Teenager knocking out past champ highlights U.S. Women’s Amateur Round of 64

There was no shortage of excitement at Bel-Air on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES — The drama and intensity picked up in a big way Wednesday at Bel-Air Country Club.

The 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur moved to match play, and the day started early with a 10-for-9 playoff. It took only two holes to get the bracket set, and then match play was underway.

Players got a little bit of everything from the weather Wednesday. Early-morning clouds gave way to plenty of midday sun with some afternoon showers, as well. However, that rain didn’t damper any of the excitement from the Round of 64 in match play, with plenty of matches going to extra holes and upsets across the board.

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos

Kiara Romero, the 12th seed who three weeks ago won the U.S. Girls’ Junior, is one of the big names heading home early after falling to Thienna Huyhn. However, only two of the top 10 seeds were knocked out, and plenty of stars remain in Hollywood.

Here’s everything you need to know from the Round of 64 at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur, including best Round of 32 matchups and TV information for Thursday.

Players to watch at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club

It’s bound to be an exciting week at Bel-Air.

It’s time for one of the premier women’s amateur championships.

The 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur begins Monday at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, as the field of 156 players will vie for their chance to capture the oldest trophy in women’s amateur golf, the Robert Cox Trophy.

This will be the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur, which began in 1895. There were a record 1,679 entries accepted for the championship.

Although the top three players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking aren’t in the field, including defending champion Saki Baba, there’s no shortage of star power who will be teeing it up near Beverly Hills.

Here’s a look at 10 players to watch at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club.

2023 Chevron Championship: Amari Avery helped USC win Pac-12s earlier this week, and now she’s tearing it up at a major – without any practice rounds

This marks Avery’s third start on the LPGA and her first time making the cut.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas — By the time Amari Avery got to her hotel room in The Woodlands, Texas, Wednesday night, it was close to midnight. Fresh off a team victory at the Pac-12 Championships, the USC sophomore felt her eyes start to shut around 1 a.m. Later that afternoon, she teed off in the first round of the Chevron Championship without having ever seen the golf course.

“To be honest,” said Avery, “I didn’t really have that much nerves coming in just because I came straight off the plane from playing the final round at Pac-12s. I was kind of like, ‘Oh, just more golf.’ Hopefully four more rounds, and I think we’ve secured it.”

Avery has done more than secure a spot on the weekend. A second-round 69 puts her at 2 under for the tournament and in a share of 26th at the water-logged Nicklaus Course at the Club at Carlton Woods.

It didn’t always look this rosy, however, for the California teen who burst onto the scene in the Netflix documentary, “The Short Game.” Avery found herself four over through five holes on Thursday when the horn blew to suspend play. She returned to action just over an hour later and drained a birdie putt on the sixth hole. Since that first delay, Avery has played her last 31 holes in 6 under par. She trails leader Lilia Vu by five strokes.

Former LPGA player and USC assistant coach Tiffany Joh said while most attention is paid to Avery’s ball-striking – marked by power and a high ball-flight – not enough people talk about her touch around the greens.

While Avery played the Nicklaus Course blind on Thursday, she did have quite a few pointers from younger sister Alona, 16, who competed on the same course last Saturday at the Mack Champ Invitational. Alona has committed to UC Irvine for collegiate golf. Their father, Andre, is on the bag this week for Avery and scouted the course much as he could in the days leading up to Amari’s arrival.

“Got a lot of help from friends of mine who are caddies are out here,” he said.

Avery, one of seven amateurs in the field, isn’t just balancing two big events in the course of one week. The communications major is also doing about an hour’s worth of homework every day.

“Unfortunately, my adviser and my coaches have been kind of staying on me a little bit,” said Avery with a smile. “I’ve been falling behind in school. I’m trying to do something every day just to make sure I stay on track.”

This marks Avery’s third start on the LPGA and her first time making the cut.

It’s already a week she’ll never forget.

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Meet the seven amateurs invited to the LPGA’s first major including Amari Avery and Zoe Campos, who will tee it up without a practice round

While this no longer overlaps with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, it does conflict with several NCAA conference championships.

World No. 3 Saki Baba headlines the seven amateurs who will tee it up in the Chevron Championship, the first LPGA major of the year. The 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion will make her debut in the April 20-23 event, held for the first time at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.

While the championship no longer overlaps with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, it does conflict with several NCAA conference championships. The Pac-12 and American Athletic Conference championships end on April 19 while the Big Ten, the Big 12 and several others end Sunday, April 23.

Top-ranked amateur Rose Zhang, who recently won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, will aim for her 10th college title at the Pac-12 Championship rather than make another major championship start.

Here’s the full list of amateurs in the field:

2022 Golfweek Awards: Female amateur of the year

The 2022 Golfweek Award winner for Female Amateur of the Year goes to …

When it came time for the Golfweek staff to decide the Female Amateur of the Year, there wasn’t much conversation.

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Sure, there were talented athletes across the world who made their mark during the 2022 calendar year. There were first-time winners, young stars shining on the brightest stage and others cementing their legacy, But one female golfer stood out among them all.

