Emerie Schartz saved her best for the moment it mattered most.
The Wichita, Kansas native authored the round of the tournament at Briarwood Country Club, firing a final-round 7-under 65—the low score of the week—to claim both the 17–18 division title and the Overall Championship at the 54th Annual Joanne Winter Arizona Silver Belle Championship. Schartz made nine birdies and closed in emphatic fashion, birdieing each of the final four holes to pull away and finish at 7-under 209 (72-72-65).
“I was really committed to the plan that me and my dad and sister all came up with during practice rounds,” Schartz said. “I just was really steady… never got ahead of myself.”
Kylie Chung finished runner-up at 3-under 213 (70-71-72), while Schartz’s sister Avery placed third at 1-under 215 after rounds of 71-71-73. Defending champion Asia Young shot 71-76-77 to finish T-26 at 8-over.
Schartz’s win adds another headline to an already decorated junior résumé. Texas A&M signed her last month as the No. 27 player in the Rolex AJGA Rankings, and she’s appeared in each of the past two U.S. Women’s Amateurs, earned spots on the 2024 and 2025 U.S. National Junior Teams, and reached the quarterfinals of this summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior for a share of fifth. A 2025 Rolex Junior Honorable Mention All-American, Schartz is also the back-to-back Kansas Girls Junior Amateur champion—most recently defeating Avery in a two-hole playoff in June.
Raised in a baseball-softball family, Schartz has long been surrounded by high-level competition—her father, Lance, played professional baseball, and her mother, Carla, was a standout collegiate softball player.