Tuesday, May 9, 2023

8th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship – Inside the Field

The U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball was first played in 2015. The championship is open to two-player sides (or teams) of female amateurs with individual Handicap Indexes not exceeding 14.4. There are no age restrictions, and partners are not required to be from the same club, state, or country.

Here's a look at the 64 teams (or sides) and 128 golfers in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball field.  Play begins this week, May 10th through May 17th at The Home Course in Dupont, Washington.

Youngest Competitors: Erin Lee (13, born 12-31-09), Kara An (13, born 6-8-09), Anna Huang (14, born 10-30-08), Courtney Beerheide (14, born 5-30-08), Angela Zhang (14, born 5-5-09), Cece Lewis (14, born 2-16-09), Alice Ziyi Zhao (14, born 2-4-09), McKenna Nelson (14, born 12-11-08)

Oldest Competitors: Tina Barker (64, born 4-9-59), Mitzi Campbell (53, born 10-28-69), Dawn Woodard (48, born 8-19-74), Meghan Stasi (44, born 5-30-78)

Average Age of Field: 20.33

Field breakdown by age

Age 12-15: 18 golfers 

Age 16-19: 66 golfers 

Age 20-29: 31 golfers 

Age 30-39: 9 golfers 

Age 40-64: 4 golfers

Youngest Teams: 13.5 average, Kara An (13) & Cece Lewis (14); 14.0, Courtney Beerheide (14) & McKenna Nelson (14); 14.0, Angela Zhang (14) & Alice Ziyi Zhao (14); 14.5, Erin Lee (13) & Kara Lee (16)

Oldest Teams: 51.0 average, Tina Barker (64) & Lauren Gebauer (38); 46.0, Dawn Woodard (48) & Meghan Stasi (44); 42.0, Mitzi Campbell (53) & Susy Thomas (31); 35.5, Gretchen Johnson (36) & Amanda Jacobs (35); 33.5, Julia Potter-Bobb (35) & Kelsey Chugg (32)

U.S. States Represented – There are 28 states and the District of Columbia represented in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: California (22), Florida (14), Texas (12), Indiana (6), North Carolina (4), Oregon (4), Georgia (3), New Jersey (3), Ohio (3), Pennsylvania (3), South Carolina (3), Tennessee (3), Washington (3), Arizona (2), Colorado (2), Illinois (2), Maryland (2), Massachusetts (2), Minnesota (2), Mississippi (2), Virginia (2), Arkansas (1), Delaware (1), Kentucky (1), Nevada (1), New York (1), Utah (1), Wisconsin (1), District of Columbia (1)

International – There are 10 countries represented in the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: United States (107), Canada (6), Mexico (5), Hong Kong China (2), People’s Republic of China (2), Thailand (2), France (1), Republic of Korea (1), Morocco (1), Spain (1)

USGA Champions (7): Savannah Barber (2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Kelsey Chugg (2017 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Thienna Huynh (2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Sara Im (2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), 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 (5): Kelsey Chugg (2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Gianna Clemente (2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior), Julia Potter-Bobb (2014 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Kaitlyn Schroeder (2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Bailey Shoemaker (2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball)

Curtis Cup Match competitors (1): Meghan Stasi (2008, captain 2024)

Drive, Chip & Putt National Champions (4): Emerson Blair (2016), Vanessa Borovilos (2018), Sara Im (2018), Angela Zhang (2019)

Most U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Starts (2023 included): Meghan Stasi (8), Dawn Woodard (8), Kendall Griffin (5), Avery Zweig (5), Camry Tardy (5), Thienna Huynh (4), Sara Im (4), Sophie Linder (4), Elle Nachmann (4), Alexa Saldana (4), Kaitlyn Schroeder (4)

