Old Waverly Golf Club (USGA photo)
The U.S. Golf Association is conducting U.S. Women’s Amateur qualifying at 24 sites across the country in the run-up to the 119th Women’s Amateur, to be played Aug. 5-11 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. Now that defending champion Kristen Gillman – who also won this title in 2014 – has turned professional, a new champion is guaranteed this year. The USGA received 1,375 entries for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Highlights from qualifying are included below:
July 17
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Kendall Griffin
| Latanna Stone
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A pair of Florida-based LSU players were among the five qualifiers out of Legacy Golf & Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Incoming freshman
Latanna Stone, who first played the U.S. Amateur as a 10-year-old in 2012, was medalist with a 4-under 68. Friend and future teammate
Kendall Griffin, recent winner of the Florida Women’s Stroke Play, had an even-par 72 to also advance.
Qualifiers: Latanna Stone (Riverview, Fla.), 68; Megan Schofill (Monticello, Fla.), 71; Kendall Griffin (Sebring, Fla.), 72; Maisie Filler (Bloomfield, Ct.), 73; Jennifer Ayala (Bogota, Colombia), 73
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St. Clair (Minn.) GC
Qualifiers: Yurika Tanida (East Lansing, Mich.), 70; Jocelyn Bruch (Carmel, Ind.), 72; Katie Chipman (Canton, Mich.), 73; Kate Johnston (Ayr, Mich.), 73
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Six weeks ago, 15-year-old
Megha Ganne of Holmdel, N.J., was the second-youngest player in the field at the U.S. Women’s Open at the Country Club of Charleston (S.C.) medaling at her sectional qualifier. She’ll tee it up in another USGA event next month after firing a 1-under 71, a round that included a hole-in-one, to claim co-medalist honors in the qualifier at Raritan Valley Country Club in Bridgewater, N.J.
Since the U.S. Women’s Open, Ganne finished sixth at the PGA Girls’ Junior, thanks in large part to a second-round 62. Ganne qualified for the U.S. Amateur two years ago as a 13-year-old, but not last year.
“Since I played in the U.S. Women’s Open, I have a lot more confidence in myself. I now get on the first tee with 100 percent focus instead of those unnecessary nerves,” Ganne said.
Information from the NYSGA used in this report
Qualifiers: Megha Ganne (Holmdel, N.J.), 71; Linda Wang (Plainview, N.Y.), 71; Gio Kim (Upper Saddle River, N.J.), 72; Brynn Walker (St. Davids, Pa.), 72; Katie Li (Basking Ridge, N.J.), 72
July 16
Seymour G&CC, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Qualifiers: Min A Yoon (Republic of Korea), 70; Kumkang Park (Republic of Korea), 71; Lauren Kim (Canada), 73; Nonie Marler (Canada), 73
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Melanie Green, a Medina, N.Y., native, was co-medalist at the qualifier at Kenwood G&CC in Bethesda, Md., along with Texan Delaney Martin and Arkansas native Lilly Thomas. The three women had rounds of even-par 72. Green is a high school junior – the only girl on the boys golf team – and will play college golf at the University of South Florida.
Qualifiers: Melanie Green (Medina, N.Y.), 72; Delaney Martin (Boerne, Texas), 72; Lilly Thomas (Bentonville, Ark.), 72
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Kapolei (Hawaii) GC
Qualifiers: Lorraine Char (Waianae, Hawaii), 71; Allysha Mae Mateo (Mililani, Hawaii), 71; Alanis Sakuma (Kapolei, Hawaii), 72
July 15
Nine players made it through the qualifier at Sierra View CC in Roseville, Calif., and junior golfer Natlie Vo of San Jose, Calif., set that pace. Her 7-under 66 left her with a qualifying medal and a spot in the championship at Old Waverly next month.
Other notable players to advance include
Ty Akabane, the 2018 California Women’s Amateur champion who played the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this year, and Orlando-based
Sophie Guo, who won the Women’s Orlando International Amateur to start 2019.
