McGill Rallies to Defeat Klein

Jill McGill of Denver moved within one victory of her second consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur title Friday by rallying for a 1-up victory over NCAA Division I champion Emilee Klein of Studio City at The Homestead’s Cascade Course in Hot Springs, Va.

“I really am happy just to make it back to the finals,” said McGill, who will play Wendy Ward of San Antonio in today’s 36-hole championship match.

Ward shot a six-under-par 30 on the front nine on the way to a 7-and-5 rout of Andrea Baxter of Eagle, Ida. It was the most lopsided victory in the Women’s Amateur semifinals since 1977, when Canada’s Cathy Sherk was a 9-and-8 winner over Brenda Goldsmith of San Antonio.

While Ward was coasting past Baxter, McGill lost two of the first three holes to Klein, who played at Notre Dame High.

McGill nearly fell three holes down when she put her approach over the green on the 355-yard sixth, where Klein was sizing up a 20-foot birdie putt. McGill chipped back to about 24 feet, but made the putt for par. Klein missed the birdie putt.

McGill began her comeback with a birdie on the par-four seventh and evened the match when she reached the par-five ninth in two and two-putted for another birdie.

Klein, who will turn pro instead of returning to Arizona State for her junior year, birdied the par-five 17th but missed a twisting 22-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have evened the match.

“You’re out there trying as hard as you can, and that’s all you can do,” Klein said. “Now it’s time to move on.”

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The California Players Tour, based in Newbury Park, has scheduled its second professional tournament for Aug. 22 at Camarillo Springs Golf Course.

The tour, an alternative to other mini-tours such as the Golden State, ran its first event last month. The inaugural tour title was shared by Tim Hogarth of Van Nuys and Jacob Lusk of Cal State Northridge.

All professionals and low-handicap amateurs are eligible. Purse size will depend on size of the field.

Information: 805-498-6580.

Track and Field

Kathy Watson, the 1993 and ’94 Southern Section Division I champion in the high jump for Saugus High, will attend Barton County (Kan.) College in the fall.

Watson, who has a personal best of 5 feet 10 inches in the high jump, also will play basketball at the school, which won its fifth consecutive National Junior College Athletic Assn. track title this year.

She might transfer to a four-year school for the 1995-96 school year if she completes 24 transferable units at Barton County and scores 700 points or higher on the Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Watson did not take the SAT this year.

Tennis

Fourth-seeded Mike Bryan of Camarillo defeated Alex Kim, 6-1, 6-1, to advance to the semifinals of the United States Tennis Assn. Boys’ 16 National Championships at Kalamazoo, Mich.

Miscellany

Matthew Daniels, 13, of Moorpark was one of four students from across the country chosen to receive a $5,000 scholarship provided by the NFL and J.C. Penney.

Swimming

Class Aquatics will host a Labor Day invitational short-course meet Sept. 3-5 at the Calabasas Tennis and Swim Center. The meet will be sanctioned by the Southern California Swimming Assn. and United States Swimming.

Information: 310-455-3366.