FORSYTH, Ga. — Georgia sophomore Jenny Bae defeated Madison Barnett, 5-amd-3, to win the 2020 Georgia State Golf Association (GSGA) Women’s Match Play Championship on Thursday at River Forest Club in Forsyth, Ga.
Bae completed dominant run through the three-day event. All told, she covered 81 holes of competition at a combined 13-under.
In the championship match, Bae birdied No. 3 and No. 5 en route to grabbing an early 3-hole advantage. Barnett won No. 6, but Bae captured back-to-back holes to push her edge to 4-up through No. 8. Bae was 3-up through No. 13 before consecutive birdies gave her an insurmountable 5-hole advantage with just three holes remaining.
Bae earned the No. 1 seed in the match play bracket after firing a 5-under 66 on Tuesday, five strokes better than anyone else in the field. On Wednesday, Bae defeated Meredith Bennett, 7-and-6, and Amy Ng, 1-up, in the Round or 16 and quarterfinals, respectively. She bested Loralie Cowart, 1-up, in the semifinals on Thursday morning before topping Barnett in the afternoon.
University of Georgia golfers have now won the GSGA Match Play title 11 times since the event’s inception in 1998. Bae is the Bulldogs’ first champion since Rinko Mitsunaga won the 2015 tournament.