UNLV golfer finishes second in Public Links

Monday, June 24, 2002 | 10:06 a.m.

Annie Thurman defeated UNLV's Hwanhee Lee 6 and 5 on Sunday to win the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links Championship in Sunriver, Ore.

With consistent tee shots and a deft touch around the greens, Thurman took an early lead over a tiring Lee and was never headed in the first scheduled 36-hole match in the championship's history.

"It hasn't hit me yet," the 19-year-old Thurman said. "I'm tired but the thought of it is awesome.

"You watch so many United States Golf Association championships or read about them, but going from event to event, you want that trophy in the end."

Thurman, from Highland, Utah, is the first player from that state to win a USGA championship. She took a 5-up lead after the morning 18-hole round, but her lead had shrunk to four holes by the time the players approached the 24th tee at the 6,189-yard, par 71 Meadows Course of the Sunriver Resort.

The 19-year-old Lee played as a freshman for the Rebels last season. She and her father, Michael -- her caddie throughout the week -- planned an all-night 15-hour drive back to their home in Cerritos, Calif.