Women's North & South: experience helps Schofill, Morgan progress

July 14, 2022 | by Sean Melia of AmateurGolf.com

Megan Schofill (Credit: John Patota)

Past champs Fierro and Kuehn fall while Emilia Migliaccio and local hopeful Amanda Sambach win their matches to reach quarterfinal

Anna Morgan has been waiting all year for another chance to win the Women's North & South championship. Megan Schofill wouldn't mind avenging her loss to Morgan in last year's semi-final. The two players are suddenly the most experienced North & South competitors remaining after two past champions bowed out on Thursday morning.

2017 winner Isabella Fierro fell 4 and 3 to Big Ten Champion Monet Chun of Michigan. Rachel Kuehn, the 2020 Champion, was beaten 4 and 3 by USC's Cindy Kou.

Morgan reflected on last year's loss after winning her round of 32 match.

“It’s been something that I’ve been thinking about since that day I lost,” Morgan said. “It’s been in the back of my mind during practice, or just whenever I’ve been thinking about coming back for this year. It would be really special to get back to that final match.”

Morgan found herself down early in her match against Chloe Schiavone, but wins on hole Nos. 5, 8, and 9 gave her a 2-up lead at the turn. She won holes Nos. 13 and 14 and promptly closed out the match 4 and 3.

“I’m feeling pretty good, and I played some good golf today,” Morgan said. “We’ve been talking about how the goal is to try to get a little better each day, so I’d say I’ve done that so far. So that’s the plan for the rest of the week.”

Schofill, an Auburn standout, found herself down early in her match after losing two of the opening three holes to Amber Park from Allen, Texas. It was tough going for both Schofill and Park, but Schofill strung together a birdie-par-par stretch on holes 4-6. Park never led the match again, and only managed to pull even with a par on the seventh hole before Schofill won five of the next nine holes and won the match 3 and 2.

Schofill leaned on her past experiences in the North & South. Dramatic matches aren't new.

“It’s just confidence. I got down in a few matches last year – I think I played two or three extra holes in each match – so I know I can just never give up," Schofill said. "I was down here early and got back ahead, and then was able to play my normal, steady golf the rest of the way to win.”

Medalist Hannah Levi dueled with playoff wunderkind Maria Jose Marin. The 15-year-old Marin gave Levi all she could handle. Unlike Morgan and Schofill, Levi jumped out early and led by two holes standing on the fourth tee. However, Marin's resilience shined through and she won holes Nos. 6, 9, and 10 to grab a 1-up lead. Levi fired back with wins of her own on holes Nos. 11, 15, and 16. The back-and-forth battle was kept alive when Marin birdied the par-3 17th. The match ended with both players making par on the 18th hole, and Levi escaped with a 1-up win.

Levi was impressed with the precocious Marin.

“I got up on her the first couple of holes, but Maria was like, ‘Nope,’” Levi said. “It’s crazy, I didn’t start playing this tournament until I was a sophomore in college, and here she is at 15, making it to match play. I think that’s so impressive and so brave. I was just a shy little kid at that age.”

Levi and Marin (Credit: John Patota)

It's been 20 years since May won the Women's North and South, making her a winner of both the Girls and Women's North & South. No one has completed that double since. Amanda Sambach kept her chances alive with a 2 and 1 victory over Zoe Slaughter.

Related: Round 2 Recap

Emilia Migliaccio, who reached the semifinals of the North & South in 2020, defeated Kary-Hollenbaugh 3&2 and will face the top-seeded Levi in the Round of 16 on Friday morning. The quarterfinals will then be played on Friday afternoon.

The 16 finalists will all dine together on Thursday evening, in Donald Ross' Dornoch Cottage. Tomorrow they will return to Ross' masterpiece and fight for the chance to win the Putterboy Trophy and have their name etched in history.

Results: North & South Women's Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts
Win	Emilia Migliaccio	Cary, NC	1200
Runner-up	Megan Schofill	Monticello, FL	900
Semifinals	Anna Morgan	Spartanburg, SC	700
Semifinals	Amanda Sambach	Davidson, NC	700
Quarterfinals	Justice Bosio	, Australia	500

View full results for North & South Women's Amateur

About the North & South Women's Amateur

Women's North & South: experience helps Schofill, Morgan progress

The Women's North & South has drawn the top amateur women from around the country. Three rounds of stroke play followed by four rounds of match play will determine the Champion. The 96 player field will be cut to a 16 player match play field and meda...