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14 updates · newest first- UpdateSep 3, 3:56 PM UTC
- UpdateSep 3, 3:55 PM UTC
Ivy Shepherd Wins U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur in Championship Debut
Ivy Shepherd defeated Catherine McEvoy in Thursday's championship match to claim the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur title at Montclair Golf Club. The 26-year-old from Peachtree City, Ga., entered match play as the No. 1 seed after sharing stroke-play medalist honors at 1-over 141. Shepherd survived six rounds of match play, including a quarterfinal win over two-time champion Julia Potter-Bobb and a semifinal victory over Vanessa Wang. McEvoy, the No. 6 seed, had rallied from 4 down in the Round of 16 and 3 down in the quarterfinals before eliminating co-medalist Emilia Doran in the semis. A former player at Kentucky and Clemson, Shepherd earns exemptions into the 2027 U.S. Women's Open, the next 10 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateurs, and the next two U.S. Women's Amateurs.
- UpdateSep 3, 3:13 PM UTC
The Final Match is Underway at Montclair
- UpdateSep 2, 4:47 PM UTC
Final four set: Shepherd, Doran advance; first-time champion guaranteed
The U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur is down to four players, with a first-time champion now guaranteed at Montclair Golf Club. No. 1 seed Ivy Shepherd survived her closest test yet, defeating two-time champion Julia Potter-Bobb 1 up in the quarterfinals. Potter-Bobb was the lone former champion remaining in the field.
Shepherd will meet No. 52 Vanessa Wang, who continued her impressive run with a 1-up victory over Hanley Long. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Emilia Doran rolled past Whitney French 7 and 6 in the most decisive result of the quarterfinals. Doran will face No. 6 Catherine McEvoy, who defeated Jensen Jalufka 2 and 1.
The semifinals pit Shepherd against Wang and Doran against McEvoy, with all four players chasing their first U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur title.
- UpdateSep 2, 2:36 PM UTC
Quarterfinal field set with top seeds Shepherd, Doran advancing
The quarterfinal field is set at the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur, with top seeds Ivy Shepherd and Emilia Doran continuing to lead while several lower-seeded players extended impressive runs.
Shepherd, the No. 1 seed, delivered the most convincing victory of the Round of 16, defeating Sarah Thomas 6 and 5. She faces No. 56 Julia Potter-Bobb, the two-time champion who won 1 up over No. 8 Katherine Zhu.
No. 2 Doran remained firmly in contention with a 3-and-1 victory over Erin Houtsma and will face Whitney French, who defeated Amanda Jacobs 4 and 2.
Four players seeded 35th or lower reached the final eight. No. 52 Vanessa Wang meets No. 44 Hanley Long, while No. 35 Jensen Jalufka faces No. 6 Catherine McEvoy.
- UpdateSep 1, 10:29 PM UTC
- UpdateSep 1, 8:17 PM UTC
Three former champions eliminated as field narrows to 16
Tuesday morning's Round of 32 delivered the biggest shakeup of match play so far. Defending champion and No. 4 seed Ina Kim-Schaad, who won in 2019 and 2025, fell to Brooke Tyree, 4 and 3, ending her bid for consecutive titles. Two more former champions joined her on the sidelines: Lauren Greenlief (2015) lost to Jensen Jalufka, 6 and 4, and Krissy Carman (2022) was eliminated by Sarah Willis, 4 and 3.
That leaves Julia Potter-Bobb, a two-time champion, as the lone past winner remaining after her 4-and-2 victory over Taylor Kay.
Top seed Ivy Shepherd advanced with a 2-and-1 win over Gabby Minier and will face Sarah Thomas in the Round of 16. No. 2 seed Emilia Doran continued her dominant run, defeating Victoria Jackson 6 and 4 — she has played just 23 holes through two matches.
The longest match of the round saw Whitney French outlast Ariana Macioce on the 26th hole.
- UpdateSep 1, 12:12 AM UTC
Ivy Shepherd and Sarah Spicer-Baldwin needed all 18 holes to decide their round of 64 match.
- UpdateSep 1, 12:09 AM UTC
Eight of top 10 seeds advance; Greenlief stuns medalist Jamieson with birdie blitz
Eight of the top 10 seeds survived the Round of 64, but co-medalist Lucy Jamieson of England was not among them. The 2025 Women's English Amateur champion led 3 up through 14 holes before Lauren Greenlief, the 2015 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champion, won the final four holes — three with birdies — for a 1-up victory. "I was just trying to stay calm and stay in it," said Greenlief, who stuck approaches inside 7 feet on the final three holes and rolled in clutch putts.
No. 1 seed Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City, Ga., also needed a birdie on the uphill par-4 18th to edge Sarah Spicer-Baldwin 1 up after trailing until the 15th. "Oh, I was shaking a little bit," said Shepherd, who combined with Spicer-Baldwin for nine birdies. Co-medalist Emilia Doran of Charlotte, N.C., cruised 7 and 6 over Ashley Freeman, playing the fewest holes of any competitor.
- UpdateAug 31, 12:40 AM UTC
Doran, Shepherd, and Jamieson share medalist honors at 1-over 141
After two days of volatile scoring at Donald Ross-designed Montclair Golf Club, three players emerged as co-medalists at 1-over 141. Emilia Doran of Charlotte, N.C., fired a 3-under 67 — the day's second-lowest round — to vault into a tie at the top. The NBC on-course reporter and two-time Curtis Cup Team member bogeyed her opening hole but went 5 under over the next 16 before a three-putt bogey on her closer. "I'm a really competitive person so I love playing golf when it matters," said Doran, the top-ranked player in the field at No. 140 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Joining her are first-timers Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City, Ga., and Lucy Jamieson of England, the 2025 English Women's Amateur champion, who birdied the 318-yard finishing hole to secure her share. Catherine McEvoy of Riverside, Conn., posted the championship's low round with a 4-under 66 to finish T4 at 3-over 143. The cut came at 14-over 154. Eight players will contest a playoff for the final four match-play spots Monday morning.
- UpdateAug 30, 7:05 PM UTC
Ivy Shepherd has a share of the lead after rounds of 69-72 (+1) in the U.S. Women's Mid Am
- UpdateAug 29, 11:57 PM UTC
Johnson and Shepherd Share First-Round Lead at 1-Under 69
After a 41-year absence of USGA championship golf, Montclair Golf Club welcomed 132 mid-amateurs Saturday with clear skies—and a stern test. Only two players broke par on the Donald Ross design: 2018 champion Shannon Johnson and rookie Ivy Shepherd, who both carded 1-under 69 to share the lead.
Johnson, a PING sales rep, leaned on local caddie Francis Vaughn to navigate Montclair's undulating greens. "This golf course is just kind of plodding your way around," she said. "He got me around this golf course very well today."
Shepherd, 26, of Peachtree City, Ga., credited her putter for the share of the lead in her mid-am debut, carrying her own bag after her sister withdrew due to pregnancy. "I think I stole a couple long putts that I wasn't supposed to make," she said.
Talioa Campbell and Amanda Jacobs sit T3 at even par. The field averaged 78.14, with the low 64 after Sunday's second round advancing to match play.
- UpdateAug 29, 4:11 PM UTC
- UpdateAug 29, 4:11 PM UTC
First Round of the 2026 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Under Way at Montclair Golf Club
The 2026 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J., runs from August 29 through September 3. A starting field of 132 players will compete in two rounds of stroke play, after which the field is cut to the top 64 players for match play. The opening round of stroke play is under way on the Donald Ross layout. Two-time champion Ina Kim-Schaad won last year's title at Monterey Peninsula, while 2024 champion Hana Ryskova is in the field. Live scoring is available at championships.usga.org.
Montclair, the Prunaret Trophy and a Champion's Return: Your U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Guide
A field of 132 tees it up Saturday, Aug. 29 at Montclair Golf Club. Two-time champion Ina Kim-Schaad returns to defend the title she won in the longest final in event history — and four-time winner Meghan Stasi is here chasing a record fifth. This page is your home base for the week — schedule, format, the field, a hole-by-hole look at Montclair and every result as it happens. Follow live scoring →
The 39th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur is the USGA's national championship for the career amateur — every player in the 132-woman field is at least 25 years old and carries a Handicap Index of 9.4 or better. From Aug. 29 to Sept. 3, they will contest two rounds of stroke play and then a single-elimination match-play bracket over the second and third nines at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J.
It is only the second time the championship has visited New Jersey — the first was 1997 at Atlantic City Country Club — and it lands at one of the country's most historic clubs, a Robert Trent Jones Sr. home course that has already hosted a U.S. Amateur and a U.S. Women's Amateur. Below: everything you need to follow the week, and the full record as it fills in.
At a glance
| Defending champion | Ina Kim-Schaad, Jupiter, Fla. (also won 2019) — in the field |
| Dates | Aug. 29 – Sept. 3, 2026 |
| Championship venue | Montclair Golf Club — West Orange, N.J. (Course No. 2 & No. 3) · 5,763 yards, par 70 |
| Format | 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying, then a 64-player match-play bracket |
| Field / entries | 132 competitors (average age 34.3) from a record 496 entries · qualifying at 29 sites |
| Eligibility | Amateur women who have turned 25 by Aug. 29 with a Handicap Index of 9.4 or lower |
| Match-play cut | Low 64 scorers advance; a playoff settles ties for the final spots |
| Trophy | The Mildred Gardiner Prunaret Trophy |
Storylines to watch
A champion chasing rare air
Ina Kim-Schaad arrives as the defending champion and one of the most accomplished mid-amateurs of her era. The 42-year-old from Jupiter, Fla., outlasted Hanley Long in 23 holes last October at Monterey Peninsula Country Club — the longest championship match in event history — to claim a second title to go with her 2019 win, and became the first multiple champion since Julia Potter-Bobb in 2016. It was one of many highlights in a career that has taken her to the U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Women's Amateur this year on exemptions earned by that win. No one has successfully defended the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur since Meghan Stasi in 2006 and 2007; Kim-Schaad will try to be the next.
Meghan Stasi's bid for history
Speaking of Stasi — the four-time champion (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012) is in the field at 48, chasing a fifth Prunaret Trophy that would break her tie with Ellen Port for the most victories in the championship's 39-year history. The Oakland Park, Fla., resident who grew up in Voorhees, N.J., is also the two-time reigning USA Curtis Cup captain (2024, 2026) and the youngest inductee in Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame history. A win on home-state roots would be one of the great mid-amateur stories in years.
Nine former champions in the draw
Montclair's field includes nine past U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur champions: Kathy Hartwiger (2002), Meghan Stasi (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012), Julia Potter-Bobb (2013, 2016), Lauren Greenlief (2015), Shannon Johnson (2018), Ina Kim-Schaad (2019, 2025), Blaksley Brock (2021), Krissy Carman (2022) and Kimberly Dinh (2023). Add four U.S. Senior Women's Amateur champions — Nadene Gole (2024), Judith Kyrinis (2017), Shelly Stouffer (2022) and Dawn Woodard (2025) — and this is a field stacked with players who already know how to win a national title.
Hanley Long's unfinished business
No one came closer last year than Hanley Long of Clarksville, Tenn., who pushed Kim-Schaad to a 23rd hole before falling. She returns as the 2025 runner-up, one of a strong group of recent deep-run players — including 2024 runner-up Lindsey Gahm and 2019 runner-up Talia Campbell — looking to turn near-misses into the Prunaret Trophy.
A historic stage in New Jersey
Montclair is only the second New Jersey host in championship history, and it brings a pedigree few clubs can match: a Robert Trent Jones Sr. home course that produced two more legendary architects in his sons Rees and Robert Trent Jones Jr. It has already crowned a U.S. Women's Amateur champion (Carol Semple Thompson, 1973) and a U.S. Amateur champion (Sam Randolph, 1985). The lone New Jerseyan in the field, Kate Granahan of Mountain Lakes, plays her home state as the reigning state Women's Mid-Amateur champion. At 5,763 yards and par 70 over a composite of the club's second and third nines, Montclair will reward precision over power.
Day-by-day schedule
Six days of golf: two stroke-play rounds to seed the bracket, then a knockout that shrinks by half every session.
| Sat., Aug. 29 | Stroke play, Round 1 (18 holes) |
| Sun., Aug. 30 | Stroke play, Round 2 (18 holes). Low 64 advance; a playoff settles ties for the final spots. |
| Mon., Aug. 31 | Round of 64, match play |
| Tue., Sept. 1 | Round of 32 and Round of 16, match play |
| Wed., Sept. 2 | Quarterfinals and semifinals, match play |
| Thu., Sept. 3 | Championship match (18 holes) |
How to follow
Like most USGA amateur championships, the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur is followed through live scoring rather than a linear TV broadcast. Here is where to keep up all week:
- AmateurGolf.com live scoring & coverage — round-by-round leaderboards, bracket updates and recaps. Follow our hub.
- USGA live scoring — hole-by-hole scoring and the official match-play bracket at championships.usga.org.
- USGA social channels — photos, highlights and updates from inside the ropes.
How the format works
The championship is two tournaments in one. The opening 36 holes of stroke play exist only to seed the field: everyone plays Saturday and Sunday, and the low 64 scorers advance. Ties for the final places in the bracket are broken by a playoff, and everyone else's week ends Sunday. The player with the lowest 36-hole total earns medalist honors.
From there it becomes single-elimination match play, where every score resets to zero. The Round of 64 begins Monday; the bracket then halves each day through the quarterfinals and semifinals before Thursday's 18-hole championship match decides the title.
Why the seed doesn't decide it: once match play starts, a medalist has no more cushion than a No. 64 seed. Last year proved the point at the other end of the draw — Ina Kim-Schaad needed 23 holes to win the final, the longest in championship history, before the trophy was decided.
The field
A record 496 players entered — up from the previous mark of 616 set in 2025 — for one of 132 places, filled through qualifying at 29 sites from June 24 to July 29 plus 32 exempt players. The low 64 after stroke play reach the match-play bracket.
By the numbers
| Field size | 132 competitors |
| Average age | 34.3 years old |
| Age range | 25 (Jensen Jalufka) to 63 (Mercedese Large) |
| U.S. states represented | 31 (California leads with 14) |
| Countries represented | 13 (110 of 132 players are U.S.-based) |
| Former champions in field | 9 |
The defending champion
Ina Kim-Schaad — Jupiter, Fla. Two-time champion (2019, 2025) chasing a repeat. Won last year's final over Hanley Long in 23 holes, the longest in event history. A mental-performance coach for Fearless Golf, she played college golf at Northwestern and returned to competition after an 11-year hiatus; this year she has also teed it up in the U.S. Women's Open and U.S. Women's Amateur.
Former champions in the field
- 2002 — Kathy Hartwiger
- 2006, 2007, 2010, 2012 — Meghan Stasi
- 2013, 2016 — Julia Potter-Bobb
- 2015 — Lauren Greenlief
- 2018 — Shannon Johnson
- 2019, 2025 — Ina Kim-Schaad
- 2021 — Blaksley Brock
- 2022 — Krissy Carman
- 2023 — Kimberly Dinh
Notable players to watch
- Meghan Stasi, 48, Oakland Park, Fla. — four-time champion going for a record fifth; two-time USA Curtis Cup captain.
- Emilia (Migliaccio) Doran, 27, Charlotte, N.C. — NBC Sports and Golf Channel on-course reporter, two-time Curtis Cup player and a 2025 quarterfinalist; medalist at this year's North & South Women's Amateur.
- Lauren Greenlief, 35, Oakton, Va. — the 2015 champion, arriving on the heels of a seven-stroke win at the Canadian Women's Mid-Amateur.
- Brenda Kuehn, 61, Asheville, N.C. — USGA Executive Committee member playing her 62nd USGA championship and 19th Women's Mid-Amateur; a two-time Curtis Cup winner.
- Kate Granahan, 32, Mountain Lakes, N.J. — the field's only New Jerseyan, a three-time and reigning state Women's Mid-Amateur champion competing while expecting her first child.
- Dawn Woodard, 52, Greenville, S.C. — reigning U.S. Senior Women's Amateur champion with three titles already in 2026.
- Taya Battistella, 46, Bellingham, Wash. — former globe-trotting professional and Beijing Open winner, now a doctor of physical therapy back in the amateur ranks.
Other names to know
Recent deep-run players back for another try include 2025 semifinalists Katherine Zhu, Shannon Fish-Martin and Lindsey Gahm, plus quarterfinalists Jennifer Wang, Jasmeen Somrock and Justine Fournand. The international contingent — 13 countries in all — features European Women's Mid-Amateur champion Pauline Stein of Germany, Canadian veteran Judith Kyrinis and China's Xiaolong Zhong, low amateur at this year's U.S. Senior Women's Open. In all, 32 players earned exemptions, with the balance of the 132-woman field coming through sectional qualifying.
The course: Montclair Golf Club
Opened in 1893 and the 13th-oldest club in the country, Montclair is a rare 36-hole property built from four distinct nines. Tom Bendelow laid out the original course in 1899; Donald Ross redesigned the first and second nines and added a third in 1920, and Charles Banks introduced a fourth nine in 1928. Robert Trent Jones Sr. and Rees Jones later renovated all four, and Brian Schneider recently restored the 1920s designs on the second, third and fourth nines. For this championship, the USGA is using a composite of Course No. 2 and No. 3.
Hole by hole — 5,763 yards, par 70 (subject to change)
| Hole | Yards | Par | Hole | Yards | Par |
| 1 | 506 | 5 | 10 | 425 | 4 |
| 2 | 139 | 3 | 11 | 386 | 4 |
| 3 | 367 | 4 | 12 | 148 | 3 |
| 4 | 350 | 4 | 13 | 342 | 4 |
| 5 | 150 | 3 | 14 | 363 | 4 |
| 6 | 370 | 4 | 15 | 450 | 5 |
| 7 | 344 | 4 | 16 | 114 | 3 |
| 8 | 312 | 4 | 17 | 331 | 4 |
| 9 | 359 | 4 | 18 | 307 | 4 |
| OUT | 2,897 | 35 | IN | 2,866 | 35 |
| TOTAL | 5,763 yards · Par 70 | ||||
A first family of golf architecture. Robert Trent Jones Sr. was a longtime Montclair member, and his sons Rees and Robert Trent Jones Jr. — both celebrated designers in their own right — learned the game at the club. Montclair was also a founding member of the Metropolitan (1897), Women's Metropolitan (1899) and New Jersey (1900) golf associations, and produced two USGA presidents in Charles Littlefield and Ike Grainger.
Championship history at Montclair
Montclair has hosted championship golf for more than a century, from New Jersey state titles to national events. Carol Semple Thompson won the 1973 U.S. Women's Amateur here, and Sam Randolph took the 1985 U.S. Amateur. The club has also staged the New Jersey Open, the Met Open, multiple New Jersey Women's Amateurs (Maureen Orcutt, Charlotte Glutting and Dorothy Porter among the winners) and, most recently, the 2023 New Jersey Women's Open won by Meaghan Francella.
Championship history
First played in 1987, the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur was created to give amateur women 25 and older a national stage of their own. Its honor roll runs deep: Carol Semple Thompson, Ellen Port and Meghan Stasi are among the multiple champions who have defined the event.
Notable champions
Ellen Port (four titles: 1995–96, 2000, 2011) and Meghan Stasi (four: 2006–07, 2010, 2012) share the record — and Stasi is in this year's field with a chance to break the tie. Carol Semple Thompson (1990, 1997) and Sarah LeBrun Ingram (1991, 1993–94) also won multiple times, as did Julia Potter-Bobb (2013, 2016) and Ina Kim-Schaad (2019, 2025). Recent champions include Kelsey Chugg (2017), Shannon Johnson (2018), Kimberly Dinh (2024) and Kim-Schaad.
New Jersey history
This is only the second U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur contested in New Jersey. The first, in 1997 at Atlantic City Country Club in Northfield, went to Carol Semple Thompson — the same player who won the 1973 U.S. Women's Amateur at this week's host, Montclair.
The trophy and what the winner receives
The champion takes custody of the Mildred Gardiner Prunaret Trophy for one year and, more valuably, an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Women's Open. The full list of what awaits the winner:
- A gold medal and custody of the Mildred Gardiner Prunaret Trophy for one year
- Exemption into the 2027 U.S. Women's Open at Inverness Club (must remain an amateur)
- Exemption into the next 10 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateurs
- Exemption into the next two U.S. Women's Amateurs
- Name engraved on the 2026 USGA Champions' plaque in the Hall of Champions, Liberty Corner, N.J.
Future U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur sites
| 2027 | Country Club of Buffalo, Williamsville, N.Y. · Sept. 11–16 |
| 2028 | Charlotte Country Club, Charlotte, N.C. · Sept. 23–28 |
| 2029 | Country Club of York, York, Pa. · Sept. 22–27 |
| 2030 | Sand Valley Resort, Nekoosa, Wis. · Sept. 7–12 |
| 2032 | Jupiter Hills Club (Hills Course), Tequesta, Fla. |
| 2033 | Exmoor Country Club, Highland Park, Ill. |
| 2034 | The Golf Club of Tennessee, Kingston Springs, Tenn. |
| 2035 | Waverley Country Club, Portland, Ore. |
U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur FAQ
Where is the 2026 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur being played?
Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J., using a composite of the club's Course No. 2 and No. 3. It plays to 5,763 yards and a par of 70.
When is it?
Aug. 29 through Sept. 3, 2026. Stroke play runs Saturday and Sunday, match play begins Monday, and the 18-hole championship match is Thursday, Sept. 3.
Who is the defending champion?
Ina Kim-Schaad of Jupiter, Fla., who won her second title in 2025 by defeating Hanley Long in 23 holes — the longest championship match in event history. She is in this year's field.
Who is eligible to play?
Any amateur woman who has reached her 25th birthday by Aug. 29, 2026 and whose Handicap Index does not exceed 9.4.
What is the format?
36 holes of stroke play seed the field; the low 64 advance to single-elimination match play, with a playoff to break ties for the final spots. The champion is decided in an 18-hole final.
Is it on TV?
Like most USGA amateur championships, it is followed primarily through live scoring rather than a linear broadcast. Follow leaderboards and the match-play bracket on AmateurGolf.com and at championships.usga.org.
What does the champion win?
A gold medal, one year's custody of the Mildred Gardiner Prunaret Trophy, an exemption into the 2027 U.S. Women's Open, exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateurs and the next two U.S. Women's Amateurs, and her name on the USGA Champions' plaque in Liberty Corner, N.J.
Our coverage
- Live scoring — stroke play and every match
- Qualifying roundup: how the field was set
- Official championship site (USGA)
This page will be updated throughout the week. Newest coverage appears at the top, directly under the live-status bar.
| Pos | Player | From | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Ivy Shepherd | GA | 800 |
| Runner-Up | Catherine McEvoy | CT | 500 |
| Semifinals | Vanessa Wang | CA | 400 |
