Hanna Alberto and Faith Summers (TGA photos)
Faith Summers from San Antonio and Hanna Alberto from Kingwood will play 18 holes of match play against each other Friday to decide the 98th Women’s Texas Amateur. Both collegiate standouts advanced the Finals after winning two pressure-packed matches at Bent Tree Country Club on Thursday.
In her morning’s Quarterfinals match, Summers outlasted a spirited effort by Kentucky freshman Kelsey Wylie from Katy. A senior at SMU, Summers won 2 and 1.
After a short lunch break, Summers faced TCU freshman Jennie Park from Carrollton. Park defeated recent TCU graduate and the winner of the 94th Women’s Texas Amateur Annika Park from Highlands in the Quarterfinals. Park won the first hole against Summers in the Semifinals with a birdie. The match went back and forth on the front nine; Summers was 1 up at the turn.
Summers finally pulled away on the back with wins on the 10th, 12th and 13th holes. She put Park away with a par on the 15th hole and won 5 and 3.
“I just kept a level head and made the decision that if anyone was going to beat me today it was going to be because they played really, really good golf and not because I was making bogeys,” said Summers, who scored a career-best T3 at the North Texas Bruzzy Challenge in April. “I’m excited (about playing in the Finals). It’s a really big trophy, and I haven’t won anything in a while. It’s going to be fun.”
Alberto, in her morning Quarterfinals match, staved off a back-nine charge from Arkansas freshman Julia Gregg, who was the runner-up in last year’s 97th Women’s Texas Amateur. Alberto, a senior at Sam Houston State who has seven collegiate wins on her resume, came out of the gates on fire and held a 6-up lead through six holes. Gregg fought back valiantly and cut her deficit in half before ultimately falling to Alberto, 3 and 2.
In her afternoon Semifinals match, Alberto faced SMU junior Kennedy Pedigo, who beat Madison Goldberg, the overall No. 1 seed, 5 and 4. Alberto raced out to a 3-up lead through eight holes against Pedigo, but the margin wouldn’t last. Pedigo scratched her way back into the match and drew even after the par-5 13th hole.
Alberto, ranked 50th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, won the 14th and 15th holes to get back to 2 up. Pedigo won the par-5 16th, but Alberto finally closed her out with a two-putt par on the 18th hole.
“Kennedy was playing really well,” said Alberto, who was one of 72 players invited to play in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April. “I was like, ‘I need to do something or I’m going to be 1 down.’ I just tried to keep calm and tried not to think about the score.”
Both Alberto and Summers said they are excited and honored to play for the oldest and most prestigious women’s amateur championship in Texas. They’ve endured four matches over the past two days in extreme heat that once again nearly reached 100 degrees Thursday. By the end of the Semifinal round, both competitors were visibly fatigued, but there’s little doubt Alberto and Summers will be rested and at their best for Friday’s Championship Match.
View results for Women's Texas Amateur
ABOUT THE
Women's Texas Amateur
Eligibility: Entries are open to female amateur
golfers with a certified GHIN Handicap index.
Player Field: Lowest handicap indexes in multiples of
8 with a maximum of 88 players. In the event the
championship becomes over-subscribed, entries will
be accepted in order of handicap index.
Format: The starting field will consist of 88 total
players. The 32 players with the lowest qualifying
scores will fill the championship flight and contend
for the championship title. The qualifying round is
optional for all but the players with the 32 lowest
handicap indexes on the date the entries close. The
16 players eliminated in the first round of the
championship flight match play may participate in an
18-hole stroke play consolation round. The remaining
players will be flighted into seven flights of eight
based on handicap indexes. The four players
eliminated in the first round of flight matches will
proceed to a consolation match play bracket for each
flight.
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