Teams Who Played in 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (19): Hadley Ashton & Brynn Kort (MC), Shannon Aubert & Calli Ringsby (MC), Savannah Barber & Alexa Saldana (MC), Vanessa Borovilos & Cara Heisterkamp (Round 32), Leigh Chien & Anna Huang (Round 16), Kelsey Chugg & Julia Potter-Bobb (Round 16), Gianna Clemente & Avery Zweig (Round 16), Kendall Griffin & Elle Nachmann (quarterfinals), Amelia Guo & Grace Jin (semifinals), Sydney Hackett & Melanie Walker (quarterfinals), Kate Hauptman & Jayden Jevnick (MC), Kary Hollenbaugh & Anna Ritter (semifinals), Thienna Huynh & Sara Im (champions), Kyra Ly & Emily Song (MC), Megan Meng & Angelina Tolentino (Round 32), Kaitlyn Schroeder & Bailey Shoemaker (runners-up), Rachel Smith & Camry Tardy (MC), Jessica Spicer & Sarah Spicer (Round 16), Meghan Stasi & Dawn Woodard (Round 16)

Individuals Who Played in 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (44): Hadley Ashton, Shannon Aubert, Savannah Barber, Vanessa Borovilos, Leigh Chien, Kelsey Chugg, Gianna Clemente, Haley Davis, Kendall Griffin, Amelia Guo, Sydney Hackett, Kate Hauptman, Cara Heisterkamp, Kary Hollenbaugh, Thienna Huynh, Sara Im, Jayden Jevnick, Grace Jin, Brynn Kort, Sophie Linder, Michelle Liu, Yilin (Angela) Liu, Kyra Ly, Megan Meng, Morgan Miller, Elle Nachmann, Julia Potter-Bobb, Calli Ringsby, Anna Ritter, Georgia Ruffolo, Alexa Saldana, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Bailey Shoemaker, Caroline Smith, Rachel Smith, Jessica Spicer, Sarah Spicer, Emily Song, Meghan Stasi, Camry Tardy, Angelina Tolentino, Melanie Walker, Dawn Woodard, Avery Zweig

Played in 2022 U.S. Women’s Open (5): Anna Davis, Ami Gianchandani, Sara Im, Emma McMyler, Bailey Shoemaker

Played in 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur (17): Vanessa Borovilos, Sophia Burnett, Leigh Chien, Gianna Clemente, Ami Gianchandani, Cara Heisterkamp, Thienna Huynh, Sara Im, Grace Lee, Sophie Linder, Yilin (Angela) Liu, Morgan Miller, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Bailey Shoemaker, Molly Smith, Avery Weed, Alice Ziyi Zhao

Played in 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior (27): Hadley Ashton, Emerson Blair, Camila Burnett, Gianna Clemente, Sydney Hackett, Cara Heisterkamp, Kary Hollenbaugh, Thienna Huynh, Sara Im, Brynn Kort, Michelle Liu, Kyra Ly, Isabella McCauley, Reese McCauley, Lindsay McGrath, Megan Meng, Taylor Mularski, Layla Pedrique, Anna Ritter, Kiara Romero, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Bailey Shoemaker, Morgan Smith, Angelina Tolentino, Melanie Walker, Siuue Wu, Avery Zweig

Played in 2022 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (9): Kelsey Chugg, Isabella DiLisio, Amanda Jacobs, Gretchen Johnson, Julia Potter-Bobb, Calli Ringsby, Jackie Rogowicz, Meghan Stasi, Dawn Woodard

Played in 2022 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur (1): Tina Barker 

Sisters in the Field (6)

Camila (18) and Sophia (20) Burnett, of Bluffton, S.C. 

Erin (13) and Kara (16) Lee, of San Ramon, Calif. 

Isabella (19) and Reese (17) McCauley, of Inver Grove Heights, Minn. 

Molly (18) and Morgan (19) Smith, of Westford, Mass. 

Jessica (25) and Sarah (25) Spicer, of Bahama, N.C. 

Siuue (16) and Tsamue (16) Wu, of Hong Kong, China

College Teammates: Current, Past or Future (14):  

Shannon Aubert & Calli Ringsby (Stanford) 

Regan Barton & Caroline Wales (Cal State San Marcos) 

Malak Bouraeda & Morgan Miller (Colorado) 

Camila Burnett & Sophia Burnett (South Carolina) 

Maria Caparros Levin & Anita Saechueng (New Mexico) 

Kara Carter & Nathaly Munnicha (Xavier) 

Ami Gianchandani & Kaitlyn Lee (Yale) 

Alexis Kim & Sophie Simon (Yale) 

Grace Lee & Taylor Mularski (Gonzaga) 

Emma McMyler & Abby Whittington (Xavier) 

Georgia Ruffolo & Caroline Smith (Wake Forest) 

Jessica Spicer & Sarah Spicer (Virginia Tech) 

Katherine Sung & Samantha Yao (Dartmouth)

PLAYER NOTES

Shannon Aubert, 27, of France, & Calli Ringsby, 27, 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. 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. She also competed in the 2012 and 2013 U.S. Women’s Opens and represented her country in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in 2012. She speaks four languages and has lived in nine countries. Ringsby, a software development product manager, is competing in her fourth USGA championship.

Savannah Barber, 19, Fort Worth, Texas, & Alexa Saldana, 19, of Mexico

Barber and Saldana, who met at the Crown Golf Academy in the Dallas Metroplex, won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, just 30 minutes from the campus. Barber is completing her freshman year at the University of Oklahoma, while Saldana is finishing her freshman year at the University of Houston. She is a member of the Mexican National Team.

Tina Barker, 64, Fairfield, Calif., & Lauren Gebauer, 38, Orinda, Calif.

This will be the first U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball for the two Northern Californians. Barker, an air-traffic controller in the Oakland Center, will be competing in her 21st USGA championship. She has qualified for all four U.S. Senior Women’s Opens and competed in eight U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs. Gebauer, a graduate of the University of Notre Dame (where she played on the women’s golf team) and the University of Cincinnati Medical School, is a dermatologic surgeon who has competed in a U.S. Women’s Amateur (2004) and a pair of U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs (2019, 2021).

Kelsey Chugg, 32, Salt Lake City, Utah, & Julia Potter-Bobb, 35, Indianapolis, Ind.

The two past U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champions are making their third start as a side in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship after surviving a six-hole playoff at SunRiver Golf Club in St. George, Utah. They advanced to match play in their two previous starts in 2019 and 2022. Chugg, who won the 2017 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur and was the runner-up the following year, is the associate director of the golf program for the Salt Lake City Corporation. A graduate of Weber State, Chugg also played at El Reno Community College in Oklahoma for Coach Gerrod Chadwell, now the head women’s coach at Texas A&M and the husband of LPGA Tour winner Stacy Lewis. Potter-Bobb, who became the USGA’s first female left-handed champion in 2013, won the Women’s Mid-Amateur title again three years later. She is the director of member services for Indiana Golf. Potter-Bobb played her collegiate golf at the University of Missouri.

Gianna Clemente, 15, of Estero, Fla., & Avery Zweig, 16, of McKinney, Texas

Clemente and Zweig reached the semifinals of the 2021 championship as the youngest team in the field at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, before falling to eventual champions Savannah Barber and Alexa Saldana. Clemente advanced to the championship match of the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior at The Club at Old Stone in Bowling Green, Ky., before losing to Yana Wilson. Later in the year, she Monday-qualified for three consecutive LPGA Tour events, becoming the youngest (then 14) to achieve that feat. Clemente also advanced to the finals of the 2017 Drive, Chip & Putt Championship, and qualified for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at the age of 11. Zweig is competing in her fifth 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. She also qualified for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club.

Anna Davis, 17, of Spring Valley, Calif., & Kiara Romero, 17, of San Jose, Calif.

