Women's Amateur Blog

The 1953 U.S. Women’s Amateur was also played here at Rhode Island Country Club. One of the favorites was Barbara Romack of Sacramento, Calif., who had won the Canadian Women’s Open Amateur the previous week. Romack, however, had injured her left wrist in the Canadian final and wore a bandage.

The 20-year-old didn’t believe she had much chance to win the American title. NY Times golf writer, Linc Werden, knew of the injury and met Romack after the practice round. He wore a handkerchief wrapped around his left wrist, in solidarity with the Californian. Romack lasted until the fourth round, when she lost to Pat O’Sullivan, 3 and 2.

As she walked back to the clubhouse, a crowd of school-boy caddies waited behind the 18^th green, their left wrists wrapped in handkerchiefs and towels in sympathy. Romack was so touched that she went with them to the caddie shack, where she shared a soft drink and chatted.  The injury healed and Romack won the Women’s Amateur the following year.-- Rhonda Glenn      

Phyllis Wade Wylie, the oldest living member of either Curtis Cup Team, will celebrate her 100th birthday today (Aug. 12) at her home in Troon, Scotland. Wylie was a member of the 1938 team. She and her GB&I teammates Jessie Anderson, Nan Baird, Elsie Corlett, Helen Holm, Clarrie Tiernan and Mrs. J.B. Walker faced a very strong American team that included Patty Berg, Glenna Collett Vare (a member of Rhode Island Country Club), Maureen Orcutt, Estelle Lawson Page, Marion Miley, Kathryn Hemphill and Charlotte Glutting. The USA edged GB&I that year, 5½-3½. -- Rhonda Glenn

Most of the American players here at the U.S. Women's Amateur yearn to win a spot on the USA Curtis Cup team, which plays against a team from Great Britain and Ireland every two years. The 2012 match will be played at Nairn in Scotland next June. The 2012 USA Curtis Cup captain, Pat Cornett, is here this week to scout prospective American players. Cornett played on USA teams a decade apart, in 1978 and 1988. She is an oncologist and lives with her family in Mill Valley, Calif. Cornett had a meeting with members of the USGA International Team Selection Committee on Thursday morning, then went out and watched the round-of-16 matches. The champion this week, if she is American, is all but guaranteed a spot on the team, provided she remains an amateur. 

Defending champion Danielle Kang certainly would be a candidate, but she plans to turn pro after this week's competition. But other candidates will be playing on Friday, including 2010 participant Stephanie Kono. -- Rhonda Glenn  

Brooke Pancake was asked an obvious question after her second-round win Thursday at the Women's Amateur: So do people razz you about your last name?

"Oh all the time," said the affable 21-year-old from Chattanooga, Tenn., who will be a senior at the University of Alabama this fall.

So are there any favorite nicknames?

Pancake said her college teammates generally call her Brookie, IHOP or Cakes. She likes Cakes the best.

Although IHOP isn't bad.

Just wondering if she likes Waffle House.

All kidding aside, Pancake is one of those rare All-Americans who mixes great golf with solid academics. She has been an All-American all three years at Alabama -- first team this past season -- and carries a 4.13 GPA.

"It's really hard," said Pancake of keeping up with school and maintaining an elite golf game. "I just have to manage my time."

One of Pancake's college professors, David Noble, is here at Rhode Island C.C. this week watchng her play. The native New Englander also serves as Alabama's club ice hockey coach and often comes to the Northeast to recruit players. Noble taught one of Pancake's upper-level management classes this year.

"He just got done with summer [school] and decided to come up and root me on," she said.

Through two match-play rounds at the Women's Amateur, UCLA has been the clear winner. The reigning national champions had five golfers qualify for the championship and four made match play. Those four golfers -- Stephanie Kono, Tiffany Lua, Lee Lopez and Erynne Lee (who will be a freshman this fall) -- are a combined 8-0 after two rounds. Keep in mind, Brianna Do, who failed to make match play, won the Women's Amateur Public Links title in June.

The Bruins will lose at least one golfer this afternoon as Kono and Lua are facing each other for the third time in USGA competition. Kono owns a 2-0 advantage.

Lopez certainly has performed better at Rhode Island C.C. than she did at the WAPL when she fell in the first round after being one of the top seeds.

"I think I am a lot more patient this week," said the 21-year-old from Whittier, Calif., who will be a junior. "I'm out her to have a nice time this week and work on my game."

When told of her teammates' succes after round two, Lopez added: "I'm really proud of all my teammates. It's nice to have people like that to practice with."

The early morning fog has burned off and Rhode Island Country Club is splashed in sunshine for the start of the second round of match play at the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur. The golfers could not have more ideal weather, and it should stay this way through Saturday's semifinals. There is a chance for a late shower on Sunday, but we've dodged weather bullets all week.

As for the golf, there are some delicious round-of-32 matchups. How about fourth-seeded Emma Talley, 17, of Princeton, Ky., who is headed to the University of Alabama in 2012, facing defending champion Danielle Kang, 18, of Westlake Village, Calif. Kang, who is turning pro after this championship, is bidding to become the first back-to-back Women's Amateur champion since Kelli Kuehne in 1995-96. The last Women's Amateur held at Rhode Island C.C. saw Kay Cockerill, currently of the Golf Channel, successfully defend her title. She turned pro later that fall.

