July 19, 2008

Pinehurst, N.C. - Kristie Smith rallied from one down to defeat Furman's Blair Lamb 3-and-2 Saturday morning in the semifinals of the 106th United States Women's North and South Amateur Championship at the Pinehurst No. 2 course in Pinehurst, N.C.

Lamb, a rising senior at Furman, recorded a birdie at No. 5 to go 1-up, but bogeyed the next hole to bring the match all square. Smith used birdies at eight and nine to move 2-up and added another at No. 13 to move three holes ahead.

Smith, a native of Mt. Pleasant, Australia, advances to face Chelsea Curtis in the 36-hole match play final round on Sunday beginning at 7:30 a.m.

This year's North and South Amateur began with 156 golfers. The top 64, after two rounds of stroke play, advanced to the match play portion of the tournament which began on Wednesday. Lamb fired rounds of 74 and 77 to finish stroke play at six-over-par and in a tie for 26th position. The Flat Rock, N.C., native defeated Stefanie Page, top-seed Alison Walshe, Stacey Keating and Garrett Phillips to advance to Saturday's semifinal round.

The North and South Amateur is the longest running women's amateur tournament in the country having begun in Pinehurst, N.C., in 1903. Past winners include Morgan Pressel, Carol Semple Thompson, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and Peggy Kirk Bell.