It seemed only fitting that a match for the ages settled the 100th CWGA Match Play Championship.
In Thursday’s 35-hole final in which the two players combined to make 22 birdies and were 15 under par, Paige Spiranac defeated Brittany Fan 2 and 1 after they halved the final hole with — what else? — birdies.
“It’s a lot of pressure because you know you have to be at the top of your game, but that’s also fun too,” said Spiranac, who matched 6-under-par 66s with Fan on the first 18, then went 3 under par on the next 17 holes to finish at 9 under overall. “You want to have that competition. You want her to play well, and I also want to play well. I was happy when she made birdie and I’d want to make birdie too. It was really fun going back and forth the entire time.”
Indeed, Spiranac was 6 under par in her first 10 holes at Raccoon Creek Golf Course, where she keeps her handicap. That left the former Coloradan 2 up. But Fan, a Hawaii native who plays golf for the University of Colorado, battled back to go 2 up through 23 holes. Then Spiranac birdied the 27th and 28th holes to take a lead she wouldn’t relinquish.
“I’m kind of having mixed emotions right now,” said Fan, the low amateur at the 2013 HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open. “I’m sad and disappointed that I lost but I’m also happy because that was a really great match. You have to make birdie to win, and we just played great.”
For the 22-year-old Spiranac (left and above), it was her second CWGA championship victory as she won the Junior Stroke Play in 2010. She also claimed the title at the 2006 CJGA Tournament of Champions, among other CJGA victories.
Spiranac hasn’t lived in Colorado for about five years — she now mainly splits time between Arizona, where her parents live, and San Diego, where she just completed her college golf eligibility at San Diego State, though she has one more semester of school before graduating.
But because Spiranac is visiting an older sister who lives in Colorado, she’s playing a few tournaments in the state while she’s here, including the Match Play, U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying and the CWGA Stroke Play.
The Match Play certainly was a good start to the run as Spiranac earned medalist honors and won her four matches 7 and 6, 3 and 2, 5 and 4, and 2 and 1.
And, of course, it doesn’t hurt to forever go down as the winner of the 100th CWGA Match Play, with numerous former champions on hand, including four-time winner Joan Birkland and former CWGA executive director Maggie Giesenhagen.
“It’s awesome,” Spiranac said. “It has great tradition and the CWGA always puts on great events. It’s nice to win the 100th and have my name on there.
“I grew up in Colorado playing junior golf here, then went away to college. So it’s nice to come back to Colorado and win again. It means a lot because I’ve been working really hard on my game. It feels great to have it all come together.”
On Thursday, Spiranac took control by winning four holes in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the second round to go 3 up through 31 holes. But as quickly as you can say “not so fast”, Fan made one last run. She birdied both the 32nd and 33rd holes to narrow Spiranac’s lead to 1 up.
“She started to get a little momentum (after a bogey by Fan on the par-3 13th hole),” said the 19-year-old CU golfer, who ousted defending champion Jennifer Kupcho in the semifinals. “But I told myself, ‘You’ve got to keep fighting’, and I went birdie-birdie. But she was playing well too.”
When Fan (left) made bogey from a greenside bunker on the 34th hole, Spiranac went back to 2 up. Then the two finished the match in appropriate fashion. On the 150-yard 35th hole, Spiranac put her tee shot 3 feet from the hole. Fan calmly nearly matched the effort, with her ball ending up 5 feet from the cup.
Fan drained her birdie, and Spiranac did likewise to cap the match. It was the fourth time Thursday that they halved a hole with birdies.
“Honestly, the entire time it was back and forth and up and down,” said Spiranac, who hopes to turn pro by December. “Once I hit it in on 17, that was when it was, ‘OK, I can relax now.’ The entire time I couldn’t let down. When I thought I had it for a second (with five holes left), she came back and made two straight birdies. The entire time I was staying as focused as I could.”
Meanwhile, for the second consecutive year at the CWGA Match Play, a CU golfer finished runner-up, with Fan following in the footsteps of Tori Glenn in 2014.
As good as Fan played, she was left lamenting two three-putts — on the 24th and 30th holes — that cost her in a tight match.
“I think if I didn’t have the three-putts, I think we’d still be playing,” Fan said shortly after the match. “I definitely take a lot of positives from this, but there’s also a lot of things I can work on.”
For a story on the CWGA Match Play Senior Championship, CLICK HERE.
CWGA Match Play Championship
At Raccoon Creek GC in Littleton
Championship Flight Final (36 holes) — Paige Spiranac def. Brittany Fan, 2 and 1
Championship Flight Consolation Final — Samantha Barker def. Allie Johnston, 3 and 2
President’s Flight Final — Taylor Dorans def. Delaney Elliott, 1 up
President’s Flight Consolation Final — Sydney Gillespie def. Sarah Hankins, 3 and 1
Senior Championship Flight Final — Lynn Zmistowski def. Kathy Malpass, 1 up
Senior Championship Flight Consolational Final — Denise Cohen def. Christie Austin, 21 holes
First Flight Final — Jenni Chun def. Deb Hughes, 2 and 1
First Flight Consolation Final — Michelle Romano def. Megan McCambridge, 2 up
Second Flight Final — Nancy Ziereis def. Lynn Larson, 1 up
Second Flight Consolation Final — Courtney Ewing def. Katty Rothberg, 1 up
Third Flight Final — Aubrey Doran def. Susan Schell, 3 and 2
Third Flight Consolation Final — Carla Stearns def. Laurie Steenrod, 2 and 1
Fourth Flight Final — Jennifer Cassell def. Cindy Speer, 4 and 2
Fourth Flight Consolation Final — Nancy Sturgill def. Lyndon Lieb, 5 and 3
Fifth Flight Final — Judy Maillis def. Patti Godette, 2 and 1
Fifth Flight Consolation Final — Becky Finger def. Jennie Jones, 2 and 1
Sixth Flight Final — Harlene Bowman def. Cheryl Burget, 6 and 5
Sixth Flight Consolation Final — Lori Maul def. Sallie Dalton, 1 up
