Medals were handed out to a pair of sides late Thursday afternoon at Grand Reserve Golf Club for topping the 64-team field in the stroke-play portion of the 7th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship – but all four players know that much more is on the line starting on Friday.
“Being a medalist just proves to us that we really have a chance of winning,” said Leigh Chien, 16, who partnered with Anna Huang, 13. “It gives us a lot of confidence going into match play.”
Chloe Kovelesky, of Boca Raton, Fla., and Yana Wilson, of Henderson, Nev., both 15, who shared the first-round lead on Wednesday, overcame a double-bogey start to card a 3-under-par 69 for a 36-hole total of 10-under 134. A few groups later, Chien, of Irvine, Calif., and Huang, of Canada, posted a 68 to match that 10-under total. That was good enough for them to share medalist honors by one stroke.
Wilson, a two-time Drive, Chip and Putt national champion, and Kovelesky, a past DCP national finalist who qualified for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open, quickly shook off their opening blemish to register birdies on four of their next six holes.
“We did something that wasn’t very smart,” said Kovelesky. “I picked up my putt for bogey and then she three-putted, but we bounced back after that.”
Indeed, they did.
Battling through a second day of breezy conditions, the duo played 1-under golf – 10 pars and a birdie on No. 15 – over their final 11 holes to provide some momentum going into the Round of 32 of match play.
“As long as we’re inside the cut line that’s all that matters,” said Wilson, who is No. 53 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® and won the 2022 Hilton Garden Vacations Annika Invitational by holing out from the fairway for an eagle.
Although Chien, a high school sophomore, and Huang, a seventh grader, saw their bogey-free streak end at 29 holes with a 5 on the 404-yard 12th hole, the two past DCP finalists rebounded to birdie three of their last four holes.
“We got our momentum going on 15 and then just kept it up,” said Huang.
The two met at last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md., where Huang was the youngest competitor, and then Huang’s family relocated from Canada to Southern California and joined Chien’s club, Coto de Caza Golf & Racquet Club.
Yilin (Angela) Liu, 16, of Irvine, Calif.; and Charissa Shang, 18, of Calabasas, Calif., made eight birdies en route to the day’s low round, a 6-under 66, for a total of 9-under 135. They shared third with a pair of 15-year-olds from New Jersey, Megan Meng, of Pennington, and Angelina Tolentino, of Mount Laurel, who shot a 67 in Round 2.
First-round co-leaders LoraLie Cowart, 19, of Winston, Ga., and Ava Merrill, 17, of Johns Creek, Ga., finished fifth at 8-under 136 following a second-round 71.
This is the first USGA championship being contested in a U.S. territory. The Puerto Rico Golf Association is one of 58 Allied Golf Associations supported by the USGA.
What’s Next
Match play for the 32 sides who advanced begins on Friday, followed by the Round of 16 and quarterfinals on Saturday. The semifinals and 18-hole championship match will be contested on Sunday.
Notable
The cut for match play came at 3-under 141 with exactly 32 teams, the lowest in the brief history of the championship. The previous low was 142 (2017 and 2019). The highest cut (148) came last year at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas.
Forty-nine of the 64 sides bettered par in Round 2.
There will be a new champion after last year’s winners, Savannah Barber and Alexa Saldana, missed the cut by one stroke following a second consecutive 71.
Two of the five sister tandems advanced to match play: Claire and Grace Liu, of Edison, N.J.; and twins Jessica and Sarah Spicer, of Bahama, N.C. The Spicers completed their eligibility at Virginia Tech last spring.
Three sides featuring mid-amateurs (25 and older) advanced to match play, led by two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Julia Potter-Bobb and 2017 champion Kelsey Chugg. Seven-time competitor and 2015 Women’s Mid-Am champ Lauren Greenlief and fellow Virginian Alexandra Austin, and four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Meghan Stasi and Dawn Woodard, the oldest side in the field, also qualified. Woodard made a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to secure their spot.
