U.S. Women's Am: Big names and big games to watch

August 1, 2019 | by Julie Williams of AmateurGolf.com

Lei Ye, the newest USGA champion (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

The world's best female amateurs tee it up at Old Waverly next week. Here's who we're watching (plus complete pairings, tee times)

The U.S. Women’s Amateur is on the horizon at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. Ahead of the biggest event in women’s amateur golf, we suggest a few pairings to keep an eye on during stroke-play qualifying.

7:15 a.m. (No. 10) / 12:15 p.m. (No. 1) – Hailee Cooper, Montgomery, Texas; Ellen Secor, Portland, Ore.; Mika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Too bad these women can’t play alternate shot, four-ball, or some combination. These three are among the nine USGA champions in the field considering that all have been one half of a winning U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball team.

Cooper, who recently finished up her freshman season at Texas (winning twice individually), partnered with Kaitlyn Papp to win in 2016. Secor, who will be a senior at Oklahoma, won with Katrina Prendergast (not in the field) in 2018, and Liu was half of the inaugural championship team in 2015 with Rinko Mitsunaga (also not in the field).

8:55 a.m. (No. 10) / 1:55 p.m. (No. 1) – Albane Valenzuela, Switzerland; Alessia Nobilio, Italy; Lucy Li, Redwood Shores, Calif.

Plenty of experience here, as all three women are ranked inside the top 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Don’t be surprised if a champion comes out of this group. Stanford’s Valenzuela (No. 5), runner-up at the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur, will only be a week removed from playing the weekend at the Evian Championship – her third LPGA major start of 2019 and her second made cut. Italy’s Nobilio (No. 6) is the reigning Italian Ladies Stroke Play champion, who has spent her summer competing in Europe. We’ll see Li (No. 3) compete for just the fifth time in 2019 after battling injury. She won the AJGA’s Polo Golf Junior Classic in June and was fifth at the Canadian Women’s Amateur last week.

1:55 p.m. (No. 1) / 8:55 a.m. (No. 10) – Yuka Saso, Philippines; Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn.; Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla.

We’ll call this the junior all-star pairing. Saso was the medalist at the U.S. Girls’ Junior last week before going out in the semifinals. She was much sneakier in her climb to a T-3 at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier this spring. Heck is a Stanford commit with big game, having made the cut at the Evian a year ago. She played the ANA Inspiration this spring. As for Pano, one can imagine she’ll be looking to avenge a first-round defeat at the Girls’ Junior. Pano, runner-up at the event last year, should stick around much longer than that this week.

2:15 p.m. (No. 1) / 9:15 a.m. (No. 10) – Ashley Gilliam, Manchester, Tenn.; Sabrina Iqbal, San Jose, Calif.; Virginia Elena Carta, Italy

Old Waverly is one of Mississippi State’s home courses, but Gilliam, an incoming freshman, is the only MSU player in the field this week. TCU freshman Iqbal was a Women’s Open qualifier this year (missed the cut) and having just turned 18 on July 19, was eligible for the Girls’ Junior, where she played to the third round. That makes Carta “the old lady” in this group. Runner-up in 2016, this will likely be the 22-year-old’s final start in this event. Here’s more on this Rhodes Scholar finalist's plans for the coming months.

12:25 p.m. (No. 10) / 7:25 a.m. (No. 1) – Lei Ye, People's Republic of China; Cory Lopez, Mexico; Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif.

Ye, an incoming Stanford freshman who often goes by Angelina, is the newest USGA champion. Her exact words upon winning (and earning a U.S. Women’s Open start for 2020 among a host of other spoils)? “I think it's definitely a relief.” Senior teammate Andrea Lee is a must-watch for any tournament she enters, considering she’s No. 2 in the world, has won eight times at Stanford and contended last week at the Canadian Women’s Amateur. Lopez, who will start at Arkansas in the fall of 2020, competes extensively in Mexico and is the reigning Mexico Women’s Amateur champion. She also won the Toyota Junior World Cup in Japan before a Round-of-64 loss (at the hands of Iqbal) at the U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Below are complete tee times for the first two rounds of stroke play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, to be played Aug. 5-6 at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. After stroke play, the field will be cut to the low 64 players as the format changes to match play.

All Times CDT

Monday (Aug. 5), Hole No. 1 / Tuesday (Aug. 6), Hole No. 10

7:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. –Conner Beth Ball, Starkville, Miss.; Gianna Clemente, Warren, Ohio; Lauren Greenlief, Ashburn, Va.

7:25 a.m. / 12:25 p.m. – Julia Potter-Bobb, Indianapolis, Ind.; Kum-Kang Park, Republic of Korea; Brigitte Dunne, Camarillo, Calif.

7:35 a.m. / 12:35 p.m. – Gina Kim, Chapel Hill, N.C.; Skylar Thompson, Buford, Ga.; Hailey Borja, Lake Forest, Calif.

