish the feat since 2020.

   Chun, the runnerup to Japanese teen Saki Babi in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay, had an outrageous 11 birdies on her scorecard over the 5,955-yard, par-71 Council Fire layout while rewriting the Chattanooga Classic record book for low 18- and 36-hole totals.

   Starting off the first tee, Chun made birdies at the first, second and sixth holes before the only blemish on her card, a bogey at seven. She then ripped off four straight birdies at the eighth, ninth, 10^th, and 11^th holes, another one at 13 and then one last closing flourish with three straight birdies at 16, 17 and 18 to punctuate her masterpiece.

   Chun had struggled a little in the opening round with a 3-over 74 before surging to the top of the leaderboard on the strength of her scintillating 61. A final round of 3-under 68 gave Chun a 10-under 203 and a two-shot victory over South Florida’s Melanie Green, a senior from Medina, N.Y.

   More importantly, Chun led Michigan to the team title by six shots over Conference USA representative Western Kentucky in the Wolverines’ final tuneup before the Big Ten Championship, which tees off April 19 at Bulle Rock Golf Course, a Pete Dye design in Havre de Grace, Md.

   After opening with a 299, Michigan, behind Chun’s 61, posted a sizzling 13-under 271 in Monday’s second round to get a share of the lead with South Florida, an American Athletic Conference entry, going into Tuesday’s final round. The Wolverines closed with a 1-over 285 for a 3-over 855 total.

   Michigan also got a career-best round of 5-under 66 from sophomore Sydney Sung, one of the Wolverines’ twin Sung sisters from Palo Alto, Calif., in the second-round 271, which was a program record.

   It was two years ago when Chun closed with a 5-under 66 at Fox Chapel Golf Club in suburban Pittsburgh to capture the individual championship and lead Michigan to the first victory in the Big Ten Championship in program history.

   Western Kentucky closed with a 4-over 288 to earn runnerup honors with a 9-over 861 total that left the Hilltoppers six shots behind Michigan. Western Kentucky had opened with a 7-over 291 and trailed Michigan and South Florida by just three shots going into the final round after recording a 2-under 282 in Monday’s second round.

   The Hilltoppers were led by Catie Craig, a junior from Sautee Nacoochee, Ga. who finished in third place in the individual standings with a 3-under 210 total, five shots behind South Florida’s Green, as she rattled off three straight 1-under 70s.

   After opening with a 6-over 294, South Florida also had a strong showing in Monday’s second round with an 8-under 276 that left the Bulls tied with Michigan in the team standings going into the final round. South Florida closed with a 9-over 293 to finish two shots behind Western Kentucky in third place with an 11-over 863 total.

   South Florida had two players finish in the top four in the individual standings as Green was the only player in the same zip code as Chun, earning runnerup honors with an 8-under 205 total, and Alizee Vidal, a senior from France, finished a shot behind Western Kentucky’s Craig in fourth place with a 2-under 211 total.

   After opening with a 1-under 70, Green registered a sparkling 5-under 66 in Monday’s second round and closed with a solid 2-under 69 to finish two shots behind Chun at 8-under.

   After opening with a 1-over 72, Vidal contributed a 3-under 68 to South Florida’s second-round surge before matching par in the final round with a 71 to get it to 2-under.

   Colorado State, out of the Mountain West Conference, and Campbell, which joined the Coastal Athletic Association this season, finished in a tie for fourth place, each landing on 16-over 868, five shots behind South Florida.

   The Rams climbed the team leaderboard with a final round of 8-under 276, easily the best team score of the day Tuesday. They had opened with back-to-back 296s in the first two rounds.

   After opening with a 295, the Camels finished with a couple of solid efforts, a 2-over 286 in Monday’s second round and a 3-over 287 in Tuesday’s final round.

   As I’m putting this post together, Campbell is playing in its inaugural CAA Championship at The Reserve Club at St. James Plantation at Southport, N.C. I’m hoping to post on the CAA Championship at some point in the week ahead.

   East Tennessee State, a Southern Conference representative, finished nine shots behind Colorado State and Campbell in sixth place with a 25-over 877 total. The Buccaneers added a solid 2-over 286 to their opening-round 290 in Monday’s second round, but struggled in the final round with a 301.

   Iowa, one of Michigan’s Big Ten rivals, finished five shots behind East Tennessee State in seventh place in the 18-team field with a 30-over 882 total as the Hawkeyes bounced back from an opening-round 306 with a 6-over 290 in Monday’s second round before closing with a solid 2-over 286.

   Backing up Chun for Michigan was the other of the Sung twins, Lauren Sung, as she finished in a tie for 13^th place with a 4-over 217 total. The sophomore was steady as she opened with a 2-over 73 and added back-to-back 1-over 72s in the final two rounds.

   I’ve been paying a little extra attention to Michigan this season because of the presence in the lineup of freshman Sidney Yermish, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion whose scholastic career at Lower Merion I was able to chronicle in this blog. I continue to honor Yermish’s pronoun preference of they/them/their.

   It was another strong showing for Yermish as they finished in a tie for 21^st place with a 7-over 220 total. Yermish opened with a 2-over 73, but their 6-over 77 in Monday’s second round was tossed by the Wolverines. Yermish bounced right back with a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s final round.

   Sydney Sung and Mara Janess, a redshirt freshman from Barrington, Ill., rounded out the Michigan lineup as they finished among the group tied for 43^rd place at 226.

   Sydney Sung had opened with a 79 before going low with that 66 that helped fuel the Wolverines’ surge in the second round. She then struggled in the final round with an 81. Janess bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a 1-over 72 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 4-over 75.

   Michigan captured the team crown in the Chattanooga Classic with a notable absence in its lineup, but Hailey Borja, a fifth-year player from Lake Forest, Calif., had a legitimate excuse.

   A day before the start of the Chattanooga Classic, Borja carded a 2-over 74 in the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship at one of the cathedrals of the game as she finished in a tie for eighth place with a 1-over 217 total.

   So clearly, Michigan is going to be a force to be reckoned with at Bulle Rock.

   Iowa’s Paula Miranda, a junior from Mexico, and Colorado State’s Andrea Bergsdottir, a graduate student from Sweden, finished in a tie for fifth place, each landing on 1-under 212.

   Miranda closed with a 4-under 67 to move up the leaderboard. She had opened with a 4-over 75 before adding a 1-under 70 in Monday’s second round. Bergsdottir finished up with a solid 3-under 68 after posting back-to-back 1-over 72s in the first two rounds.

   Another Swede, Campbell senior Sanna Lundmark, finished alone in seventh place with an even-par 213 total. After matching par in the opening round with a 71, Lundmark added a 1-under 70 in Monday’s second round before closing with a 1-over 72.

   North Florida’s Christin Eisenbeiss, a senior from Germany, and Western Kentucky’s Sarah Arnold, a graduate student from St. Charles, Ill., finished in a tie for eighth place, a shot behind Lundmark at 1-over 214.

   After opening with a 2-over 73, Eisenbeiss tallied a 1-under 70 in Monday’s second round before matching par in the final round with a 71. After opening with a 1-over 72, Arnold carded a solid 2-under 69 in Monday’s second round before finishing up with a 2-over 73.

   Rounding out the top 10 in the individual standings was Eisenbeiss’ North Florida teammate, One Kashima, a freshman from Japan who finished alone in 10^th place with a 2-over 215 total. Kashima got off to a great start with a 4-under 67 and matched par in Monday’s second round with a 71 before struggling a little in the final round with a 6-over 77.