Top amateur golf moments of 2018, No. 6: The next big thing?
12/16/2018 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur, a USGA Championship, Old Chatham Golf Club
In the summer of 2018, no one rode away with more hardware, with a winning streak crossing state lines and international borders.
At AmateurGolf.com, we admit to loving the amateur sector of this game for the stories, the depth of the players, the remarkable courses, the history of the tournaments and the sheer love of the game displayed by amateur golfers. As 2018 comes to a close, we’ve gathered the year’s best stories for a countdown to the end of the season. Be sure to come back each day to relive the moments that made amateur golf great this year.
Click here to see the whole list as it is revealed
A solid month of the amateur golf season belonged to 17-year-old Yealimi Noh. For weeks, she seemed unstoppable, and at the end of the summer, it wasn’t all that surprising to hear her say she would be looking past college golf and into turning pro in the near future.
Noh logged victories in consecutive weeks at the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship (where she was 24 under for 72 holes), the U.S. Girls’ Junior (where she had to play 49 holes on the final day when NorCal fog chopped up the early-week championship schedule) and the Canadian Women’s Amateur (where some of the nation’s top college players were at her heels).
Related: Yealimi Noh Goes 24 Under(!) to win the Girls Junior PGA
Related: Noh ends marathon day as U.S. Girls' Junior champion
Related: Noh's Winning Streak Continues at the Canadian Women's Am
The Concord, Calif., native also won the California Girls Junior at the end of June for a second time. She was a wire-to-wire winner at the Joanne Winter Silver Belle in December. Clearly, Noh found something in her game over the past few months that clicked.
“So Junior PGA, I was at the peak of my game, I was playing really well and I was really confident in my game,” Noh said at the end of the summer. “I was hitting it well, I think the main thing was I was putting it really well, making everything inside 15 feet, and same thing with the U.S. Junior.”
Other players noticed Noh’s streak, too, and felt the heat when they drew Noh in match-play events. Ultimately, Georgia senior Bailey Tardy ended Noh’s spectacular summer run in a dramatic 23-hole match in the second round of U.S. Women's Amateur match play.
“I knew it was going to be a good match,” Tardy said of a showdown that demanded precision from every aspect of her game to get the better of Noh.
AmateurGolf.com caught up with Noh in September to hear what she had to say about that magical summer amateur run and how it sets her up for an upcoming pro career.
Click here to see the whole list as it is revealed
A solid month of the amateur golf season belonged to 17-year-old Yealimi Noh. For weeks, she seemed unstoppable, and at the end of the summer, it wasn’t all that surprising to hear her say she would be looking past college golf and into turning pro in the near future.
Noh logged victories in consecutive weeks at the Girls’ Junior PGA Championship (where she was 24 under for 72 holes), the U.S. Girls’ Junior (where she had to play 49 holes on the final day when NorCal fog chopped up the early-week championship schedule) and the Canadian Women’s Amateur (where some of the nation’s top college players were at her heels).
Related: Yealimi Noh Goes 24 Under(!) to win the Girls Junior PGA
Related: Noh ends marathon day as U.S. Girls' Junior champion
Related: Noh's Winning Streak Continues at the Canadian Women's Am
The Concord, Calif., native also won the California Girls Junior at the end of June for a second time. She was a wire-to-wire winner at the Joanne Winter Silver Belle in December. Clearly, Noh found something in her game over the past few months that clicked.
“So Junior PGA, I was at the peak of my game, I was playing really well and I was really confident in my game,” Noh said at the end of the summer. “I was hitting it well, I think the main thing was I was putting it really well, making everything inside 15 feet, and same thing with the U.S. Junior.”
Other players noticed Noh’s streak, too, and felt the heat when they drew Noh in match-play events. Ultimately, Georgia senior Bailey Tardy ended Noh’s spectacular summer run in a dramatic 23-hole match in the second round of U.S. Women's Amateur match play.
“I knew it was going to be a good match,” Tardy said of a showdown that demanded precision from every aspect of her game to get the better of Noh.
AmateurGolf.com caught up with Noh in September to hear what she had to say about that magical summer amateur run and how it sets her up for an upcoming pro career.
About the U.S. Girls' Junior Amateur
The Girls Junior Amateur is one of 15 national championships conducted by the USGA. The event is open to female golfers who have not reached their 19th birthday prior to the close of competition and whose USGA Handicap Index does not exceed 5.4. Play...
Most Popular Articles
2025 PGA TOUR Q-School Guide: Sites, Scores, and Who Advanced
Dec 5, 2025Second Stage is complete and Final Stage awaits at Sawgrass — follow every Q-School leaderboard and the players still chasing
2025 LPGA TOUR Q-Series: Final Qualifying Stage LIVE SCORING
Dec 4, 2025Full 2025 LPGA Q-School (Q-Series) schedule, results, and leaderboard updates
Australian Open at Royal Melbourne: Preview, amateur bios, and how to watch
Nov 30, 2025Rory McIlroy headlines one of the championship's top fields in years - at least four amateurs will have their chance at glory
Playing with the Stewart Golf Q Follow: Full Hands-Free Cart Review
Nov 18, 2025Can a hands-free electric cart actually improve your round? I put the Stewart Q Follow to the test over 9 holes to find out.
Luke Ringkamp Cruises to Rolex Tournament of Champions Title at TPC San Antonio
Nov 26, 2025One week after committing to Pepperdine, Luke Ringkamp won the Rolex Tournament of Champions by nine shots.