7:45 a.m. / 12:45 p.m. – Jiarui Jin, People's Republic of China; Taylor Ledwein, New Prague, Minn.; Gurleen Kaur, Houston, Texas

7:55 a.m. / 12:55 p.m. – Jessica Whitting, Australia; Nicole Whiston, San Diego, Calif.; Sarah Busey, Racine, Wis.

8:05 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. – Allysha Mae Mateo, Mililani, Hawaii; Kaitlyn Papp, Austin, Texas; Emily Baumgart, Walla Walla, Wash.

8:15 a.m. / 1:15 p.m. – Katie Li, Basking Ridge, N.J.; Kennedy Pedigo, Fort Worth, Texas; Annabell Fuller, England

8:25 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Anna Morgan, Spartanburg, S.C.; Katherine Hollern, Sedalia, Colo.; Anne Chen, Sugar Land, Texas

8:35 a.m. / 1:35 p.m. – Brooke Seay, San Diego, Calif.; Alexandra Swayne, Virgin Islands, U.S.; Mia Kness, Venetia, Pa.

8:45 a.m. / 1:45 p.m. – Angela Liu, People's Republic of China; Linda Wang, Plainview, N.Y.; Sally Krueger, San Francisco, Calif.

8:55 a.m. / 1:55 p.m. – Crista Izuzquiza, Spain; Kary Hollenbaugh, New Albany, Ohio; Brooke Matthews, Rogers, Ark.

9:05 a.m. / 2:05 p.m. – Rachel Burrell, Suwanee, Ga.; Huai-Chien Hsu, Chinese Taipei; Auston Kim, St. Augustine, Fla.

9:15 a.m. / 2:15 p.m. – Lauren Lehigh, Loveland, Colo.; Julie Houston, Allen, Texas; Lorraine Char, Waianae, Hawaii

Monday (Aug. 5), Hole No. 10 / Tuesday (Aug. 6), Hole No. 1

7:15 a.m. / 12:15 p.m. – Hailee Cooper, Montgomery, Texas; Ellen Secor, Portland, Ore.; Mika Liu, Beverly Hills, Calif.

7:25 a.m. / 12:25 p.m. – Elizabeth Caldarelli, Scottsdale, Ariz.; Kate Johnston, Canada; Zoe Campos, Valencia, Calif.

7:35 a.m. / 12:35 p.m. – Lauren Beaudreau, Lemont, Ill.; Kelsey Chugg, Salt Lake City, Utah; Whitney French, Monarch Beach, Calif.

7:45 a.m. / 12:45 p.m. – Alanis Sakuma, Kapolei, Hawaii; Valery Plata, Colombia; Megha Ganne, Holmdel, N.J.

7:55 a.m. / 12:55 p.m. – Stephanie Kyriacou, Australia; Haeley Wotnosky, Wake Forest, N.C.; Siqin Yu, Bradenton, Fla.

8:05 a.m. / 1:05 p.m. – Therese Warner, Kennewick, Wash.; Pimnipa Panthong, Thailand; Sophie Guo, People's Republic of China

8:15 a.m. / 1:15 p.m. – Jocelyn Bruch, Carmel, Ind.; Ami Gianchandani, Watchung, N.J.; Brooke Sansom, Pike Road, Ala.

8:25 a.m. / 1:25 p.m. – Kenzie Wright, McKinney, Texas; Madelyn Gamble, Pleasant Hill, Calif., Victoria England, Memphis, Tenn

8:35 a.m. / 1:35 p.m. – Bentley Cotton, Austin, Texas; Malia Stovall, Winchester, Tenn.; Mindy Herrick, Gainesville, Fla.

8:45 a/m/ / 1:45 p.m. – Lauren Hartlage, Elizabethtown, Ky.; Rino Sasaki, Japan; Alyssa Burritt, Dayton, Ohio

8:55 a.m. / 1:55 p.m. – Albane Valenzuela, Switzerland; Alessia Nobilio, Italy; Lucy Li, Redwood Shores, Calif.

9:05 a.m. / 2:05 p.m. – Shannon Johnson, Norton, Mass.; Amelia Grohn, Australia; Alli Kim, Murrieta, Calif.

9:15 a.m. / 2:15 p.m. – Alex Wright, Midlothian, Va.; Dylan Kim, Sachse, Texas; Caroline Canales, Calabasas, Calif.

