Megan Schofill (Credit: John Patota)
Anna Morgan has been waiting all year for another chance to win the Women's North & South championship.
Megan Schofill wouldn't mind avenging her loss to Morgan in last year's semi-final. The two players are suddenly the most experienced North & South competitors remaining after two past champions bowed out on Thursday morning.
2017 winner
Isabella Fierro fell 4 and 3 to Big Ten Champion
Monet Chun of Michigan.
Rachel Kuehn, the 2020 Champion, was beaten 4 and 3 by USC's
Cindy Kou.
Morgan reflected on last year's loss after winning her round of 32 match.
“It’s been something that I’ve been thinking about since that day I lost,” Morgan said. “It’s been in the back of my mind during practice, or just whenever I’ve been thinking about coming back for this year. It would be really special to get back to that final match.”
Morgan found herself down early in her match against
Chloe Schiavone, but wins on hole Nos. 5, 8, and 9 gave her a 2-up lead at the turn. She won holes Nos. 13 and 14 and promptly closed out the match 4 and 3.
“I’m feeling pretty good, and I played some good golf today,” Morgan said. “We’ve been talking about how the goal is to try to get a little better each day, so I’d say I’ve done that so far. So that’s the plan for the rest of the week.”
Schofill, an Auburn standout, found herself down early in her match after losing two of the opening three holes to
Amber Park from Allen, Texas. It was tough going for both Schofill and Park, but Schofill strung together a birdie-par-par stretch on holes 4-6. Park never led the match again, and only managed to pull even with a par on the seventh hole before Schofill won five of the next nine holes and won the match 3 and 2.
Schofill leaned on her past experiences in the North & South. Dramatic matches aren't new.
“It’s just confidence. I got down in a few matches last year – I think I played two or three extra holes in each match – so I know I can just never give up," Schofill said. "I was down here early and got back ahead, and then was able to play my normal, steady golf the rest of the way to win.”
Medalist Hannah Levi dueled with playoff wunderkind
Maria Jose Marin. The 15-year-old Marin gave Levi all she could handle. Unlike Morgan and Schofill, Levi jumped out early and led by two holes standing on the fourth tee. However, Marin's resilience shined through and she won holes Nos. 6, 9, and 10 to grab a 1-up lead. Levi fired back with wins of her own on holes Nos. 11, 15, and 16. The back-and-forth battle was kept alive when Marin birdied the par-3 17th. The match ended with both players making par on the 18th hole, and Levi escaped with a 1-up win.
Levi was impressed with the precocious Marin.
“I got up on her the first couple of holes, but Maria was like, ‘Nope,’” Levi said. “It’s crazy, I didn’t start playing this tournament until I was a sophomore in college, and here she is at 15, making it to match play. I think that’s so impressive and so brave. I was just a shy little kid at that age.”
Levi and Marin (Credit: John Patota)
It's been 20 years since May won the Women's North and South, making her a winner of both the Girls and Women's North & South. No one has completed that double since.
Amanda Sambach kept her chances alive with a 2 and 1 victory over
Zoe Slaughter.
Related: Round 2 Recap
Emilia Migliaccio, who reached the semifinals of the North & South in 2020, defeated
Kary-Hollenbaugh 3&2 and will face the top-seeded Levi in the Round of 16 on Friday morning. The quarterfinals will then be played on Friday afternoon.
The 16 finalists will all dine together on Thursday evening, in Donald Ross' Dornoch Cottage. Tomorrow they will return to Ross' masterpiece and fight for the chance to win the Putterboy Trophy and have their name etched in history.
ABOUT THE
North & South Women's Amateur
The Women's North & South has drawn the top
amateur women from around the country. Three
rounds of stroke play followed by four rounds of
match play will determine the Champion.
The 96 player field will be cut to a 16 player
match play field and medalist honors. All stroke
&
match play rounds will be contested on Pinehurst
No. 2. The top 16 players who qualify for match
play will play two rounds a day until our
champion
is determined.
Nine of the last 12 North & South Women’s
Amateur champions have drawn paychecks as
members of the LPGA Tour. The equation is near
perfect. Win the North & South Am, go on to
professional success at the highest level.
North & South champions are among the legends
of the game: Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs,
Peggy
Kirk Bell, Hollis Stacey, Brandie Burton, Brittany
Lang, Morgan Pressel and Yani Tseng.
Along with the Women's North & South,
Pinehurst
Resort & Country Club annually plays host to the
Men's North & South, the Junior North & South,
and Senior Men's and Senior Women's North &
South.
View Complete Tournament Information