Im Continues to Build Legacy of Greatness Sara Im of Duluth added another layer to her list of accomplishments in 2024 by earning a second Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship to her resume. Im showed her flair for the dramatic by rolling in a 30-foot birdie on the final hole to break a tie and deny LoraLie Cowart of Douglasville, who was runner-up for the sec-ond straight year. It was the second Georgia Women’s Amateur title for Im, who outdueled her BFF and frequent team partner Thienna Huynh of Lilburn in a 2020 playoff at The Landings Club (Oakridge) in Savannah. Im and Huynh teamed up to win the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship. Im is the first player to win the Georgia Women’s Amateur twice since Peyton Schanen , who went back-to-back in 2016-17. In the fall of 2024, as a sophomore at Vanderbilt University, Im shot a final-round 70 to help the Commodores win the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach. She finished 10th as an individual in the event. She had two top 10s in her first five starts. Im competed in six events as a freshman and competed in the first round of NCAA stroke play. A four-time AJGA Junior All-America selec-tion, Im qualified for the 2023 U.S. Women’s Open and won the 2024 Georgia Women’s Open. MILLER COWART in 1966. A new clubhouse opened in 1970 and an addition was opened in 1986. The golf course was improved with an irri-gation system in 1982. The driving range was enlarged in 1984 and 2001, when a new irri-gation system was installed. The greens and fairways were restructured in 1996. The put-ting green, practice facility and indoor practice and teaching facility were updated in 2003. Dunwoody last hosted a multi-day GSGA event in 2007 when it held the Georgia Girls’ Championship. That event marked a breakthrough victory for Riverdale’s Mariah Stackhouse , who won back-to-back Georgia Girls’ and Georgia Women’s Amateur championships, helped Stanford win an NCAA championship and turned professional in 2017. “We’re pretty pumped to get out there and see how the best in the state will fare,” Fages said. “A lot of the best players have experience out there, our college players and junior players because they have played in the U.S. Women’s Open qualifier, so they’re familiar with the golf course. It will be inter-esting to see how they do on a multi-round setup that’s not quite as challenging as a U.S. Women’s Open setup.” The winner of the Georgia Women’s Amateur earns an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, Aug. 4–10 at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore. Last year 17-year-old Rianne Malixi of the Philipines became only the second player to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Girls’ Junior titles in the same season. The winner also earns an exemption into the 2026 Sea Island Women’s Amateur Championship. The field will be led by defending cham-pion Sara Im of Duluth, who made a long birdie putt on the final hole to win the title at the Country Club of Columbus. It was the second championship win for Im, who also claimed the title in 2020 at The Landings Club (Oakridge) in Savannah. Others who received an exemption based on their performance in 2024 are: Cowart, Mary Miller of Savannah, Christina Surcey of Cartersville, Athena Yoo of Alpharetta, Mikayla Dubnik of Murrayville, Kate Song of Alpharetta, Erica Scutt of Johns Creek, Avery Robinson of Macon, Georgia Blount of St. Mary’s and Ava Merrill of Johns Creek. IM MAY/JUNE 35
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