Qualifiers: Natalie Vo (San Jose, Calif.), 66; Sofie Babic (Sacramento, Calif.), 68; Andrea Gomez Ortizibarra (Santa Clara, Calif.), 69; Ty Akabane (Danville, Calif.), 70; Sophie Guo (Orlando, Fla.), 70; Sabrina Iqbal (San Jose, Calif.), 70; Yoonhee Kim (San Ramon), 70; Madelyn Gamble (Pleasant Hill, Calif.), 70; Huai-Chien Hsh (Chinese Taipei), 70
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Ty Akabane
| Alexa Pano
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Alexa Pano, 14, continues her stellar summer with a ticket to the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Pano, who also played the U.S. Women’s Open earlier this year (as well as the Augusta National Women’s Amateur), was one of four women to punch her ticket at Thorny Lea GC in Brockton, Mass. – otherwise known as home of U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Shannon Johnson (who is exempt from qualifying courtesy of her Mid-Am win).
Qualifiers: Phoebe Brinker (Wilmington, Del.), 68; Valery Plata (Colombia), 70; Alexa Pano (Lake Worth, Fla.), 70; Paris Hilinski (La Quinta, Calif.), 70
July 11
Walnut Grove CC, Dayton, Ohio
Qualifiers: Haylin Harris (Carmel, Ind.), 69; Lauren Hartlage (Elizabethtown, Ky.), 69; Alyssa Burritt (Bellbrook, Ohio), 70; Mia Kness (Venetia, Pa.), 70; Alexandra Swayne (Virgin Islands), 70; Allisen Corpuz (Kapolei, Hawaii), 71; Kary Hollenbaugh (New Albany, Ohio), 71; Alex Wright (Midlothian, Va.), 71
July 9
A slew of collegians made it through the qualifier at Oceanside CC in Ormond Beach, Fla., site of the Sally Amateur each winter. Vanderbilt’s
Morgan Baxendale, a Windermere, Fla., native, led all qualifiers with a 6-under 66. She didn’t have a single bogey until the par-4 18th hole.
Qualifiers: Morgan Baxendale (Windermere, Fla.), 66; Elizabeth Moon (Forrest City, Ark.,), 68; Mindy Herrick (Gainesville, Fla.), 69; Jessica Whitting (Perth, Australia), 69; Haeley Wotnosky (Wake Forest, N.C.), 71; Sarah May (Fleming Island, Fla.), 72
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Julia Potter-Bobb
| Auston Kim
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The five qualifiers out of the Preserve at Oak Meadows in Addison, Ill., included two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion
Julia Potter-Bobb. The 31-year-old, who played her college golf at the University of Missouri, was consistent all day with 16 pars and two birdies.
Texas A&M player
Courtney Dow and Vanderbilt player
Auston Kim were among the three women to medal at the qualifier.
Qualifiers: Ami Gianchandani (Watchung, N.J.), 70; Auston Kim (St. Augustine, Fla.), 70; Courtney Dow (Frisco, Texas), 70; Sarah Busey (Racine, Wis.), 71; Julia Potter-Bobb (Indianapolis), 71
July 8
Arizona native
Elizabeth Caldarelli, who is halfway through a college-golf career at Texas A&M, led qualifiers at Tatum Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale. Caldarelli had a 2-under 70 to earn medalist honors, which is two shots lower than her best college round of the year.
Behind Caldarelli, Stanford commit
Brooke Seay also punched her ticket. A year ago, Seay played her way to the second round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and to the third round of the U.S. Girls’ Junior.
Qualifiers: Elizabeth Caldarelli (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 70; Brooke Seay (San Diego), 71; Alexis Linam (Phoenix, Ariz.), 71; Chandler Rosholt (Austin, Texas), 72
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Woodhill CC, Wayzata, Minn.
Qualifiers: Taylor Ledwin (New Prague, Minn.), 71; Kiana Oshiro (Central Point, Ore.), 71; Amelia Grohn (Australia), 72; Julie Houston (Allen, Texas), 72; Malia Nam (Kailua, Hawaii), 72
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On the opposite side of the country from her Auburn teammate
Chandler Rosholt (see above),
Brooke Sansom also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Sansom, of Pike Road, Ala., arrived at Auburn in January 2018 and just completed her redshirt freshman season. She was a prolific junior golfer, and channeled that at Brookfield Country Club in Roswell, Ga., for a bogey-free 66 that gave her medalist honors.