Darianys Guzman and Camila Negroni, the lone Puerto Rico representatives in the field, carded a 74 (147) and missed the cut by six strokes.
The youngest side in the field, Ella June Hannant and Jenna Kim, missed advancing by four strokes. Both are DCP champions, with Kim taking the 12-13 age division earlier this month.
Quotable
“We were focused on not screwing up on the same hole, trying not to make many mistakes and keeping with our game plan.” – Leigh Chen on her philosophy with partner Anna Huang
“I don’t think we really knew what we needed, but we knew birdie was going to help. Because who wants to be in a playoff?” – Meghan Stasi on partner Dawn Woodard’s birdie on the par-5 18th hole that got them into the match-play draw
“I think we met our expectations. We’ve played together for a while. We’ve play played against each other. So for the limited amount of golf that both of us have had recently, we’re perfectly happy with 5-under [139] with this wind and these conditions.” – two-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Julia Potter-Bobb on advancing to match play with fellow Women’s Mid-Am champ Kelsey Chugg
“I think we’re both shaking the rust off. This is her second competitive round, and this is my fourth this year, so we’re still kind of figuring out how to play golf again. But we’re getting there.” – Chugg
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Results from Thursday's second round of stroke play at the 2022 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship, played at 6,335-yard, par-72 Grand Reserve Golf Club
Chloe Kovelesky, Boca Raton, Fla. & Yana Wilson, Henderson, Nev. 65-69--134
Leigh Chien, Irvine, Calif. & Anna Huang, Canada 66-68--134
Yilin (Angela) Liu, Irvine, Calif. & Charissa Shang, Calabasas, Calif. 69-66--135
Megan Meng, Pennington, N.J. & Angelina Tolentino, Mount Laurel, N.J. 68-67--135
Loralie Cowart, Winston, Ga. & Ava Merrill, Johns Creek, Ga. 65-71--136
Sophie Linder, Carthage, Tenn. & Karoline Tuttle, Lake Mary, Fla. 70-67--137
Thienna Huynh, Lilburn, Ga. & Sara Im, Duluth, Ga. 69-68--137
Gianna Clemente, Warren, Ohio & Avery Zweig, McKinney, Texas 68-69--137
Kendall Griffin, Sebring, Fla. & Elle Nachmann, Boca Raton, Fla. 67-70--137
Katie Cranston, Canada & Nicole Gal, Canada 70-68--138
Jessica Spicer, Bahama, N.C. & Sarah Spicer, Bahama, N.C. 71-67--138
Amelia Guo, Seabrook, Texas & Grace Jin, San Antonio, Texas 71-68--139
Kaylee Chen, Denver, Colo. & Morgan Miller, Cedar Park, Texas 71-68--139
Kelsey Chugg, Salt Lake City, Utah & Julia Potter-Bobb, Indianapolis, Ind. 70-69--139
Laney Frye, Nicholasville, Ky. & Maria Villanueva, Spain 68-71--139
Vanessa Borovilos, Canada & Cara Heisterkamp, Westlake, Ohio 70-69--139
Kaitlyn Schroeder, Jacksonville, Fla. & Bailey Shoemaker, West Edmeston, N.Y. 69-70--139
Julia McLaughlin, Princeton, N.J. & Georgia Ruffolo, Tampa, Fla. 72-68--140
Sydney Hackett, Ashburn, Va. & Melanie Walker, Burke, Va. 69-71--140
Ryleigh Knaub, Winter Springs, Fla. & Izzy Pellot, Altamonte Springs, Fla. 72-68--140
