Goldberg, Alberto among those still standing at Texas Women's Am

Top-seeded Madison Goldberg from Austin survived a scare Wednesday morning with a slim 1-up victory over Rebecca Reed from Midland in the Round of 32 match on Day 2 of the 98th Women’s Texas Amateur at Bent Tree Country Club. Goldberg decided to take care of business a little quicker in her afternoon match.

The Southwestern University sophomore defeated Alisa Rodriguez from Austin, 4 and 3, in the Round of 16 to advance to Thursday morning’s quarterfinals. The match between Goldberg and Rodriguez went back and forth on their first nine holes; Rodriguez held a 1-up lead at the turn.

“Then something just clicked for me,” said Goldberg, who won medalist honors during Tuesday’s Qualifying Round with a 1-under 70. “I was pin-pointing the flag and started hitting it to five feet.”

Goldberg poured in three birdies on the back nine to grab momentum and put Rodriguez away by the 15th hole. She said the excessive heat took a toll on her. It was another sunny, sultry day at Bent Tree with temperatures exceeding 97 degrees and Heat Indexes reaching 104 degrees.

“I was roasting,” Goldberg said. “I just tried to drink a lot of water after every shot and sit down when I had the chance.”

The Championship Bracket’s No. 2 seed didn’t make it out of the Round of 32. Arlington’s Kate Tran, who fired an even-par 71 in Qualifying, suffered a 4-and-3 defeat to Kelsey Wylie of Katy.

Most of the top seeds did advance, however. Seven of the top 10 seeds won in the Round of 32; six of those competitors won again in the Round of 16.

No. 4 seed Hanna Alberto from Kingwood was one of them. The Sam Houston State senior defeated Meagan Winans, 3 and 2, in the Round of 16. Earlier in the day, Alberto, a 2017 Women’s Stroke Play Co-Champion, defeated Lexi Read of Bridgeport, 5 and 4.

Fifth-seeded Julia Gregg, who was the runner-up last summer at San Antonio Country Club in the 97th Women’s Texas Amateur, also moved on to the quarterfinals. The Arkansas freshman from Farmers Branch beat Sydney Garber from Fate, 2 and 1, in the Round of 32. Gregg then won again in the afternoon with a 1-up victory in the Round of 16 over Madelyn Jones from Austin.

Sixth-seeded Annika Clark from Highlands also made it through to the quarterfinals. The recent TCU graduate is a past winner of this championship; she won the 94th Women’s Texas Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco back in 2015. Clark won her Round of 32 match over Paola Cortes from Allen, 2 and 1. Clark then blitzed Reid Isaac from Montgomery in the Round 16 with a 7-and-6 victory.

“I was a lot more consistent with my ball-striking. I hit more fairways with my driver, which allowed me to hit more greens,” said Clark, who won the 2019 Women’s Stroke Play Championship last month. “I feel like I didn’t take as much time over the ball, which ended up really helping. It really simplified my game.”