Another SEC golfer, Alabama’s
Michaela Morard, also qualified out of Roswell. So did Stanford commit
Lei (Angelina) Ye, the 2019 Harder Hall Invitational runner-up.
Qualifiers: Brooke Sansom (Pike Road, Ala.), 66; Nicole Whiston (San Diego, Calif.), 68; Rachel Burrell (Suwanee, Ga.), 68; Sophie Linder (Carthage, Tenn.), 68; Lei Ye (Bradenton, Fla.), 68; Emma Schimpf (Daniel Island, S.C.), 69; Michaela Morard (Huntsville, Ala.), 70; Skylar Thompson (Buford, Ga.), 70
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CC of Leawood (Kan.)
Qualifiers: Emma Whitaker, 68; Trinity King, 70; Victoria England, 72; Brooke Matthews, 72
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Zoe Campos
| Gabriela Ruffels
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Zoe Campos made a name for herself in April with a top-5 finish at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The 16-year-old UCLA commit plays mostly junior events and won the AJGA’s Under Armour/Alison Lee Championship last year. Back in 2017, in her native Southern California, she played the U.S. Women’s Amateur as a 14-year-old and lost in the Round of 32 to eventual champion Sophia Schubert.
Campos was the medalist at the qualifier at Redlands (Calif.) CC with a 5-under 65. In addition to Campos, USC player
Gabriela Ruffels and Arizona player
Ya Chun Chang were also among those to qualify.
Qualifiers: Zoe Campos (Valencia, Calif.), 65; Briana Chacon (Whittier, Calif.), 69; Hailey Borja (Lake Forest, Calif.), 69; Hsin-Yu Lu (Taiwan), 70; Ho-Yu An (Taiwan), 70; Angela Liu (China), 71; Gabriela Ruffels (Australia), 71; Ya Chun Chang (Irvine, Calif.), 71
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Rino Sasaki of Japan shot 6-under-par 66 to earn medalist honors at the qualifier at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. Sasaki, a sophomore on the University of Washington women’s golf team, had seven birdies on the day, with her lone bogey coming on the par-4 13th hole. Last month, Sasaki won the Washington State Women’s Amateur.
Ellen Secor, T-3 with a 1-under 71, just finished her junior year playing on the Colorado State University women’s golf team. This past year she won her first collegiate tournament, the Ron Moore Women’s Intercollegiate. She won the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (with CSU teammate Katrina Prendergast).
The final qualifier was
Ziyi Wang, who will be a senior on the Stanford University women’s golf team. In 2014 she became the youngest winner on the China LPGA Tour when she won the Xiamen Challenge at the age of 16. Also in 2014 she won the Callaway World Junior Championship.
Qualifiers: Rino Sasaki (Japan), 66; Emily Baumgart (Walla Walla, Wash.), 69; Ellen Secor (Portland, Ore.), 71; Therese Warner (Kennewick, Wash.), 71; Ziyi Wang (China), 72
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Northgate CC, Houston
Qualifiers: Elina Sinz (Katy, Texas), 70; Dylan Kim (Sachse, Texas), 70; Hannah Holzmann (San Antonio, Texas), 71; Remington Isaac (Montgomery, Texas), 71; Anne Chen (Sugar Land, Texas), 72
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Woodhill CC, Wayzata, Minn.
Qualifiers: Kiana Oshiro (Central Point, Ore.), 71; Taylor Ledwein (New Prague, Minn.), 71; Amelia Grohn (Ames, Iowa), 72; Julie Houston (Allen, Texas), 72; Malia Nam (Kailua, Hawaii), 72
July 3
Gianna Clemente, 11, of Warren, Ohio, shot a 1-under par 70 today at Ford's Colony C.C. in Williamsburg, Va., to become the third-youngest competitor to ever qualify for the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship in its 119-year history. Clemente finished third in the 33-player field to take the third and final qualifying spot.
