skip to main content

U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR

World No. 2 Heck Among Quarterfinalists at Westchester

By David Shefter, USGA

| Aug 5, 2021 | Rye, N.Y.

Rachel Heck survived a 19-hole thriller against Brooke Matthews to reach the quarterfinals at Westchester Country Club. (Darren Carroll/USGA)

121st U.S. Women's Amateur Home

What Happened

The upsets – at least according to seed – remained in vogue on Thursday at the 121st U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. But the world’s No. 2 player successfully managed all of the turbulence at Westchester Country Club, even when it appeared her championship run was about to end.

Stanford University sophomore Rachel Heck, 19, of Memphis, Tenn., showed why she was the college player of the year with a come-from-behind, Round-of-16 victory in 19 holes over Brooke Matthews, of Rogers, Ark., to continue her march toward joining Vicki Goetze (1992) as the second player in history to win NCAA Division I individual and U.S. Women’s Amateur titles in the same year.

Heck, whose 69.72 stroke average in the COVID-19-shortened season of 2020-2021 was the lowest ever in women’s college golf history, was 2 down with two to play against the University of Arkansas standout before winning Nos. 17, 18 and 19. Heck’s 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th forced extra holes and a two-putt par on the par-3 19th secured her spot in Friday’s quarterfinals. A relieved Heck raised her arms over her head after the knee-knocking, 4-foot par putt fell in the hole.

“I think that's what this tournament is all about,” said Heck, who lost in the Round of 16 last year to eventual champion Rose Zhang as the No. 1 seed. “You expect to have these kinds of matches. Really high pressure. My hands are shaking, my heart is beating so fast, but that's what's fun about it.”

RELATED CONTENT: Meet the 2021 U.S. Women's Amateur Quarterfinalists

For the first two rounds of match play, Heck hardly broke a sweat, going 13 holes on Wednesday and needing only 12 holes on Thursday morning to defeat Australian Grace Kim, 7 and 6, in the Round of 32.  

But this Round-of-16 encounter between two players in the top 40 of the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® lived up to its marquee billing. Neither player led by more than a hole until Matthews birdied the par-4 15th and won the par-3 16th with a par to go 2 up after Heck failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker. Matthews, however, opened the door for Heck with a bogey on 17, setting the stage for the dramatic conclusion.

Heck, who became the third-ever player to sweep conference, regional and NCAA individual honors, converted her birdie putt on the par-5 18th and watched Matthews’ 12-footer just slide left of the hole. And when Matthews failed to get up and down for par after missing the green on the 176-yard 19th hole – Westchester’s first hole – it opened the door for Heck.

“I think it's super important to stay mentally [strong], and I think my dad (Robert) and I really did that today,” said Heck of the on-course bond she has with her caddie/father. “You know, never giving up. She would drain a long putt, [but] we're still in it. We're not going to get too down on ourselves.” 

Notable

  • The quarterfinalists earn exemptions into the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash.

  • USA Curtis Cup captain Sarah Ingram has been on property this week doing some final scouting for the upcoming Match against Great Britain & Ireland Aug. 26-28 at Conwy Golf Club in Wales. Five spots remain available, but if the champion is American and not currently on the team, she automatically earns a spot. World No. 1 Rose Zhang, world No. 2 Rachel Heck and world No. 11 Allisen Corpuz were selected last month based off their position in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking®/WAGR®.

  • After being eliminated by Brooke Seay in the Round of 32, recent Wake Forest graduate Emilia Migliaccio, who is serving as a Golf Channel intern this summer, changed roles and worked as the on-course reporter for Seay’s Round-of-16 match against Katie Cranston. Migliaccio then interviewed Seay following her 2-and-1 win.

  • Pearl Sinn-Bonanni, the 1988 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, paid a visit to Westchester Country Club on Thursday with her husband, Greg, who is from the Metropolitan New York area. Sinn-Bonanni, who also won the now-retired U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links in 1988 and ’89, is one of three females to have won two USGA titles in the same calendar year (Jennifer Song and Eun Jeong Seong). The Southern California resident also played on the victorious 1988 USA Curtis Cup Team.

  • The run for No. 64 seed Marissa Wenzler came to an end on Thursday with a Round-of-32 defeat to Hailey Borja. Wenzler, the winner of last month’s Women’s Western Amateur, knocked off medalist Rachel Kuehn in the Round of 64. She was bidding to become the first 64th seed to win a USGA title since seeding began in the mid-1980s.

