Aug. 1, 2006

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara University women's golfer Corey Utsurogi successfully defended her crown Tuesday afternoon at the Santa Clara County Women's Championship. The junior from San Jose followed up a three-over 75 Monday with a round of 76 on Tuesday at the Par-72 San Jose Country Club for a final score of 131 and her second-straight title.

"It feels really good, it was my main goal to win again this year and I would have been disappointed if I hadn't," Utsurogi said after her victory.

Utsurogi's consistency, which included a birdie, only a few bogeys, and mostly pars throughout her final round, allowed her to stay comfortably atop the leaderboard. After a 35-foot putt for par just lipped out on the 18th, she tapped in for the two-stroke victory.

Despite leading heading into the final hole, Utsurogi admitted that she was starting to feel nervous as she prefers not to keep a running tally of her or her opponents' scores during a round.

"On the last hole, I thought I was losing," she admitted. "I don't keep score in my head or like to know what my competitors are shooting while I play. After I bogeyed the 17th and my opponent birdied it, I went into the final hole with the mentality that I had to win this last hole."

During the 2005-06 season, Utsurogi helped the Santa Clara women's golf team to a third-place finish in the West Coast Conference. She shot a per-round average of 81.74 and had a season-best ninth-place finish at the Red Rock Invitational in Sedona, Ariz. in February.