Tiffany Joh woke up in her 4S Ranch home one morning last week and wondered if it had all been a dream.
“I asked myself, 'Did I actually go to Colorado?' ” the 19-year-old said with a laugh. “It was all just so unexpected. I'm still shocked.”
It may take months or years for Joh to truly comprehend what she accomplished in winning the U.S. Women's Public Links Championship at Walking Stick Golf Course in Pueblo, Colo.
Joh routed 14-year-old Hawaiian Kimberly Kim 6 and 5 in the match-play finale, and in so doing beat a stellar field that included UCLA teammates that Joh herself would have given the nod when the tournament began.
Joh's “big sister” from San Diego and UCLA, Hannah Jun, was the stroke-play co-medalist before being knocked out in her second match, and Bruins star Jane Park, the winner of the 2004 U.S. Women's Amateur, didn't make the 36-hole stroke-play cut.
“The way Hannah was playing, I was just hoping I could switch my flight, hang around and carry her bag for her,” Joh said. “I never felt I was going to be there for the final match.”
The way it turned out, both Jun and Park ended up encouraging Joh down the stretch – if only by phone.
“In my final match, Jane Park kept calling me every two holes to update me on my match – like I didn't know what I did on the first hole,” Joh said, laughing. “It was hilarious. When I got done I had 17 messages from her. I told her, 'Do you know how long it takes to listen to 17 messages?'”
After the victory, Joh said she got dozens of calls, some from people she hadn't heard from in years. It was a stretch of play worth recounting. In the final, the former Rancho Bernardo High star shot 11-under over 31 holes.
“I went through every score on my scorecard because I didn't believe it,” Joh said. “It all checked out, but I was like, 'No way did that happen!'”
Joh's bubbly personality and quick wit earned her a legion of fans for the week. She offered up some hilarious comments, saying after the semifinal that she had to go to her car and breathe into a paper bag. She dubbed her final opponent, Kimberly Kim, “Kim Squared,” and she said she was going to celebrate the victory with her best friends, Ben and Jerry. (She likes ice cream.)
Joh's genuine best friend is Jun, whose horrific auto accident last December made it a trying year. Jun broke a vertebra in her neck and had to wear a halo device for much of the spring.
“The experience made me stronger, but it was hard on me,” said Joh, who visited Jun almost daily. “I was totally breaking down mentally. Hannah was way more positive about it than me.”
Mickelson at Liverpool
Phil Mickelson wasn't up to silly golf last week and withdrew from the Par-3 Challenge in Michigan, but that doesn't mean he was too depressed to work on his game in the aftermath of the U.S. Open. Mickelson, looking toward the next major, flew himself and short-game instructor Dave Pelz to England for two days of practice at Royal Liverpool, the site of this month's British Open. Mickelson, along with Tiger Woods, returns to PGA Tour action this week at the Western Open in Chicago. He is to hold his first news conference since the U.S. Open today.
Pro kids names pro
After an extensive search, the Pro Kids Golf Academy has named Todd Smith its director of golf, and he will begin the position this week.
Smith, 35, has been playing on the Canadian Tour this year following two years on the Asian Tour. He was a member of the golf team at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and he spent six years at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento.
Big check for Pro Kids
The Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club organizing committee for the upcoming U.S. Junior Amateur gave the Pro Kids Academy a $100,000 check last week. At its sponsors day, the committee raised about $450,000 to stage the Junior Am and donated money above its operating costs to Pro Kids. A large portion of the money came from the Sycuan Resort, San Diego County Toyota Dealers Association and Callaway Golf.
The Junior Am will be played July 17-22 and Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club is seeking volunteers for marshaling and other duties. The cost is $55 and includes a shirt and hat. For more information, visit the club's Web site, www.rsfgc.com.
Callaway Center opens
With the eclectic mix of Arnold Palmer, Alice Cooper and Vernon Jordan on hand, Callaway last week opened its new Ely Callaway Performance Center in Carlsbad with a party. The center offers high-tech club and putter fitting.
Palmer reminisced about his late friend, Ely Callaway, and had some kind words for Mickelson, Callaway's star player.
“I'm sure you were all saddened by what happened to Phil at the U.S. Open,” Palmer said. “But I know that Phil is a great enough player and a big enough man to come back from it.”
Amateur events
Amateurgolf.com will stage its second San Diego County Amateur on July 31 and Aug. 1 at the Golf Club of California in Fallbrook. It will also hold the inaugural North Orange County Amateur, Aug. 12-13, at Black Gold Club in Yorba Linda. For information, see the Web site or call (760) 929-9297.
Tod Leonard: (619)