Grace Park

Grace Park, 19, of Seoul, Korea, won the 1998 United States Women's Amateur Championship with a 7-and-6 victory over Jenny Chuasiriporn, 21, of Timonium, Md., in the scheduled 36-hole final at the 6,277-yard Barton Hills Country Club course in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Park used her length from the tee and a flurry of good putts against Chuasiriporn's cold putter to easily win the 103-year-old Robert Cox Cup.

Park's five birdies gave her a 3-up lead after the morning 18 over Chuasiriporn, who was runner-up in the 1998 U.S. Women's Open.

Park bogeyed the 22nd hole but birdied the 25th and 26th holes to gain a 6-up lead. She went 7 up on the 28th hole with a par when Chuasiriporn three-putted from three feet and bogeyed. The two players matched pars on the 29th and 30th holes to close out the match.

"I knew that Jenny is a great player and would come back strong," Park said. "She did, on some of the holes, but she made a few mistakes here and there. I just wanted to play solid and keep putting well."

"Exhaustion was probably a factor today," said Chuasiriporn, who was two over par for the 30 holes of the match. "My muscles weren't working the way they were supposed to."

Chuasiriporn was visibly tired after a summer that included the 20-hole Women's Open playoff, which she lost to professional Se Ri Pak, the Curtis Cup Match, and the nine rounds of golf required of finalists in the Women's Amateur.

An estimated 2,450 spectators watched the final match for a total of 10,162 for the week.

Park advanced to the final with a 2-and-1 semifinal victory over Marcy Newton, of High Point, N.C. Chuasiriporn took 21 holes to defeat Brandi Miller, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., in the other semifinal match.

Kellee Booth, of Coto de Caza, Calif., smashed qualifying round records with 72-66-138. Booth's 66 broke the 18-hole record by two strokes and her 36-hole total broke the record by two strokes.

A record number of entries, 620, was received for the 1998 championship.