Sun Young Yoo, Angela Stanford advance to Sybase Match Play final

Yoo, Stanford advance to Match Play final

GLADSTONE, N.J. — Sun Young Yoo beat top-ranked Jiyai Shin 2 and 1 on Sunday to set up a title match with Angela Stanford in the Sybase Match Play Championship.

Stanford advanced with 19-hole victory over Amy Yang.

Yoo took an early two-hole lead at hilly Hamilton Farm and finished off Shin with a par on No. 17 in the all-South Korean semifinal.

“I’ve been putting really good,” said Yoo, seeded 28th. “Everybody’s really good this week, so I think the ranking number’s just a number.”

Shin dropped out after beating Michelle Wie 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals Saturday

“My play was good, but Sun Young was great,” Shin said. “I tried to catch up, but it wasn’t enough. … I did my best.”

Stanford had a 2-up lead with three holes left, but Yang won 16 and 18 with birdies to send the match to a playoff. They returned to the par-3 16th for the first extra hole and the 10th-seeded Stanford won with a par after nearly holing her tee shot.

“I couldn’t make a birdie,” said Stanford, a U.S. Solheim Cup player with four LPGA Tour victories. “I was getting frustrated because I had had so many opportunities to close the match out and I couldn’t get a putt to go in the hole.”