  • Yu-Chiang Hou registered the largest margin of victory of the week, an 8-and-7 decision over Bibilani Liu in the Round of 32. The record for an 18-hole match is 10 and 8, which has been achieved four times, the last in 1954.

  • Brooke Matthews holed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to eliminate University of Pennsylvania sophomore Elle Nachmann in the Round of 32. Nachmann was coming off an upset of defending champion and world No. 1 Rose Zhang.

Quotable

“Brooke is an amazing player. She's going to go kill Q-School next week. She played so solidly. I kept thinking I was going to get a hole back and then she would make some crazy up and down or make a putt. It was such a good match.” – Rachel Heck after beating Brooke Matthews in 19 holes

“I just learned that you have to fight. You can't stop fighting. It doesn't matter who you're playing against. Anyone is beatable on the right day. You just never know when your day is going to be, so just keep fighting and someday you'll win the fight.” – Brooke Matthews after her 19-hole defeat to Heck

“I have to go buy some clothes. I didn't pack enough for the rest of the week.” – No. 63 seed Jensen Castle

“Well yesterday I had about like 115 [text messages], and I've gained like 50 Instagram followers on both my accounts. It's all so exciting. I heard they were doing my trick shots from my golf account on TV, so I can't believe that.” – 15-year-old Cara Heisterkamp on her newfound stardom

“I had the exact same shot this morning in my first match, so I mean [my caddie] walked up to me and she said, ‘At least you know how this one goes,’ even though this morning it was for eagle and this time it was to close it out. I just felt really confident in that spot on the green and knew that at worst I would get up and down; went in.” – Emily Mahar on her 80-foot chip-in to close out her Round-of-16 match

“You see something new every time you see the course. I think I've been learning that under the hole is really key on a lot of these holes. There are a lot of tiers, so that's been really tough.” – Brooke Seay on the nuances of the West Course

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org.

null

Ohio 15-year-old Cara Heisterkamp (left) is into the quarterfinals in her first-ever U.S. Women's Amateur appearance. (Darren Carroll/USGA)

Two of the other seven quarterfinalists barely snuck into the draw, including playoff survivor Jensen Castle, 20, of West Columbia, S.C., who is trying to become the third No. 63 seed to win a USGA championship following Clay Ogden (2005 U.S. Amateur Public Links) and Steven Fox (2012 U.S. Amateur). Battling a fractured rib that kept her away from several big events this summer, the University of Kentucky junior defeated this year’s Georgia Women’s Amateur and Georgia Women’s Open champion Jenny Bae, of Suwanee, Ga., 4 and 2.

No. 61 seed Cara Heisterkamp, 15, of Westlake, Ohio, bidding to become the third-youngest champion in U.S. Women’s Amateur history behind Kimberly Kim (2006) and Lydia Ko (2012), was even more impressive in eliminating Aline Krauter, of Germany, 7 and 5. Krauter, one of three Stanford University golfers to reach the final 16, was looking to become the first player in 25 years (Kelli Kuehne) to have captured the Women’s Amateur titles of the U.S. and Great Britain.

The other quarterfinalists are University of Arizona All-American and world No. 21 Yu-Chiang Hou, 20, of Chinese Taipei; Purdue University junior Kan Bunnabodee, 19, of Thailand; Stanford junior Brooke Seay, 20, of San Diego, Calif.; Virginia Tech senior and 2021 U.S. Women’s Open qualifier Emily Mahar, 22, of Australia; and Michigan State sophomore Valentina Rossi, 20, of Argentina.

Mahar, who holed a long chip on No. 17 en route to a comeback victory over fellow Aussie Maddison Hinson-Tolchard on Wednesday, produced more dramatics late Thursday, chipping in from 80 feet on the par-5 18th hole for birdie to close out 14-year-old Rianne Mikhaela Malixi, of the Philippines, 1 up. Malixi was the second-youngest player in the field and the youngest to qualify for match play.

What’s Next

Friday’s quarterfinal matches are set to begin at 1 p.m. EDT with Peacock streaming the action from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. EDT. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday at 1:15 p.m. and 1:30 p.m., with the 36-hole championship match on Saturday at 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Golf Channel has live coverage on the weekend from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

The Social Scene




More From the 121st U.S. Women's Amateur

U.S. Women's Amateur Highlights: 2021 U.S. Women's Amateur - Round of 16
Championships Thursday Scenes From Westchester C.C.
U.S. Women's Amateur Iconic Venues - Golf and So Much More at Westchester C.C.
U.S. Women's Amateur Iconic Venues: Travis and Cummings at Westchester C.C.