AURORA, Ore.—Barry alum Taylor Babcock fired a three-under-par 68 to tie SooBin Kim for first place at the Safeway Classic Amateur Open, only to fall in a playoff. Kim, from the University of Washington, won the playoff with a par on the second hole.
Babcock and Kristina Merkle – the 2010 Safeway Classic Amateur Open winner who recently completed her college career Tulsa – earned spots in the Safeway’s Monday professional qualifier, giving them the chance to compete for two available spots. The pair will play the qualifier on Monday, August 26th for the LPGA Safeway Classic that will be played Aug. 29-Sept. 1 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club.
Babcock’s round started as poorly as possible as she hit her tee shot on the first hole out of bounds, leading to a double-bogey 6. She surged back by making five consecutive birdies starting at No. 4.
“It was a great way to just keep bouncing back,” said Babcock, a graduate of Lakeridge High School who recently completed her career a Division II Barry in Miami. “You get one birdie, then you say, I gotta get another one. Once I got down to even, I was thinking, I can still get in this.”
Kim and Babcock twice played the par-5 18th hole in the playoff, with Babcock making a clutch 6-foot par putt to tie on the first hole. However, she three-putted on the second go-round.