Michigan Golf Journal September 2020

Michigan Golf Journal Player Profile Plata earned the No. 2 seed for Match Play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur by scoring 71-71-142 (2-under par) in stroke play at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, then turned around and defeated MSU teammate Haylin Harris of Carmel, Indiana, 3 and 1 in the first round of match play. Plata collected three more wins to reach the semifinals and secure a Final Four medal. “It means a lot,” Plata said after finishing the semifinal. “I haven’t been this far in a USGA championship before, and these are always the events that have the best players in the world. I’m really happy to know that I’m one of those too. “I think I played really well in the spring, but it got cut short (Covid-19), unfortunately. I just really wanted to pick it back up where I left off and I think I was able to do that. Coach Stacy told me earlier that I can play with anyone in the country and I think I realized that today and this whole week.” Slobodnik-Stoll called Plata afterwards to ask what she liked the most about the U.S. Women’s Amateur experience, and the reply was playing so well after such a long break from competitive golf . When Covid hit, she went home to her native Columbia and per its rules she was in house lockdown for 3 months, never leaving her residence and only hitting into a net. Only a loosening of Columbia’s travel restrictions this summer allowed her to leave and compete in the U.S. “She said she was most proud of how she performed after not even playing (since February),” Slobodnik-Stoll added. “And the media following those groups, especially the Final Four, was incredible. I told her, now that she’s been around this, when she’s in contention to win her first LPGA tournament, she’ll know she’s already done this. Those are the little one step-up-the-ladder moments when we’re all seeing lots of progress.” MSU was extremely well represented in the national tournament. A third MSU player earned her way into match play, Yurika Tanida, but she was bumped out in the first round of match play by Rachel Kuehn of Wake Forest, 2 and 1. MGJ