As the championship shifts to match play, O’Keefe can draw on some recent success. She helped Team USA win the Arnold Palmer Cup in Ireland earlier this month, winning her singles match on the final day.

“The biggest thing for match play is limiting your mistakes,” she said. “If you’re making a lot of pars, you’re putting a lot of pressure on your playing opponent. Especially if you drop a few putts here and there, it’s even more pressure.”

Craig earned the No. 2 seed for match play, finishing at 7-under par. The Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia, native made six birdies and just one bogey in the second round to post a 5-under 67.

“I started birdie-birdie. I made an 18-footer and a 14-footer, and then the rest of my birdies were actually longer putts,” said Craig, who entered the week leading the Women’s Elite Amateur Golf Series. “I just knew I had to go as low as possible today and just hit greens and make putts.”

Annabelle Pancake, of Zionsville, Indiana, finished third at 6-under par. Pancake, a 2024 Golfweek All-American, made four bogeys in the second round but was able to battle back with five birdies.

A Clemson graduate who finished runner-up at the 2022 Women’s Western Amateur, Pancake said she’s enjoying being part of the championship’s return to its founding site. The Women’s Western Amateur was first played at Onwentsia in 1901.

“It’s really cool to see all the history and to know that happened a long time ago,” Pancake said. “It’s cool to be part of it and hopefully make history again.”

Pancake isn’t the only former runner-up returning to match play. Stanford’s Sadie Englemann is back after falling in the final at White Eagle Golf Club a year ago. The Austin, Texas, native opened with a first-round 74 but rebounded with a 2-under 70 on Wednesday to finish tied for 15th.

Also making match play were O’Keefe’s Texas teammates Bohyun Park, of Korea, Huai-Chien Hsu, of Taiwan, and Hsin Chun Liao, of Taiwan. Park finished tied for 15th at even par and Hsu tied for 19th at 1-over. Liao finished at 2-over par and survived a 5-for-4 playoff.

Suzie Tran, of Poulsbo, Washington, missed match play at 3-over par but earned the Marion Miley Bracelet for being the low stroke-play finisher across both the Women’s Western Amateur and Women’s Western Junior.

Held without interruption since 1901, the Women’s Western Amateur is among the oldest and most prestigious annual championships in women’s amateur golf. The tournament is conducted jointly by the Women’s Western Golf Association and the Western Golf Association.

Recap courtesy of the Western Golf Association