LNGA Amateur: Rachel Kuehn makes it back-to-back major wins

Two straight major tournament wins right before making the trip to the U.S. Women’s Amateur is about the biggest confidence boost imaginable. Wake Forest star Rachel Kuehn certainly has the most momentum heading into next week’s national championship. After picking up the win at the North & South Women’s Amateur earlier this month, Kuehn backed it up with another win Wednesday at the Ladies National Golf Association (LNGA) Amateur at Tennessee Grasslands Golf and Country Club. After multiple rain-delays over the course of the week, Kuehn was able to separate herself from the highly touted field. 6-under through 28 holes, she finished the final eight holes of her second round Wednesday morning before getting back on schedule. Kuehn carded two more birdies to close out the second round at 8-under-par. Playing the final round uninterrupted, Kuehn was able to find a rhythm and stick to it. Through nine holes, Kuehn traded two bogeys and two birdies to carry her 8-under total into the final stretch. Coming home, she carded birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 to move to 10-under, securing a six-shot victory. The LNGA handed out three exemptions into next week’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, with Kuehn taking one of the exemptions despite already being locked into the field. Kennedy Pedigo (SMU) and Marissa Wenzler (Kentucky) earned the other two exemptions as they tied for second at 4-under. Both Pedigo and Wenzler were exempt into the U.S. Amateur field prior to this week’s event. Brooke Riley (Northwestern), Carly Burkhardt (Furman) and Kynadie Adams (Tennessee) tied for fourth at 3 under par.