A field of 128 golfers (64 teams), including players ranging from age 12 to 51 will descend on the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico next week for the 7th U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship.
Four-ball has become a widely popular format for State and Regional Golf Associations across the United States. In 2012, more than 150 championships, either strictly four-ball or as part of a competition format, were conducted in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
FIELD NOTES – Among the 64 teams (or sides) and 128 golfers in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball field, there are:
Youngest Competitors: Ella June Hannant (12, born 9-3-2009), Jenna Kim (13, born 3-4-2009), Anna Huang (13, born 10-30-2008), Gianna Clemente (14, born 3-23-2008)
Oldest Competitors: Susan Curtin (51, born 5-5-1970), Dawn Woodard (47, born 8-19-1974), Meghan Stasi (43, 5-30-1978)
Average Age of Field: 18.9
Field breakdown by age:
Age 12-15: 31 golfers
Age 16-19: 68 golfers
Age 20-29: 20 golfers
Age 30-39: 6 golfers
Age 40-51: 3 golfers
Youngest Teams: Ella June Hannant (12) & Jenna Kim (13); Hadley Ashton (14) & Brynn Kort (14); Gianna Clemente (14) & Avery Zweig (15); Blayne Brown (14) & Alona Avery (15); Michelle Woo (14) & Michelle Ho (15); Ellison Lundquist (14) & Sawyer Brockstedt (15); Anna Huang (13) & Leigh Chien (16)
Oldest Teams: Dawn Woodard (47) & Meghan Stasi (43); Susan Curtin (51) & Chelsea Curtis (34); Ashley Mantha (35) & Kimberly Dinh (29); Julia Potter-Bobb (34) & Kelsey Chugg (30); Rachel Smith (34) & Camry Tardy (29); Lauren Greenlief (31) & Alexandra Austin (28)
U.S. States Represented – There are 30 states, and one U.S. territory, represented in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: California (20), Florida (14), Texas (11), New Jersey (9), Georgia (6), North Carolina (5), Virginia (5), Minnesota (4), Ohio (4), Arizona (3), Colorado (3), Indiana (3), Massachusetts (2), Michigan (2), Nevada (2), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (2), Puerto Rico (2), Tennessee (2), Delaware (1), Illinois (1), Kansas (1), Kentucky (1), Missouri (1), Nebraska (1), New Mexico (1), New York (1), Oklahoma (1), South Carolina (1), Utah (1), Wyoming (1)
International – There are seven countries represented in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: United States (113), Canada (6), Mexico (5), England (1), France (1), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (1)
USGA Champions (6): Savannah Barber (2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Kelsey Chugg (2017 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Lauren Greenlief (2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Julia Potter-Bobb (2013 & 2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Alexa Saldana (2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Meghan Stasi (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur)
USGA Runners-Up (2): Kelsey Chugg (2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Julia Potter-Bobb (2014 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur)
Curtis Cup (1): Meghan Stasi (2008)
Drive, Chip & Putt National Champions (6): Vanessa Borovilos (2018), Nicole Gal (2019), Ella June Hannant (2018), Sara Im (2018), Jenna Kim (2022), Yana Wilson (2019, 2021)
Players from Puerto Rico (2): Darianys Guzman (Dorado), Camila Negroni (Trujillo Alto)
Sisters in the field:
Chloe & Faith Johnson
Claire & Grace Lu
Amelia & Emma Shen
Jessica & Sarah Spicer
Lauren & Sydney Sung
Most U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Starts (2022 included): Lauren Greenlief (7), Meghan Stasi (7), Dawn Woodard (7), Kendall Griffin (5), Susan Curtin (4), Elle Nachmann (4), Camry Tardy (4), Karoline Tuttle (4), Avery Zweig (4)
College Teammates (Current, Former or Future):
Shannon Aubert & Calli Ringsby (Stanford)
Laney Frye & Maria Villanueva (Kentucky)
Chloe Johnson & Faith Johnson (Furman)
Jordan Karrh & Olivia Mitchell (Dallas Baptist)
Taylor Ledwein & Megan Welch (Bradley)
Julia McLaughlin & Georgia Ruffolo (Wake Forest)
Mimi Rhodes & Caroline Smith (Wake Forest)
Olivia Schmidt & Elise Schultz (Arkansas State)
Jessica Spicer & Sarah Spicer (Virginia Tech)
Lauren Sung & Sydney Sung (Michigan)
Teams Who Played in 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (10): Savannah Barber & Alexa Saldana (champions), Gianna Clemente & Avery Zweig (semifinals), Loralie Cowart & Ava Merrill (quarterfinals), Kimberly Dinh & Ashley Mantha (MC), Laney Frye & Maria Villanueva (MC), Thienna Huynh & Sara Im (Round of 16), Taylor Ledwein & Megan Welch (quarterfinals), Sophie Linder & Karoline Tuttle (Round of 16), Meghan Stasi & Dawn Woodard (Round of 32), Kate Strickland & Kate Tilma (MC)
Individuals Who Played in 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (26): Savannah Barber, Gianna Clemente, Loralie Cowart, Kimberly Dinh, Laney Frye, Lauren Greenlief, Thienna Huynh, Sara Im, Chloe Kovelesky, Taylor Ledwein, Sophie Linder, Claire Lu, Ashley Mantha, Ava Merrill, Alexa Saldana, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Vania Simont, Meghan Stasi, Kate Strickland, Kate Tilma, Karoline Tuttle, Maria Villanueva, Megan Welch, Yana Wilson, Dawn Woodard, Avery Zweig
Played in 2021 U.S. Women’s Open (2): Chloe Kovelesky, Karoline Tuttle
Played in 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur (17): Kynadie Adams, Savannah Barber, Katie Cranston, Laney Frye, Sydney Hackett, Cara Heisterkamp, Jordan Karrh, Ryleigh Knaub, Tracy Lee, Sophie Linder, Yilin (Angela) Liu, Michelle Liu, Bridget Ma, Elle Nachmann, Alexa Saldana, Caroline Smith, Angelina Tolentino
Played in 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior (23): Kynadie Adams, Savannah Barber, Leigh Chien, Laney Frye, Kary Hollenbaugh, Anna Huang, Chloe Johnson, Chloe Kim, Maelynn Kim, Sophie Linder, Kyra Ly, Ali Mulhall, Alexa Saldana, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Emma Shen, Bailey Shoemaker, Kate Tilma, Karoline Tuttle, Melanie Walker, Yana Wilson, Michelle Woo, Reagan Zibilski, Avery Zweig
Played in 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open (1): Susan Curtin
Played in 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (9): Alexandra Austin, Kelsey Chugg, Susan Curtin, Kimberly Dinh, Lauren Greenlief, Katie Kirk, Julia Potter-Bobb, Meghan Stasi, Dawn Woodard
Played in 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (1): Susan Curtin
PLAYER NOTES
Shannon Aubert, 26, of France, & Calli Ringsby, 26, of Denver, Colo.
Aubert and Ringsby were teammates at Stanford University and members of the 2015 NCAA National Championship team. They both decided against turning professional after graduation in 2018 and have started careers in the tech industry while playing very little golf. Aubert, a launch manager for a real estate technology company, was the medalist in the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur at San Diego Country Club and competed in the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Women’s Opens. She speaks four languages and has lived in nine countries. Ringsby, a software development product manager, is competing in her third USGA championship and first since 2014.
Sawyer Brockstedt, 15, of Rehoboth Beach, Del., & Ellison Lundquist, 15, of Furlong, Pa.
Brockstedt and Lundquist are both competing in their first USGA championship. Last June, the two co-founded a charity junior golf tournament called The Ace Cup with a group of friends, raising over $70,000 during its inaugural year in support of the Alzheimer’s Association. Brockstedt’s grandmother has the disease.
Gianna Clemente, 14, of Warren, Ohio, & Avery Zweig, 15, of McKinney, Texas
Clemente and Zweig reached the semifinals last year as the youngest team in the field at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, before falling to eventual champions Savannah Barber and Alexa Saldana. At age 15, Zweig is competing in her seventh USGA championship and fourth U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. She won the AJGA’s 2021 Annika Invitational and is a three-time Drive, Chip and Putt national finalist. Clemente became the third-youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2019 when she competed at Old Waverly at age 11. She is competing in her second USGA championship and has finished in the top 5 of all three AJGA tournaments she has played in this year.
Kimberly Dinh, 29, of Midland, Mich., & Ashley Mantha, 35, of Ann Arbor, Mich.
Dinh and Mantha met during the 2020 Michigan Mid-Amateur, when Dinh defeated Mantha in a playoff for the title. The two have now qualified for their second consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Earlier this year, Mantha was hired as Saline (Mich.) High School’s first female athletic director. Prior to Saline, she spent 12 years in the Ann Arbor Public School System as a physical education teacher and golf coach. She was named Michigan Boys High School Golf Coach of the Year last year, the first female recipient. Mantha is competing in her fourth USGA championship. Dinh reached the Round of 16 in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, S.C.
Lauren Greenlief, 31, of Ashburn, Va., & Alexandra Austin, 28, of Burke, Va.
