Kristina Merkle Wins Safeway Classic Amateur Open, Earns Spot in Safeway Classic
Amy Simanton and A Ram Choi earn spots in Monday Qualifier.
Kristina Merkle, a rising sophomore at the University of Tulsa, won the Safeway Classic Amateur Open with an 18-hole score of 71 and a sponsor’s exemption in the LPGA’s Safeway Classic Presented by Coca-Cola August 16-22 at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club. Merkle finished with a three-stroke margin over Amy Simanton and A Ram Choi, who finished at 74 on the Langdon Farms course near Portland, Oregon. Merkle now has the opportunity to play with the best on the LPGA tour in the 54-hole event, which features a purse of $1.5 million for professionals.
Merkle made the trip to Portland from her home in Honolulu. “I came to Portland from Hawaii just for this tournament and I am ecstatic that I did,” said Merkle. “I can’t wait to come back and play against the LPGA pros.” After her recent successful freshman year at Tulsa, she was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Year, and earned first-team all-conference honors.
Simanton is from Lake Oswego, Oregon and plays for UC Davis. Choi is from Surrey, BC Canada and plays for the University of Washington. As second and third-place finishers, Simanton and Choi will compete in the Monday, August 16 LPGA Qualifier for the Safeway Classic against professional players who are not otherwise eligible for the Safeway Classic based on their current tour rankings. The two low scores from that event will also earn spots in the tournament proper Aug. 20-22.
“What a great day of golf by all the participants,” said Tom Maletis, President of Tournament Golf Foundation, the Safeway Classic owners and operators. “This event provides amateurs with a great opportunity to earn their way into a premier LPGA tournament to compete against the best players in the world. We are thrilled to have Kristina be a part of this year’s event and we wish A Ram and Amy the best of luck in the qualifier.”
Merkle birdied the first hole at Langdon Farms to start her round and followed that with a series of pars. She made a double-bogey on the par-four 15th before carding pars on the next two holes. Merkle had an adventurous final hole, starting with a pushed drive that landed in bushes near the fairway. She pulled her next shot to the left side of the par-five hole, leaving herself with 150 yards to the pin. A perfect 6-iron left her with a four-foot putt for birdie. “I felt like I had to make birdie to win, so I was extremely nervous until I saw it go in,” Merkle said.
This year’s Safeway Classic will be the 39th edition. The tournament has raised over $14 million for local children’s charities in Oregon through the Safeway Foundation since 1972, and gave $1 million last year from tournament proceeds.
