Kan, Miller medal in #USWFourBall Qual. at chilly NorthamptonEASTON, Pa. - Breezy conditions brought in frigid temperatures, but that didn’t prevent Aurora Kan and Katie Miller’s golf games from staying warm Tuesday at Northampton Country Club (par 72, 6,119 yards).
With many teams gripping clubs with dual gloves and earmuffs equipped, the duo overcame the early signs of winter to medal in a U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship Qualifier with a 5-under 67. They topped a field of 10 pairs playing to gain a chance on the national stage. The other qualifying position on the day was secured by Caroline Curtis (Richmond, Va.) and Riley Rennell (Columbia, Tenn.) thanks to their 1-under 71. The championship proper will be played May 27-31, 2017 at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C. After three “standard” birdies on the front, paired with a single bogey blemish, Kan and Miller went 3-under on the back. The first red number came on the par-5, 446-yard 11th, where both players thought they could reach in two. After failing to do so, Miller escaped the lip of a bunker with a nice play to around 25 feet. She sunk it. Miller then found a fairway bunker with her drive on No. 14 (par 4, 311 yards), but made birdie yet again after blasting her sand-wedge approach to a foot. The teammates sat at 4-under walking to the par-3, 124-yard 16th – and then it was Miller time again. Kan and Miller had little knowledge of the rest of the field's standing heading to the closing hole (par 4, 429 yards). That is, until they took it upon themselves to do a little investigating while feeling confident about their own scorecard. “We thought our number was pretty good coming down the stretch. But while I was standing around the 18th green, I was doing a little creeping and tried to see the red already on the scoreboard,” said Miller, 31, of Jeannette, Pa. “I could only see one group under the red, and then I felt like we were good.” Kan and Miller know each other through Pennsylvania's amateur golf circuit. They first met – and played against each other – in the 2007 Pennsylvania Women’s State Amateur at Manufacturers' Golf & Country Club, which Miller would go on to win. “I was impressed with her then, and she was only 13 or 14 years old. I was a senior in college then, and I just kept an eye on her since then,” said Miller, who played for the North Carolina Tar Heels from 2003 to 2007. “Last year, we started playing in stuff again after Aurora graduated, and reconnected after that.” “Our games our perfect for each other. We’re kind of opposites, our games, in a way. I like to swing easier, where as she likes to swing more aggressively,” said Kan, 22, of Boothwyn, Pa. “My putting is more aggressive, while she likes to play the break and die it in. She was on fire today. Basically, everything she saw, she made it.” Miller has qualified for the Four-Ball three times with three different partners. Kan, a member of the Purdue Boilermakers from 2011 to 2015, will be playing in her first, but already has a number of USGA championships, including last year’s U.S. Women’s State Team, already under her belt. Curtis and Rennell, a pair of University of Georgia commits, will be joining the medalists in Myrtle Beach. “It’s always amazing qualifying for a USGA championship. They’re always so much fun,” said Rennell, who will play for the Bulldogs in Fall 2017. “Past Georgia commits have had success in tournaments like these, so maybe that’s a good omen for us.” “Riley had a few birdies early today, and I had a few birdies late. I’d say we’re a pretty good team,” said Curtis, on track to start at Georgia in Fall 2019. “Honestly, we just look at [the Four-Ball] as we get to have another chance to have even more fun with each other.”
Golf Association of Philadelphia
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A Walk Through Time
GAP is the oldest state or regional golf association in the country. It started courtesy of a friendly competition – the Team Matches – and has grown into the preeminent golf association in the country. Along the way, golf history has been made.
