Final Round of Augusta National Women's Amateur to Include Kiira Riihijarvi
AUGUSTA, Ga. – University of Tampa women's golfer Kiira Riihijarvi ended the second round at No. 21 on the leaderboard on Thursday at the Augusta National Women's Amateur at Champions Retreat Golf Club.
Riihijarvi, who finished the first round with a 73, carded a 77 in the second round as the senior is now 21st overall. At +6, Riihijarvi is seven strokes back from the lead as there are only two participants under par.
Rose Zhang, ranked No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), followed her opening-round 71 with an even-par 72 on a chilly, windy day in Augusta. Lindblad, ranked No. 4 in the world, made double bogey on the par-5 ninth hole before rattling off five birdies during a sensational second-nine 31 to shoot two-under 70. Both sit at one-under-par 143 through the championship's first two days.
Olivia Mehaffey, who shot a championship-low 69 on Thursday, and Auston Kim (72) are tied for third place at even par, one stroke behind the leaders. Gina Kim, Tsubasa Kajitani of Japan and Karen Fredgaard of Denmark – the first-round co-leader – are tied for fifth place at one-over-par 145. Nine other players enter Saturday's final round within five strokes of the lead.
All participants will play a practice round at Augusta National Golf Club, the home of the Masters Tournament, on Friday, April 2. The top-30 players will go on to play their final round on Saturday, which will be broadcast live on NBC from noon - 3:00 p.m. EDT.
Whittling the field to exactly 30 players required a playoff with five players competing for one final position on the par-4 10th hole. Yu-Sang Hou, Amari Avery, Maja Stark, Lauren Hartlage and Katherine Smith teed off in a group of five with the sun setting in the distance and patrons onlooking.
For more information, please visit www.ANWAgolf.com and follow the event's official social media channels (@ANWAgolf) across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Media inquiries may be directed to Augusta National Golf Club's Manager of Communications, Alex Zerkel, who may be reached at (706) 729-3628 or alzerkel@augustanational.com.
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