Megan Thothong
WACO, Texas — Overall No. 1 seed Megan
Thothong from Dallas took care of business
Tuesday with a 3&2 victory against Grace Choi in
the 94th WTGA State Amateur’s Round of 32.
Thothong earned the Championship Flight’s top
seed with a 4-under-par 68 that earned medalist
honors in Monday’s stroke play Qualifying Round.
In Tuesday’s first match, she jumped to an early
2-up lead after consecutive three-putt bogeys
from Choi, who is also from Dallas. As the
match wound through the tree-lined, lakeside
Ridgewood Country Club course, Choi only got as
close as 1 down on the front side.
Thothong closed out the match on the 16th
green. She estimated that she played 2-under
par during the match.
“It was difficult today,” said Thothong, a
sophomore at Houston who finished second at
the 92nd WTGA State Amateur in 2013. “Match
play puts you in a different mindset. I’ve known
Grace a long time, and she struck the ball really
well today. I kept calm and made the putts I had
to make.”
Thothong set the tone for the day, as each of the
top 12 seeds in the Championship Flight
advanced through the Round of 32. Qualifying
Round runner-up and overall No. 2 seed Emily
Gilbreth from Bellaire defeated 31st-seeded San
Antonio’s Kristin Glesne, 4&3.
The Woodlands’ Kelly McGovern, the No. 3 seed
and runner-up in last summer’s 93rd WTGA State
Amateur, rallied to score a 4&3 victory against
Denise Hachtel from Allen. Hachtel was 2 up
through seven holes, but McGovern’s 10-foot par
save on No. 8 and birdie on the ninth swung the
match to all square at the turn.
“That gave me the momentum headed into the
back nine,” said McGovern, who put Hachtel
away with a par on the 15th green.
McGovern said she expected to see the higher
seeds advance into the Round of 16, which
begins Wednesday at 8 a.m.
“It’s not surprising because the top girls in this
tournament are all really good players,” said
McGovern, a junior at TCU. “They’re all
competing hard and getting it done.”
That group includes six-seeded Maggie Byers
from San Antonio. A freshman at Baylor, Byers
and her college teammates call picturesque
Ridgewood home throughout the year. Byers has
played the hilly course many times; she needed
all 18 holes to defeat Kalli Jennings from
Andrews, 1 up.
The first upset in the Round of 32 came when
20th-seeded Megan Woods from Spring Branch
defeated No. 13 seed Ann Holcomb from
Crockett, 1 up. Only two other lower seeds
advanced. Rylee Pedigo from Fort Worth, the No.
18 seed, defeated No. 15 seed Maty Monzingo
from Corpus Christi, 2&1. Seventeenth-seeded
Kirsten Pike from Ovilla also scored a 1-up
victory against 16th-seeded Camry Tardy from
Arlington.
View results for Women's Texas Amateur
ABOUT THE Women's Texas Amateur
Eligibility: Entries are open to female amateur
golfers with a certified GHIN Handicap index.
Player Field: Lowest handicap indexes in multiples of
8 with a maximum of 88 players. In the event the
championship becomes over-subscribed, entries will
be accepted in order of handicap index.
Format: The starting field will consist of 88 total
players. The 32 players with the lowest qualifying
scores will fill the championship flight and contend
for the championship title. The qualifying round is
optional for all but the players with the 32 lowest
handicap indexes on the date the entries close. The
16 players eliminated in the first round of the
championship flight match play may participate in an
18-hole stroke play consolation round. The remaining
players will be flighted into seven flights of eight
based on handicap indexes. The four players
eliminated in the first round of flight matches will
proceed to a consolation match play bracket for each
flight.
View Complete Tournament Information