Monday (Aug. 5), Hole No. 1 / Tuesday (Aug. 6), Hole No. 10

12:15 p.m. / 7:15 a.m. – Delaney Elliott, Superior, Colo.; Kaitlin Milligan, Norman, Okla.; Courtney Dow, Frisco, Texas

12:25 p.m. / 7:25 a.m. – Shaebug Scarberry, Purcell, Okla.; Katie Chipman, Canton, Mich.; Min A Yoon, Republic of Korea

12:35 p.m. / 7:35 a.m. – Elizabeth Wang, San Marino, Calif.; Emma Whitaker, Wichita, Kan.; Jennie Park, Carrollton, Texas

12:45 p.m. / 7:45 a.m. – Gabriela Ruffels, Australia; Michaela Morard, Huntsville, Ala.; Chandler Rosholt, Cave Creek, Ariz.

12:55 p.m. / 7:55 a.m. – Sophie Linder, Carthage, Tenn.; Mariel Galdiano, Pearl City, Hawaii; Lauren Kim, Canada

1:05 p.m. / 8:05 a.m. – Elle Johnson, Inman, S.C.; Jieni Li, People's Republic of China; Maisie Filler, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

1:15 p.m. / 8:15 a.m. – Anna Kennedy, Parker, Colo.; Sue Wooster, Australia; Haylin Harris, Carmel, Ind.

1:25 p.m. / 8:25 a.m. – Yoonhee Kim, San Ramon, Calif.; Doey Choi, Australia; Elizabeth Moon, Forrest City, Ark.

1:35 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – Meagan Winans, Richardson, Texas; Erin Sargent, Longmont, Colo.; Amanda Doherty, Brookhaven, Ga.

1:45 p.m. / 8:45 a.m. – Alexis Linam, Peoria, Ariz.; Elina Sinz, Katy, Texas; Melanie Green, Medina, N.Y.

1:55 p.m. / 8:55 a.m. – Yuka Saso, Philippines; Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn.; Alexa Pano, Lake Worth, Fla.

2:05 p.m. / 9:05 a.m. – Hannah Holzmann, San Antonio, Texas; Brynn Walker, St. Davids, Pa.; Kiana Oshiro, Central Point, Ore.

2:15 p.m. / 9:15 a.m. – Ashley Gilliam, Manchester, Tenn.; Sabrina Iqbal, San Jose, Calif.; Virginia Elena Carta, Italy

Monday (Aug. 5), Hole No. 10 / Tuesday (Aug. 6), Hole No. 1

12:15 p.m. / 7:15 a.m. – Kendall Griffin, Sebring, Fla.; Phoebe Brinker, Wilmington, Del.; Tyler Akabane, Danville, Calif.

12:25 p.m. / 7:25 a.m. – Lei Ye, People's Republic of China; Cory Lopez, Mexico; Andrea Lee, Hermosa Beach, Calif.

12:35 p.m. / 7:35 a.m. – Lilly Thomas, Bentonville, Ark.; Ya Chun Chang, Chinese Taipei; Tracy Lee, Republic of Korea

12:45 p.m. / 7:45 a.m. – Paris Hilinski, Los Angeles, Calif.; Sierra Brooks, Orlando, Fla.; Delaney Martin, Boerne, Texas

12:55 p.m. / 7:55 a.m. – Malia Nam, Kailua, Hawaii; Trinity King, Arlington, Texas; Briana Chacon, Whittier, Calif.

1:05 p.m. / 8:05 a.m. – Caroline Wrigley, Wexford, Pa.; Andrea Gomez Ortizibarra, Mexico; Jillian Bourdage, Tamarac, Fla.

1:15 p.m. / 8:15 a.m. – Nonie Marler, Canada; Bethany Wu, Diamond Bar, Calif.; Aneka Seumanutafa, Emmitsburg, Md.

1:25 p.m. / 8:25 a.m. – Becky Kay, Australia; Ho-Yu An, Chinese Taipei; Remington Isaac, Montgomery, Texas

1:35 p.m. / 8:35 a.m. – Gio Kim, Upper Saddle River, N.J.; India Clyburn, England; Morgan Baxendale, Windermere, Fla.

1:45 pm – 8:45 am – Megan Schofill, Monticello, Fla.; Ziyi Wang, People's Republic of China; Emily Hawkins, Lexington, N.C.

1:55 p.m. / 8:55 a.m. – Yurika Tanida, Japan; Sarah May, Fleming Island, Fla.; Emma Schimpf, Charleston, S.C.

2:05 p.m. / 9:05 a.m. – Hsin-Yu Lu, Chinese Taipei; Allisen Corpuz, Kapolei, Hawaii; Natalie Vo, San Jose, Calif.

2:15 p.m. / 9:15 a.m. – Sofie Babic, Sweden; Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Ind.; Jennifer Ayala, Colombia

About the U.S. Women's Amateur

U.S. Women's Am: Big names and big games to watch

The U.S. Women's Amateur, the third oldest of the USGA championships, was first played in 1895 at Meadowbrook Club in Hempstead, N.Y. The event is open to any female amateur who has a USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 2.4. The Women's Amateur is one ...

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