Lisa McCloskey, 20, of Montgomery, Texas, the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links champion and a two-time U.S. Women's Open qualifier, meets 16-year-old Korean-born Julie Yang of Mesa, Ariz., who recently won the Women's Trans-Mississippi title. McCloskey had an outstanding Women's Am a year ago, losing to eventual runner-up in a 20-hole third-round thriller.

Co-medalist Lydia Ko, 14, of New Zealand, the world's No. 1-ranked female amateur according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking supported by The R & A and USGA, will be tested against 21-year-old Stephanie Kono of Honolulu, Hawaii, a member of the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team and a UCLA All-American. She is the oldest remaining player. Her Bruin and 2010 Curtis Cup teammate, Tiffany Lua, 20, of Rowland Heights, Calif., meets Mackenzie Brooke Henderson of Canada. At 13, Henderson is the youngest remaining competitor.

Amy Anderson, 19, of Oxbow, N.D., the 2009 U.S. Girls' Junior champion, meets third-seeded Moriya Jutanugarn, 17, of Thailand, the low amateur at this year's U.S. Women's Open. Anderson was near the top of the leaderboard after the first round of last month's U.S. Women's Open and made the 36-hole cut.

And at the bottom of the bracket, 2011 U.S. Girls' Junior champion Ariya Jutanugarn, 15, of Thailand, faces 20-year-old Duke University standout Lindy Duncan of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., who made the cut at this year's U.S. Women's Open and was a Women's Amateur semifinalist five years ago.

As for the age breakdown, half the remaining players (16) are under the age of 18. A total of 23 are teenagers.

Kono is the only golfer who was born before 1990.

When I covered my first U.S. Women's Amateur 11 years ago, it was highly unlikely you would run into a college coach, unless, a) they were playing in the championship, or b) they were supporting one of their current players.

Fast forward to 2011 and the grounds at Rhode Island Country Club were littered with college coaches or assistants.

Perhaps it had something to do with the number of under-18 golfers in the field. A total of 49 started the competition on Monday and 23 advanced to match play. A 13-year-old Mackenzie Brooke Henderson of Canada, advanced to the second round, as did 14-year-olds Lydia Ko and Cindy Ha. Nicole Morales, a 15-year-old from South Salem, N.Y., beat 23-year-old Emma De Groot, a recent University of Tennessee-Chattanooga graduate, in 19 holes. Annie Park, a 16-year-old from Levittown, N.Y., went 24 holes to win her first-round match.

Such is the nature of today's Women's Amateur. College coaches certainly have more of a presence at the U.S. Girls' Junior, but with so many of those same players also qualifying for the Women's Amateur, they have to also come to this event.

That's certainly why UCLA had both their head coach (Carrie Forsyth) and assistant coach (Alicia Um) on site. The Bruins, who won this year's NCAA title, had five of their golfers in the field, four of which made match play. All four of those golfers: Erynne Lee, Lee Lopez, Stephanie Kono and Tiffany Lua won their first-round matches on Wednesday.

But Forsyth and Um also were scouting future talent. At least a half-dozen coaches were following Morales, who won't enter college until the fall of 2014.

Margaret Shirley, the assistant coach at Auburn, qualified for the Women's Amateur, but after missing the match-play cut, was out walking the course to scout the talent. "Got to start my regular job," said Shirley as she headed toward the first fairway.

Tennessee-Chattanooga coach Colette Murray served as the caddie for De Groot. So while she was helping the recent graduate, Murray also got an up-close look at the next generation of college players.

Emily Bastel, who played on the victorious 2002 USA Curtis Cup Team, was out scouting for the University of Florida. She was an assistant at Duke last year and now works for former Duke coach Jan Dowling at Florida. She was headed back to Gainesville after the first round.

Coaches from Georgia, Arizona, Denver, Vanderbilt, LSU and South Carolina were also seen on the grounds Wednesday.

After all, the next All-American or NCAA champion could be in this year's Women's Amateur field.

Two more matches have gone beyond the regulation 18 holes. Doris Chen, the 2010 U.S. Girls' Junior champion, just fell to Mexico's Gabriela Lopez on the 20th hole.

And the 2011 Girls' Junior champion, Ariya Jutanugarn, just defeated Germany's Sophia Popov on the 19th hole with a birdie-3. Popov, a University of Southern California sophomore, recently played in the Women's British Open at Carnoustie.

All told, we had eight extra-hole matches in the first round and 19 of the 32 matches went at least 18 holes. That tells you how competitive this championship has become.

Could this be a harbinger of future rounds?

With 27 of the 32 first-round matches in the books, five have gone beyond 18 holes, including two by a pair of UCLA All-Americans who played for the victorious 2010 USA Curtis Cup Team. Stephanie Kono and Tiffany Lua both needed late rallies to post wins on Wednesday at Rhode Island C.C. Kono, playing in her 21st USGA championship, went 19 holes to oust Madeleine Sheils of Boise, Idaho, while Lua needed 20 holes to turn away Princeton University sophomore Kelly Shon of Port Washington, N.Y.