Mi Li, Winter Garden, Fla. & Bridget Ma, Windermere, Fla. 72-68--140
Kynadie Adams, Nashville, Tenn. & Reagan Zibilski, Springfield, Mo. 73-67--140
Olivia Schmidt, Edmond, Okla. & Elise Schultz, Pace, Fla. 70-70--140
Michelle Ho, San Ramon, Calif. & Michelle Woo, Fremont, Calif. 70-70--140
Claire Lu, Edison, N.J. & Grace Lu, Edison, N.J. 70-70--140
Kary Hollenbaugh, New Albany, Ohio & Anna Ritter, New Albany, Ohio 70-70--140
Ashleen Kaur, Cypress, Texas & Maelynn Kim, Katy, Texas 69-71--140
Daniela Burgos, Mexico & Vania Simont, Mexico 71-69--140
Meghan Stasi, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. & Dawn Woodard, Greenville, S.C. 72-69--141
Frances Kim, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. & Nikki Oh, Torrance, Calif. 70-71--141
Alexandra Austin, Burke, Va. & Lauren Greenlief, Ashburn, Va. 70-71--141
Sawyer Brockstedt, Rehoboth Beach, Del. & Ellison Lundquist, Furlong, Pa. 69-72--141
(Failed to Qualify)
Shannon Aubert, France & Calli Ringsby, Denver, Colo. 72-70--142
Hadley Ashton, Erie, Colo. & Brynn Kort, Kingman, Ariz. 72-70--142
Savannah Barber, Fort Worth, Texas & Alexa Saldana, Mexico 71-71--142
Chloe Johnson, Evansville, Ind. & Faith Johnson, Evansville, Ind. 70-72--142
Taylor Ledwein, New Prague, Minn. & Megan Welch, Lakeville, Minn. 71-71--142
Mary Miller, Savannah, Ga. & Reagan Southerland, Atlanta, Ga. 72-71--143
Kyra Ly, Portland, Ore. & Emily Song, Beaverton, Ore. 72-71--143
Mimi Rhodes, England & Caroline Smith, Inverness, Ill. 71-72--143
Tracy Lee, Republic of Korea & Cynthia Tu, Vienna, Va. 72-71--143
Angela Arora, Canada & Michelle Liu, Canada 73-70--143
Katie Kirk, Charlotte, N.C. & Allison Wix, Harrisburg, Pa. 72-71--143
Kiera Allado, San Clemente, Calif. & Chloe Kim, Whittier, Calif. 74-69--143
Lilly Denunzio, Henderson, Nev. & Ali Mulhall, Green River, WY 76-68--144
Kate Hauptman, Phoenix, Ariz. & Jayden Jevnick, Cave Creek, Ariz. 75-69--144
Kate Bennett, McKinney, Texas & Nitisha Manikandesh, Plano, Texas 74-70--144
Alona Avery, Riverside, Calif. & Blayne Brown, Riverside, Calif. 74-71--145
Ella June Hannant, Pikeville, N.C. & Jenna Kim, Raleigh, N.C. 73-72--145
Valentina Pea, Mexico & Arantza Zepeda Huitron, Mexico 73-72--145
Kimberly Dinh, Midland, Mich. & Ashley Mantha, Ann Arbor, Mich. 74-71--145
Lauren Sung, Palo Alto, Calif. & Sydney Sung, Palo Alto, Calif. 74-71--145
Jiya Dalal, Oak Park, Calif. & Rodaylin Mina, Oceanside, Calif. 71-75--146
Vidhi Lakhawala, Kendall Park, N.J. & Anushka Sawant, Monmouth Junction, N.J. 75-71--146
Sammie Miller, Brentwood, Calif. & Francesca Sumcad, San Jose, Calif. 72-74--146
Kate Strickland, Lincoln, Neb. & Kate Tilma, Wichita, Kan. 72-74--146
Darianys Guzman, Puerto Rico & Camila Negroni, Puerto Rico 73-74--147
Haley Davis, Ocala, Fla. & Madison Moman, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 75-72--147
Jovie Ordal, Lakeville, Minn. & Lily Vincelli, Rosemount, Minn. 72-76--148
Adora Liu, Newark, Calif. & Cindy Wang, San Jose, Calif. 79-69--148
