Women’s Western Amateur: Elite Eight set at Prestwick
Taylor Kehoe, Ellen Secor, & Sophie Burks
After Caroline Curtis and Blair Stockett were named co-medalists on Wednesday, the Women’s Western flipped the script to match play.
Cutting the field from 32 to eight in a single day, those who remain held their own through two rounds of match play.
Of the two co-medalists, Stockett was the only one to advance past the first round. Curtis was upset in the Round of 32 by 32-seed Farah Micaela 3&1. Micaela went on to be eliminated in the afternoon session by 17-seed Ellen Secor, 3&2. Secor will begin the day against 24-seed Brigitte Thibault who earned her spot by going 6&5 and 2&1.
Rounding out the top bracket is the match between 4-seed Erica Shepherd (6&4, 2&1) and 5-seed Sophie Burks (3&2, 4&3).
The bottom bracket saw its fair share of upsets as well. Stockett got past 31-seeded Noor Ahmed 1 up before losing in 19 holes to 15-seed Taylor Kehoe. Kehoe will square off against 7-seed Jackie Lucena who earned her Elite Eight spot by taking 10-seed Lauren Beaudreau to 20 holes.
14-seed Mary Parsons upset 3-seed Makenzie Niblett 3&2 to advance. She will face fellow underdog Chelsea Dantonio who beat a pair of Marissa’s on her way to the quarterfinals. 11-seed Marissa Kirkwood fell victim in the Round of 32 to Dantonio 5&4. In the afternoon session, Marissa Wenzler was eliminated by Dantonio 1 up.
Quarterfinal play begins at 8:00 am local time as the field will be cut from eight to two.
ABOUT THE Women's Western Amateur
The The Western Golf Association (WGA) has
partnered with the Women’s Western Golf
Association to administer the
Women’s Western Amateur. Held without interruption
since 1901, this event is one of the
oldest annual championships in women’s amateur
golf. The list of past champions includes
current stars and legends of the LPGA TOUR,
including Ariya Jutanugarn (2012), Stacy Lewis
(2006), Brittany Lang (2003), Grace Park (1998),
Cristie Kerr (1995) and Nancy Lopez (1976).
The Women's Western Amateur is open to amateur
women who have an up-to-date 18-hole
handicap index
that does not exceed 5.4 under the World Handicap
System. The WWGA Committee limits the
field to a
maximum of 120 contestants.
The championship begins with 36 holes of stroke-
play qualifying, after which the field is cut to
the low 32
players for match play. In the event of a tie for the
32nd position, a sudden-elimination playoff
will determine
the final match play qualifiers. Five rounds of 18-hole
matches will decide the Women's
Western Amateur
champion.
View Complete Tournament Information