Nguyen, Battistella win crowns

Lauryn Nguyen of Seattle, Wash. shot rounds of 73-71-71 to win the 31st Washington Women’s Amateur Championship, while Taya Battistella of Bellingham captured the 15th Women’s Mid-Amateur championship after firing rounds of 70-78-78. Both championships were contested this week at Whidbey Golf Club.

Nguyen went wire-to-wire to capture the Women’s Amateur and did so in impressive fashion, winning by seven shots over second-place finisher Niuniu Zhao of Woodinville. Nguyen was the only player in the field to finish the championship under par, ending at 1-under.

In the Women’s Mid-Amateur, Battistella entered the final round with a six-shot lead over her nearest challenger, Sarah Lawrence of Snohomish. By the 10th hole, Battistella’s lead over Lawrence had shrunk to two shots, and after the 16th hole, the two players were tied. Battistella made a gutsy par on the 17th hole, while Lawrence bogeyed.

On the 18th hole, Lawrence had a 12-foot putt for birdie that narrowly missed, and Battistella was able to get in for par to seal a one-shot victory. This is the first individual WA Golf title for Battistella. She teamed up to win the Washington Mixed Chapman in 2022.