Gianna will be 11 years, 4 months and 14 days old when the championship begins at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. on Aug. 5. Just Lucy Li in 2013 and Latanna Stone in 2012, both 10 years old at the time, have played in the championship at a younger age. Neither made the 36-hole cut.
Clemente is no stranger to the national stage, having participated in the Drive, Chip & Putt National Finals as a 9 year old.
Qualifiers: Aneka Seumanutafa (Emmitsburg, Md.), 67; Tracy Lee (Seoul, South Korea), 69; Gianna Clemente (Warren, Ohio), 71
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Commonground Golf Club, Aurora, Colo.
Qualifiers: Delaney Elliott, 71; Erin Sargent, 71; Anna Kennedy, 72; Katherine Hollern, 72; Lauren Lehigh, 73
July 2
Bermuda Run (N.C.) CC
Qualifiers: Jiarui (Joyce) Jin (China), 70; Emily Hawkins (Lexington, N.C.), 71; Anna Morgan (Spartanburg, S.C.), 72; Elle Johnson (Inman, S.C.), 72; Caroline Wrigley (Wexford, Pa.), 72
July 1
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Doey Choi
| Brigitte Dunne
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The cut fell cleanly at 2 over at the Saticoy Club qualifier in Somis, Calif. Recent SMU graduate
Brigitte Dunne had a 2-under 70 to lead all qualifiers by two shots. Dunne is a former Arizona Silver Belle champion (2016) who recently was T-6 at the Women’s Porter Cup.
Behind Dunne, Australian
Doey Choi – who nearly won the Australian Ladies Classic on the Ladies European Tour in February – took the second qualifying spot. The 19-year-old was co-medalist at the Australia Women’s Amateur earlier this year but fell in the Round of 16 in the match-play event. Choi was also runner-up at the IMG Academy Junior World Championship last summer. She made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior before losing to Lucy Li.
Qualifiers: Brigitte Dunne (Camarillo, Calif.), 70; Doey Choi (Sydney, Australia), 72; Crista Izuzquiza (Coronado, Spain), 73; Caroline Canales (Calabasas, Calif.) 73; Jieni Li (Hangzhou, China), 74; Whitney French (Dana Point, Calif.) 74
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Not long after
Lauren Beaudreau plays the U.S. Women’s Amateur, she’ll start her college career at Notre Dame. The incoming freshman from Lemont, Ill., led qualifiers at Westhaven Golf Club in Franklin, Tenn., with a bogey-free 5-under 67.
Beaudreau played the U.S. Girls’ Junior a year ago, but missed the match-play cut.
In Franklin, Beaudreau finished one shot ahead of Malia Stovall, a rising Tennessee sophomore who last month was runner-up at the Tennessee Women’s Amateur.
Stephanie Kyriacou, an Aussie, was also in a tie for second at 4 under.
Tennessee native
Ashley Gilliam along with Annabelle Pancake rounded out the five qualifiers.
Qualifiers: Lauren Beaudreau (Lemont, Ill.) 67; Malia Stovall (Winchester, Tenn.), 68; Stephanie Kyriacou (Australia), 68; Ashley Gilliam (Manchester, Tenn.), 69; Annabelle Pancake (Zionsville, Ind.), 70
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Among the seven qualifiers out of Timarron Country Club in Southlake, Texas, five were Texans. Meagan Winans of Richardson, Texas, led that effort, tying for medalist honors with Shaebug Scarberry of Purcell, Okla. Both women had 2-under 70.
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Kenzie Wright
| Kennedy Pedigo
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Other notable players to advance include
Kenzie Wright, who will be a senior at Alabama in the fall, and
Kennedy Pedigo, who will be a junior at SMU.
Qualifiers: Meagan Winans (Richardson, Texas), 70; Shaebug Scarberry (Purcell, Okla.), 70; Kenzie Wright (McKinney, Texas), 71; Jennie Park (Carollton, Texas), 71; Kennedy Pedigo (Fort Worth, Texas), 72; Kaitlin Milligan (Norman, Okla.), 72; Bentley Cotton (Austin, Texas), 72View results for