Before this week, Rachel Heck had only played one competitive round since last October. Now she’s two matches away from winning the biggest title of her career.
Heck was relentless at Bel-Air Country Club on Friday, winning six consecutive holes in an 8-and-6 triumph over Catherine Rao, the largest U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinal victory in 51 years. The rising senior at Stanford is on to the semifinals at this championship for the second time in three years.
“I definitely have not had a match that smooth in my seven U.S. Amateurs,” said Heck, 21, of Memphis, Tenn. “I was really proud of how I was able to play super smoothly today. Everything got shaky towards the end of yesterday, I was hitting some loose shots, but I really felt refreshed today and super confident in my game, so it was nice to feel like that.”
Since falling 2 down through three holes in her Round-of-32 match against Rin Yoshida, Heck has played 40 holes, winning 21 and losing just three. The dominant stretch could make most fans forget that the 2021 NCAA individual champion was sidelined for several months due to surgery in March and spent 18 days in field training for Air Force ROTC in late July.
Heck will face fellow 2022 USA Curtis Cup teammate Latanna Stone in Saturday’s semifinal match. Unlike yesterday, when Stone stormed back from a 5-down deficit, the graduate student at LSU had a more conventional victory on Friday. Starting at No. 5, she won five holes in an eight-hole stretch to take command of her quarterfinal match against 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links champion Thienna Huynh. Stone closed with a par at the 16th to win, 3 and 2.
“I think my brain is clicking, the motors are running,” said Stone, 21, of Riverview, Fla. “I just have a different mindset this week. I'm just like, we're going to have fun. I've never even made it this far before. This is my [sixth] Women's Am. It's a big accomplishment. I'm just so grateful for it. Not taking any moment for granted. I know I played in some big events, but this is pretty cool.”
The other side of the bracket will pit smooth swinging University of Michigan fifth-year senior Hailey Borja against gritty Auburn University graduate student Megan Schofill.
Borja was tied in her match against Kyra Ly through nine holes, then pushed ahead with winning pars on the 10th and 11th holes. She made a 12-foot par save on the 12th, then poured in a 20-foot birdie putt to extend her lead to 3 up with four to play. She closed out the match with an up and down for par on the par-3 16th.
“My putting really saved me today,” said Borja, 21, of Lake Forest, Calif. “With these greens, you have to be really creative, and I think that's what I'm really good at with my putting. I may not have the best stroke or the best contact with it, but I think being creative out here is what's really important.”
The fourth match of the day lived up to the billing with Schofill edging 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis in a battle of two players ranked in the top 25 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking. Schofill, World No. 21, birdied the par-5 first hole to take a 1 up lead over No. 5 Davis, then the duo tied the next 13 holes before Davis squared the match with a conceded birdie at the par-4 15th. Schofill regained the lead on the next hole when Davis made bogey after her tee shot at the par 3 caught the front bunker, then closed the match with an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th.
"It was a lot of great golf between the two of us," said Schofill. "We each only had one bogey. I missed a green, she missed one green. It's going to be a tough match when you go against anyone in the field right now, but Anna Davis, top five in the world, phenomenal golfer. It feels great to see the hard work pay off."
What’s Next
The semifinals will take place on Saturday, with tee times beginning at 10:45 a.m. PT. Golf Channel will broadcast live 12-3 p.m. PT (3-6 p.m. ET).
Notable
All quarterfinalists are exempt into the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. The four semifinalists also earned exemptions into the 2025 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort.
Saturday’s semifinal match against Rachel Heck will be the third time Latanna Stone has faced a teammate from her 2022 USA Curtis Cup team. Stone has already defeated Amari Avery (Round of 64) and Rachel Kuehn (Round of 32).
Saki Baba won the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur in her first attempt, but this year experience has been a significant factor in success. Heck (7), Stone (6) and Megan Schofill (5) were the three most experienced players in terms of U.S. Women’s Amateur appearances to start the week.
With Hailey Borja’s victory on Friday, this is the second consecutive year a player from the University of Michigan has advanced to the semifinals. Monet Chun was the runner-up at Chambers Bay in 2022.
2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Gabriela Ruffels is the 36-hole leader of the Epson Tour’s Four Winds Invitational. The final round is tomorrow.
Quotable
“Having that experience is key, having to deal with that pressure. It's different. Match play is different. It's a long week. You get tired. You get stressed out. So having been in that position before I think is going to be really helpful. I think I'll feel less nerves than when I did it couple years ago.” – Rachel Heck on reaching her second U.S. Women’s Amateur semifinal in the last three years
“I remember playing with Lydia Ko in my practice round, and it's just so weird, because looking at 10 year olds now I'm like, there is no way I was out here rolling around. I would've been like, who is this girl?” – Latanna Stone on playing the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur as a 10 year old
“Her worst probably is she drops the head cover a lot and then leaves it or a towel or something. But the best is keeping me hydrated and keeping me snacking and fueled on the course.” – Hailey Borja, rating her mother’s caddieing performance at this week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur
"I think having experience playing this tournament and playing a USGA setup golf course helps a ton. I mean, everyone always says that USGA style golf courses are really tough, and it's ball-strikers' test. - Megan Schofill on having U.S. Women's Amateur experience
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