SHUTLER WRAPS UP PLAY AT U.S. PUBLIC LINKS

6/20/2012

NESHANIC STATION, N.J. — Former Sacramento State golfer  Julie Shutler had her run at the U.S. Women's Amateur Pulbic LInks Championship come to an end on Wednesday at the Neshanic Valley Golf Course. Shutler fell to Alice Jeong, 5 & 3, in the round of 64.

Wednesday's match saw the pair of Californians post identical scores through the first nine holes. Each golfer parred eight holes and both birdied the par-4 7th. Things turned on the back side of the course where Jeong took a 1-up lead with a birdie on the par-4 10th compared to the par from Shutler.

That sparked a run where Jeong won five of six holes and halved the other to clinch the match. Shutler bogeyed the par-4 11th, parred the 12th and 13th, bogeyed the par-5 14th and the par-4 15th. During that same stretch, Jeong parred the 11th and 12th before running off three straight birdies.

Shutler, who was the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, reached match play after tying for 28th during two rounds of stroke play. In her first round, she posted a 2-over 74. She opened slowly, playing the first nine holes at 3-over before rallying on the back nine with a 1-under 35. On that half of the course, she had eight pars and a birdie on the par-3 12th.

During her second round, Shutler stood at 2-under through her first three holes with birdies on the par-4 2nd and the par-3 3rd. She made the turn even and then dropped to 1-under with another birdie on No. 12.

In her first two rounds combined, the Manteca, Calif., native had six birdies, 23 pars and seven bogeys.