Greenlief is competing in her seventh U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, while Austin is playing in her third. The two reached the semifinals as a pair in 2016 and also played together in 2017. Greenlief won the 2015 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, La., and was a semifinalist in 2019. Greenlief, a management consultant and former walk-on at the University of Virginia, won the inaugural Amateur Golf Alliance Women’s Amateur in 2020 and reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur. In 2018, she became the first mid-amateur in 12 years to reach the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Kendall Griffin, 23, of Sebring, Fla., & Elle Nachmann, 18, of Boca Raton, Fla.
Griffin and Nachmann are competing in the championship as a side for the first time after meeting during the final match of last year’s Florida Women’s Amateur, won by Griffin. Griffin is a graduate transfer on the University of Louisville golf team and leads the Cardinals this season with three top-5 finishes, including runner-up at the Illini Invitational. Griffin is competing in her fifth U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Nachmann, a sophomore at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, won three Florida State Golf Association championships last year and was named 2021 Women’s Player of the Year. She reached the Round of 32 in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club after defeating No. 1-ranked Rose Zhang in the Round of 64. She attributes much of her recent success to her uncle, Vince Spadea, a former professional tennis player who had wins over Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
Darianys Guzman, 17, of Puerto Rico, and Camila Negroni, 15, of Puerto Rico
Guzman and Negroni won the Puerto Rico qualifier at Grand Reserve Golf Club to earn a spot in their first USGA championship. They are the only local side in the field. Guzman, who won both the Caribbean Amateur and Caribbean Junior in 2021, signed a letter of intent with High Point University and plans to enroll in the fall of 2022.
Elle June Hannant, 12, of Pikeville, N.C., & Jenna Kim, 13, of Raleigh, N.C.
Hannant and Kim are the two youngest competitors in the field. They are also the first side in championship history to consist of two Drive, Chip and Putt national champions. Hannant won the girls 7-9 age division at Augusta National in 2018, while Kim won the girls 12-13 age division just a week ago. Outside of golf, Hannant is a state champion in the discus and javelin, and takes jiujitsu. In 2021, Kim won the U.S. Kids Golf World Championship at Pinehurst No. 5, where she made her fifth career hole-in-one. She plays the violin in the Duke School string orchestra.
Chloe Kovelesky, 15, Boca Raton, Fla., & Yana Wilson, 15, of Henderson, Nev.
Kovelesky made her U.S. Women’s Open debut last June at The Olympic Club, where she led the field in driving distance after Round 1 and was the youngest player in the field. In 2018, she became the second-youngest competitor in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, and is making her third championship appearance. Wilson, a sophomore at Coronado High School in Henderson, is a two-time Drive, Chip and Putt national champion. At No. 53 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®, Wilson is the highest ranked player in the field. She recently won the 2022 Annika Invitational and reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior. At age 14, she became the youngest-ever winner of the Arizona Silver Belle Championship.
Rachel Smith, 34, of Bedford, Texas, & Camry Tardy, 29, of Arlington, Texas
Tardy is returning to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball after a boating accident left her unable to compete in last year’s championship. While visiting the Turks and Caicos last February, Tardy dislocated her patella and tore ligaments in her knee after the boat she was riding in flipped. She spent the remainder of 2021 rehabbing her knee. A former walk-on at Texas Christian University, Tardy is competing in her seventh USGA championship and fourth U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. She runs her own graphic design company. Smith, a web content specialist for Topgolf, is competing in her first U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. She played her collegiate golf at Winthrop University and has competed in six U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs.
Meghan Stasi, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., & Dawn Woodard, 47, of Greenville, S.C.
Stasi and Woodard are competing in their seventh U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. They are the only pairing to play in every U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball since the championship’s inception in 2015. Stasi is a four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion and represented the USA in the 2008 Curtis Cup Match on the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. In 2021, she won the Ladies National Golf Association Mid-Amateur and the Amateur Golf Alliance Women’s Amateur Championship. Woodard, a five-time South Carolina Women’s Amateur champion, has competed in over 30 USGA championships and is a three-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur medalist. She reached the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Kate Strickland, 18, of Lincoln, Neb., & Kate Tilma, 18, of Wichita, Kan.
Strickland and Tilma are competing in their second U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball after missing the cut in a 5-for-1 playoff in 2021. Strickland is the youngest Nebraska Women’s Match Play champion in the event’s 96-year history and won the 2021 Nebraska Girls’ Amateur. She is the niece of Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy, and her father, Craig, played quarterback for Oklahoma State in the 1990s. Tilma plans to enroll at Kansas State University in the fall. In 2020, she became the first golfer to win the Kansas Junior Girls and the Kansas Women’s Amateur titles in the same year.
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