Susan Curtin, Westwood, Mass. & Chelsea Curtis, Boston, Mass. 76-75--151
Rachel Smith, Bedford, Texas & Camry Tardy, Arlington, Texas 78-74--152
Amelia Shen, Demarest, N.J. & Emma Shen, Demarest, N.J. 77-75--152
Ava Ray, & Cybil Stillson, 79-78--157
RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – Pairings and tee times for Friday's Round of 32 matches at the 2022 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball Championship, played at 6,335-yard, par-72 Grand Reserve Golf Club
8:30 a.m. - Chloe Kovelesky, Boca Raton, Fla. & Yana Wilson, Henderson, Nev. (134) vs. Sawyer Brockstedt, Rehoboth Beach, Del. & Ellison Lundquist, Furlong, Pa. (141)
8:42 a.m. - Vanessa Borovilos, Canada & Cara Heisterkamp, Westlake, Ohio (139) vs. Kaitlyn Schroeder, Jacksonville, Fla. & Bailey Shoemaker, West Edmeston, N.Y. (139)
8:54 a.m. - Gianna Clemente, Warren, Ohio & Avery Zweig, McKinney, Texas (137) vs. Michelle Ho, San Ramon, Calif. & Michelle Woo, Fremont, Calif. (140)
9:06 a.m. - Kendall Griffin, Sebring, Fla. & Elle Nachmann, Boca Raton, Fla. (137) vs. Olivia Schmidt, Edmond, Okla. & Elise Schultz, Pace, Fla. (140)
9:18 a.m. - Megan Meng, Pennington, N.J. & Angelina Tolentino, Mount Laurel, N.J. (135) vs. Meghan Stasi, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. & Dawn Woodard, Greenville, S.C. (141)
9:30 a.m. - Kaylee Chen, Denver, Colo. & Morgan Miller, Cedar Park, Texas (139) vs. Sydney Hackett, Ashburn, Va. & Melanie Walker, Burke, Va. (140)
9:42 a.m. - Loralie Cowart, Winston, Ga. & Ava Merrill, Johns Creek, Ga. (136) vs. Daniela Burgos, Mexico & Vania Simont, Mexico (140)
9:54 a.m. - Amelia Guo, Seabrook, Texas & Grace Jin, San Antonio, Texas (139) vs. Ryleigh Knaub, Winter Springs, Fla. & Izzy Pellot, Altamonte Springs, Fla. (140)
10:06 a.m. - Leigh Chien, Irvine, Calif. & Anna Huang, Canada (134) vs. Alexandra Austin, Burke, Va. & Lauren Greenlief, Ashburn, Va. (141)
10:18 a.m. - Laney Frye, Nicholasville, Ky. & Maria Villanueva, Spain (139) vs. Ashleen Kaur, Cypress, Texas & Maelynn Kim, Katy, Texas (139)
10:30 a.m. - Thienna Huynh, Lilburn, Ga. & Sara Im, Duluth, Ga. (137) vs. Claire Lu, Edison, N.J. & Grace Lu, Edison, N.J. (140)
10:42 a.m. - Katie Cranston, Canada & Nicole Gal, Canada (138) vs. Kynadie Adams, Nashville, Tenn. & Reagan Zibilski, Springfield, Mo. (140)
10:54 a.m. - Yilin (Angela) Liu, Irvine, Calif. & Charissa Shang, Calabasas, Calif. (135) vs. Frances Kim, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. & Nikki Oh, Torrance, Calif. (141)
11:06 a.m. - Kelsey Chugg, Salt Lake City, Utah & Julia Potter-Bobb, Indianapolis, Ind. (139) vs. Julia McLaughlin, Princeton, N.J. & Georgia Ruffolo, Tampa, Fla. (140)
11:18 a.m. - Sophie Linder, Carthage, Tenn. & Karoline Tuttle, Lake Mary, Fla. (137) vs. Kary Hollenbaugh, New Albany, Ohio & Anna Ritter, New Albany, Ohio (140)
11:30 a.m. - Jessica Spicer, Bahama, N.C. & Sarah Spicer, Bahama, N.C. (138) vs. Mi Li, Winter Garden, Fla. & Bridget Ma, Windermere, Fla. (140)
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