KU's Powers Advances To Match Play After Playoff At U.S. Amateur Public Links

June 23, 2009

MORNING UPDATE — Powers advanced to match play after a three-hole playoff Wednesday morning. She will meet individual medalist Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, Hawai’i in the first round. The match was slated to begin at 9:45 a.m. Central time and can be followed online at http://www.uswapl.org/scoring/nml/match/011.html

DEVENS, Mass. – Kansas senior-to-be Emily Powers shot a 78 on Tuesday and her two-round total of 152 put her in a playoff for the final spots of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Golf Championship.

Powers finished the day as one of 11 players who had to compete for the final six spots as the field gets narrowed to 64 before match play begins later on Wednesday. The playoff was not completed Tuesday night due to darkness and Powers and three others will continue to fight for one remaining position early Wednesday.

A day after shooting a 74 in the first round, Powers registered a 78 in the second and final qualifying round on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Powers recorded two birdies, with both scores coming on par threes at the Red Tail Golf Club in Devens, Mass. However, she also struggled with three double-bogeys a day after recording three birdies and no worse than a bogey.

In the two qualifying rounds Powers was two-under par on the par threes, six over on the par fours and four over on the par fives.

Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, Hawai’i is the top seed after shooting a combined six-under par 138. She edged Annie Park of Levittown, N.Y. by one stroke for medalist honors.

Last year Powers reached the round of 16 in this event. She defeated Megan Dowdy 4&3 and Kristen Schelling 6&5 before dropping a match to Lauren Doughtie 3&2. In 2007 Powers played in the qualifying rounds of the Public Links.