17-year-old Tsubasa Kajitani claimed an impressive playoff victory on Saturday to be crowned the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion.
The Japanese star defeated American Emilia Migliaccio on the first sudden-death decider in what proved to be a thrilling final round of women’s action at Augusta National.
Kajitani emerged from the shadows in the final round as one of a number of players, signalling their intentions to have a go at the lead.
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She tapped in for par on the final hole to take a share of the clubhouse lead on one over par, alongside Migliaccio, as they waited for Rose Zhang to make her move on the final hole.
Instead, it was Kajitani and Migliaccio that returned to the 18th hole for the playoff. Migliaccio found herself in trouble, though, by pinning her second shot into the bunker, left of the green.
The 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion. #ANWAgolf pic.twitter.com/QesV6XhvyZ
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 3, 2021
It presented Kajitani with a two-putt opportunity to seal the win, which she gradually converted to claim her first amateur win since the 2019 Japanese Junior Championship.
South Africa’s Kaleigh Telfer finished her week in T22 after a splendid performance to make it all the way to the final round.
