Shot of the Day: Haley Moore gets up-and-down from the sand for birdie on No. 16
(AmateurGolf.com photo)
CHULA VISTA, Calif. (August 9, 2017) -- The first round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur on Wednesday looked a little bit like the NCAA Women’s Championship. There were current and upcoming college players dueling all over San Diego Country Club, trying to get a pass into the next round. Here is a recap of some of the most notable match-ups from the day:
Shannon Aubert def. Samantha Hutchison, 6 and 4: Hutchison, a UC Davis junior, was among a handful of players involved in an 11-for-8 playoff to get onto the match-play bracket. Those players stayed at the course until dark on Tuesday evening, then returned at 7 a.m. Wednesday to keep going. Needless to say, Hutchison was not nearly as well-rested as Aubert, who was among the first to finish the second round. Aubert, a Stanford senior, finished early again Wednesday, dusting her opponent with three birdies from Nos. 6-9 then finishing her off with a flawless back nine.
“It was a tough match for sure,” Aubert said. “I was lucky enough to start hitting well, make a few putts, so I mean, it obviously just feels good to win and have the confidence of the match play.”
As a result of knocking off Hutchison, Aubert, who is originally from France, will draw compatriot Agathe Laisne in the next round.
Haley Moore def Latanna Stone, 1 up: Local player Haley Moore (she’s from nearby Escondido, Calif., and attends the University of Arizona) earned the No.3 seed but got a particularly hard draw in Latanna Stone. Moore had rest on her side, perhaps (Stone was one of the five players who had to come early Wednesday to finish the playoff) but she also had length. She routinely hit it 280 yards off the tee on a San Diego Country Club layout that reward long hitters, and her longest measured drive of the day was 288 yards.
It was back and forth until the end in this match. Moore nearly holed out from a bunker for eagle at the par-5 16th and won with a conceded birdie. Stone won the 17th when Moore three-putted, but Moore ultimately took the match after a huge drive at No. 18 that ultimately in birdie.
Agathe Laisne def. Erica Shepherd, 2 and 1: It was a disastrous start for Shepherd – she took a triple bogey on the first hole – but thanks to a birdie at No. 2, Shepherd was able to stop the bleeding. The 16-year-old is just two weeks removed from winning the U.S. Girls’ Junior and seemed on a high from that championship. Laisne perhaps benefitted from a little bit more experience. The Frenchwoman, fresh off a European Ladies Amateur victory, opened with three consecutive bogeys before righting the ship and making crucial birdies at Nos. 12, 15 and 17 to take the match.
Bethany Wu def. Kaylee Benton, 3 and 2: Wu continues the tradition of UCLA players finding success in the U.S. Women’s Amateur. After medaling at this event in 2014 and reaching the semifinals in 2015, Wu seems on the same track after a 3-and-2 victory over Arkansas junior Kaylee Benton. Benton never had a lead, but remained just 1 down throughout the match until Wu birdied the 15th and 16th to win.
Sarah Rhee def Andrea Lee, 1 up: While Lee’s Stanford teammates Aubert and
Albane Valenzuela (def.
Wad Phaewchimplee, 1 up) advanced on Wednesday, the promising sophomore did not. There were a lot of pars in this tight match until Rhee got an advantage with a birdie at No. 16 that Lee couldn’t get back. College golf fans will remember Rhee as the player who clinched the University of Washington’s spot in the final match of the 2016 NCAA Women’s Championship (which the Huskies eventually won) by holing out from a bunker on the 19th hole of her semifinal match.
Robynn Ree def. Sabrina Iqbal, 5 and 4: When Iqbal’s lopsided loss to Ree, this tournament lost one of California’s most promising up-and-comers. Iqbal, of San Jose, Calif., is the 16-year-old who won last summer’s California Women’s Amateur Championship. She lost major ground to Ree, who plays for USC, when Ree made three birdies from Nos. 6-9.
Krystal Quihuis def. Jennifer Kupcho, 2 and 1: Despite being the highest ranked American (No. 3) in the
Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Women's Amateur Rankings, and out-hitting Quihuis off the tee all day Wednesday by as much as 30 yards, Kupcho could not get it done in the first round of the Women’s Amateur. It was a tight match with the petite Quihuis, an Arizona senior, eventually finishing off Wake Forest’s Kupcho with a par at No. 17.
ABOUT THE U.S. Women's Amateur
The U.S. Women's Amateur, the third
oldest of
the USGA championships, was first played
in 1895
at Meadowbrook Club in Hempstead, N.Y.
The
event is open to any female amateur who
has a
USGA Handicap Index not exceeding 5.4.
The
Women's Amateur is one of 14 national
championships conducted annually by the
USGA,
10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
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