BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – One Kashima emerged out of a dynamic leaderboard as champion after a birdie on the first playoff hole sealed her victory in style. The Women’s Amateur Finalist defeated Caroline Patterson for the win in her first tournament since teeing it up at the Bear’s Club. Kashima fired rounds of 69-71-71 for a tournament total of five-under-par.
The leaderboard was tight throughout the entire championship. The first round One Kashima and Madison Moman shared the lead both firing three-under-par, 69. Moman posted a bogey-free round and stated, ““I just take it one shot at a time and I don’t really overthink things. Just set up for par and if the birdies drop, they drop. Luckily, I had three birdie putts drop today and hopefully a few more drop tomorrow.”
However, things became even tighter in the second round as Lauren Clark, Caroline Patterson, and Madison Moman all moved into a share of the lead at six-under-par for 36 holes. Patterson fired the low round of the tournament with a five-under-par 67, including six birdies over the 18 holes. She said of her round today, “I think the difference between today and yesterday is that today I felt a lot less intense. I was more free especially with my putting, I just kind of let it go and let the ball roll. It felt a lot better today.” Kashima dropped into second place with a tournament total of four-under-par and two strokes behind the leaders.
The second round was exciting, yet it was the final round where the leaderboard really heated up as time was running out and the players were all fighting for the lead. Moman took an early lead of six-under-par, but her lead diminished after falling victim to three consecutive birdies to start the back nine. In the meantime, Kashima was heating up as she birdied the 14th hole to take it to five-under-par. In addition, Caroline Patterson made back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 to also move into a share of the lead with Kashima. Patterson’s birdie putt to win on the 18th hole rolled into the side of the cup disappearing for a split second over the lip only to return on the other side, which left her in a playoff for the win against Kashima. The playoff only lasted one hole as Kashima hit her approach to about 12 feet and made her birdie to claim the victory.
Kashima advanced to the final match at the 95th Women’s Amateur in June. She certainly did not let up as this is her first tournament since falling short of the win to Sophia Dyer. Kashima stated, “The Women’s Am gave me so much confidence and I felt really good coming into this tournament, and it feels so special to win.”
Moreover, Brianna Castaldi and Madison Moman finished tied-for-third place with a tournament total of four-under-par.