Davis, a left-hander, became quite familiar to golf fans in the spring of 2022 when she rallied to win the Augusta National Women’s Amateur with a final-round, 3-under-par 69. Earlier this spring, she claimed the Sage Valley Junior Invitational by two strokes. Her ANWA victory landed Davis, who plans to play at Auburn University in the fall of 2024, in three women’s professional majors, including the U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles. She also competed in four other LPGA Tour events. In 2021, she captured the Girls Junior PGA Championship. Romero, who is headed to the University of Oregon this fall, defeated medalist Saki Baba in the Round of 32 of the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Baba would win the U.S. Women’s Amateur a few weeks later. Romero, who is competing in her fourth USGA championship, has an older sister, Kaleiya, who plays for Pepperdine.

Thienna Huynh, 19, Lilburn, Ga., & Sara Im, 18, Duluth, Ga.

The two Georgia teens claimed the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title at the Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico. Huynh, now a freshman at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, became the third USGA female left-handed champion after a pair of two-time champions, Julia Potter-Bobb and Erica Shepherd. Im, who is headed to Vanderbilt University in the fall, is one of three past Drive, Chip & Putt national champions to win a USGA title, joining Yana Wilson and Michael Thorbjornsen. Im advanced to the semifinals of the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior, losing to eventual winner Wilson, and qualified for the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles.

Grace Lee, 19, of Bellevue, Wash., & Taylor Mularski, 19, of Spokane, Wash.

The lone side in the field from the host state of Washington just completed their freshman year at Gonzaga University. Lee, the West Coast Conference’s Freshman of the Year, helped the Bulldogs to a third-place finish in the WCC Championship at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash., finishing solo fifth individually. She posted a 74.50 stroke average in nine events (26 rounds) with a pair of top 10s. This will be her second USGA championship after qualifying for the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior in Chevy Chase, Md. She also won the 2019 Pacific Northwest Junior PGA at The Home Course, which earned her a berth in the Girls Junior PGA Championship in Kentucky. Mularski, who is competing in her first USGA championship, qualified for seven of nine events this past season at Gonzaga. She won the 2021 Spokane Area High School title and was named the Greater Spokane League MVP.

Kaitlyn Schroeder, 18, of Jacksonville, Fla., & Bailey Shoemaker, 18, of Dade City, Fla.

The two American Junior Golf Association All-Americans advanced to the championship match last year at Grand Reserve Golf Club in Puerto Rico. Schroeder, the daughter of University of North Florida men’s golf coach Scott Schroeder, is headed to the University of Alabama in the fall. She advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the Round of 32 last year. Shoemaker, who has committed to enroll at the University of Southern California in the fall, made the cut in the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles (T-49) and reached the Round of 32 in the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Shoemaker won the 2022 Florida State Women’s Amateur and is two-time low amateur in the Florida Women’s Open.

Molly Smith, 18, of Westford, Mass., & Morgan Smith, 19, of Westford, Mass.

Molly, who is headed to the University of Central Florida this fall, nearly advanced out of U.S. Open local qualifying on May 3, shooting a 2-under 70 at LeBaron Hills Country Club, in Lakeville, Mass. She missed the cut by one stroke and failed to garner one of the two alternate spots in a playoff. She would have been the second female to advance from qualifying; Michelle Wie West achieved the feat in 2006. Morgan, 19, is headed to Georgetown University. The two competed against the men in this year’s Massachusetts State Four-Ball. This is their first U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Morgan lost to eventual champion Yana Wilson in the Round of 64 at the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior after both players missed the match-play cut a year earlier. Molly also qualified for last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Meghan Stasi, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., & Dawn Woodard, 48, of Greenville, S.C.

Stasi and Woodard are the only side to compete in all eight U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championships since the event’s inception in 2015. Stasi, the captain of the 2024 USA Curtis Cup Team, is a four-time U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion who also 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 more than 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. On a professional level, Woodard works as a performance coach with elite golfers, including 2022 U.S. Women’s Open runner-up Mina Harigae. Stasi and her husband, Danny, own and operate the Shuck N’ Dive restaurant in south Florida. 

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