Kono set up a second-round match with 14-year-old co-medalist Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who is the No. 1-ranked female amateur according to the World Amateur Golf Ranking supported by The R & A and USGA. Lua will face the championship's youngest remaining contestant, Mackenzie Brooke Henderson of Canada. It was Henderson's older sister, Brittany, who opened the door for a playoff late Tuesday for the final match-play spot. A bogey at her 36th hole forced a 5-for-1 playoff that Elyse Smidinger eventually won on the second hole and used to upset the other co-medalist, 17-year-old Jihee Kim of Korea.

The longest match of the day was won by 16-year-old Annie Park of Levittown, N.Y., who went 24 holes before eliminating the oldest match-play qualifier, 23-year-old Calle Nielson of Nashville, Tenn.

Stephanie Kim of Phoenix, Ariz., also went 19 holes to beat 2010 Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup participant Pamela Pretswell of Scotland.

GB&I's third player in the draw, Sally Watson of Scotland and a senior at Stanford University, fell to reigning NCAA Division I champion Austin Ernst of Seneca, S.C., 1 down.

Defending champion Danielle Kang posted a 3-and-2 win over Talia Campbell of Dallas to set up a challenging second-round match against No. 4 seed Emma Talley of Princeton, Ky. The 17-year-old, who has committed to attend Alabama in the fall of 2012, posted a 5-and-3 win over Shu-Yin Liu of Chinese Taipei. The 23-year-old Liu, who attends Tulsa, had the words "Scooby Liu" inscribed on her golf bag.

So far it's been a great day for American players at the Women's Amateur. Elyse Smidinger of Crofton, Md., had the biggest victory, taking out stroke-play co-medalist and No. 1 seed Jihee Kim of Korea, 2 and 1. Brooke Pancake of Chattanooga, Tenn., defeated Australian Breanna Elliott, 1 up, and then Nicole Morales, 15, of South Salem, N.Y., rallied from two holes down with two to play to beat the other Aussie in the match-play draw, Emma De Groot, in 19 holes. Morales made three consecutive birdies from No. 16 and then won the 19th hole with a par when De Groot lipped out a 6-footer.

Tiffany Lim, who made the 36-hole cut at the 2010 U.S. Women's Open, then defeated Xi Yu Lin of the People's Republic of China, 1 up.

Canada's Christina Wong is the only international golfer to so far advance. She defeated Courtney Gunter, 4 and 3.

The fun is ready to begin at the 2011 U.S. Women's Amateur at Rhode Island Country Club. Match play commences at 9 a.m. with co-medalist Jihee Kim of Korea facing 5-for-1 playoff survivor Elyse Smidinger of Crofton, Md. Both are 17 years of age.

The morning clouds have burned off and the 100-year-old Donald Ross layout is basking in sunshine. We've truly dodged some weather bullets so far. On Monday, we only had two weather delays totaling 75 minutes and the round was completed before darkness set in. On Tuesday, the weather again turned dicey in the afteernoon, but the final stroke-play round was completed, as was the playoff before darkness fell and another rainstorm doused the region.

The forecasters are calling for a chance of afternoon thunderstorms today, but hopefully we can complete the first round of match play before any weather comes through.

Just finished a breakdown of the 64-player field and the average age has dropped from 19.5 to 18.5.

 The youngest remaining player is 13-year-old Mariel Galdiano, the Pearl City, Hawaii, resident who qualified for this year's U.S. Women's Open. Galdiano faces Erynne Lee, 18, of Silverdale, Wash., at 9:50 a.m. Lee was a semifinalist at the 2008 U.S. Women's Amateur and was one of the tri-medalists last year at Charlotte Country Club, where she advanced to the quarterfinals. She is headed to UCLA in the fall.

The oldest remaining player is 23-year-old Calle Nielson of Nashville, Tenn.  She is seven days older than Shu-Lin Liu of Chinese Taipei. Nielson opens against 16-year-old Annie Park of Levittown, N.Y.

Besides the USA, 13 other countries are represented. They are Korea, Australia, Canada, People's Republic of China, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Argentina, England, Philippines, New Zealand, Scotland, Mexico and Germany. There are 39 players from the United States. Canada is next with five golfers, followed by Thailand and the Philippines with three apiece.

There are a couple of intriguing first-round matchups. In a battle of northern New Jersey, 21-year-old Marina Alex, a Vanderbilt University standout, faces 14-year-old Cindy Ha, who will celebrate her 15th birthday on Friday. Alex is from Wayne and Ha from Demarest. That match commences at 10:50 a.m.

Two girls from the Philippines also square off at 1:30 p.m. That match features 20-year-old Chihiro Ikeda against 17-year-old Sarah Ababa.

Reigning NCAA Division I champion Austin Ernst of Seneca, S.C., faces two-time Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup participant Sally Watson of Scotland at 12:40 p.m.

Should be an excellent day of golf.

A breakdown of ages: 

A breakdown of players by country: