April 24, 2002
WALLA WALLA, Wash. - Sophomore Jimin Kang shot a two-under 70 Wednesday to win the individual title at the 2002 Pac-10 Championships, held April 22-24 at the par 72, 6,199-yard Walla Walla Country Club.
Kang's victory gives Arizona State its ninth Pac-10 individual title and the first since Grace Park in 1999. A total of seven Sun Devils have won Pac-10 individual titles, including three-time conference medalist Wendy Ward.
Kang finished with a three-day total of even-par 216 (72-74-70), which bested the nation's top-ranked player, Lorena Ochoa, by one stroke and snapped Ochoa's NCAA-record seven tournament winning streak. It also marked the second tournament win of the season for Kang who previously captured medalist honors at the New Mexico State Intercollegiate in October. Kang came into the day trailing by three strokes but birdied two of her last three holes to earn the victory.
The 10th-ranked Arizona State team finished in a tie with California for third in the tournament with a three-day total of 44-over 908. The Sun Devils shot a 14-over 302 Wednesday to climb one spot in the final round. Arizona won its third straight team title with a three-day total of 891, while UCLA finished second at 899. USC and Washington tied for fifth with three-round totals of 909.
Other Sun Devil finishers included freshman Erin Tone who turned in her third straight top 15 finish, tying for 12th with a three-day total of 227 (77-73-77). Junior Melanie Hunt finished in a tie for 34th at 236 (84-74-78), while juniors Blair O'Neal (77-80-80) and Ga?lle Truet (79-81-77) each tied for 39th with three-day totals of 237. ASU individual Josefin Gustafsson had her best round of the tournament with a 75 Wednesday to finish in a tie for 46th (81-84-75-240).
Kang was named a first-team All-Pac-10 selection by the league's coaches, while O'Neal and Truet eached earned honorable-mention accolades.
Arizona State returns to action May 9-11 at the NCAA Regional Championships at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif.
2002 Pac-10 Conference Women's Golf Championships Final Results - April 22-24, 2002 - Walla Walla (Wash.) Country Club
1. Arizona 293-304-294=891 2. UCLA 301-299-299=899 T3. Arizona State 305-301-302=908 California 299-308-301=908 T5. USC 297-308-304=909 Washington 309-303-297=909 7. Stanford 300-309-304=913 8. Washington State 319-315-304=938 9. Oregon State 320-329-309=958 10. Oregon 331-317-318=966