In the end, it came down to three athletes, two who made honorable mention and the Golfweek Female Amateur of the Year. The best women’s amateur in the game has held this title for some time, and she’s going to make plenty of splashes in the professional ranks before long. The 2022 Golfweek Award winner for Female Amateur of the Year goes to …

ANNIKA Award: Final fall watch list for 2022-23 women’s college golf season

Check out who’s in the running for women’s college golfer of the year.

As the fall season winds to a close, it’s time to recognize players who set themselves apart as frontrunners in women’s college golf over the past two and a half months.

Rose Zhang, who won the award as a freshman at Stanford last season, is off to an excellent start this year, but plenty of others are making their case early, like Andrea Lignell at Ole Miss, among many others.

The ANNIKA Award honors the player of the year in college women’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual

Women’s college golf notebook: Minnesota freshman sets numerous records, Amari Avery, USC victorious in Chicago

Here’s what you missed in the women’s college golf world.

It has been a record-setting stretch for Minnesota freshman Luisamariana Mesones.

She has won consecutive Big 10 women’s golfer of the week awards, and those accolades have come with good reason. For two straight weeks, she has set Sunday course records as well as numerous Minnesota records.

At the Lady Paladin Invitational, Mesones shot 64 in the final round. Her score broke the Gopher women’s 18-hole record while her two-round score of 134 broke the women’s 36-hole record.

The next week, she improved on her records. She shot a final-round 8-under 62 and finished runner-up for the second straight week. She broke the women’s 18-, 36- and 54-hole records in only the third college tournament of her career,

Team wise, at the Evie Odom Invitational, Minnesota recorded a team-record round score of 17-under 263, earning a second-place finish.

USC victorious in Chicago

The USC women’s golf team didn’t get started as strongly as it wanted to this season.

The Trojans finished eighth at the Dick McGuire Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and their highest individual finisher came in T-17.

USC didn’t waste any time getting back to its winning ways after the second event of the fall. The Trojans captured the Windy City Collegiate Classic at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park, Illinois. The Trojans had the lowest first and second round scores and were able to capitalize on the big lead for their first win of the fall.

“This was a really, really satisfying win coming off the last couple weeks of practice,” USC coach Justin Silverstein said in a release. “We had to have some very difficult and honest conversations after the New Mexico event, and I couldn’t be happier with how this group responded. They worked very hard and very smart the past three weeks, and they deserve this victory.”

USC (3-over 867) beat South Carolina by by nine strokes. Oregon finished in third.

In addition, star sophomore Amari Avery picked up her fourth collegiate victory. She’s two back from the all-time program wins mark, which Annie Park holds. Avery shot 2 over in the final round to finish at 6-under 210 for the week, one shot better than South Carolina’s Hannah Darling, who was 4 under in the final round. Texas’ Bentley Cotton placed third at 1-under 215.

Tulsa conquers difficult Barbara Nicklaus Cup

How hard is Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio? The place that Jack Nicklaus built proved extremely tough for some of the nation’s top women’s teams.

In the Barbara Nicklaus Cup, Muirfield Village played as a par-72 and to 6,362 yards. And the scores continued to tick up every single round.

Tulsa captured the tournament at 88-over 952 for the 54-hole event. Maryland finished in second at 95 over while TCU placed third at 97 over. Those were the only three programs in the eight-team field to finished better than 100 over.

88 over winning a golf tournament? Yup.

Tulsa women's golf
Tulsa women’s golf won the 2022 Barbara Nicklaus Cup. (Photo: Tulsa Athletics)

TCU freshman Sofia Barroso Sa won the individual title at 13 over. Tulsa freshman Grace Kilcrease tied for second two shots back, along with Maryland’s Nicha Kanpai and Furman’s Sarah-Eve Rheaume. Barroso Sa had the lowest round of the week, an even-par 72, in the second round.

Cameron Jourdan covers college and amateur golf for Golfweek. Got a college or amateur story? Email him at cjourdan@golfweek.com.

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Team International defeats Team USA to win 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup

The United States now leads the Palmer Cup series 13-12-1.

Team International defeated Team USA to claim the 2022 Palmer Cup at Golf Club de Geneve in Switzerland on Sunday.

The International squad notched 13 singles wins during the final day en route to a 33 to 27 victory. The United States now leads the Palmer Cup series 13-12-1.

The Arnold Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup-style event played annually that features teams of 24 players, consisting of 12 of the top men’s and 12 of the top women’s college golfers.

Julia Lopez Ramirez, the 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year after a stellar campaign at Mississippi State, earned the first singles win, defeating Brooke Seay 4 and 3.

“I’m so happy for this and the team,” she said.

Mateo Fernández de Oliveira of the International team (University of Arkansas ) and Amari Avery of Team USA (USC) each won every match they played this week.

Winners of exemptions into the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Amundi Evian Championship were Ludvig Aberg (Texas Tech), Aline Krauter (Stanford) and Benedetta Moresco (Alabama), as voted on by their peers at the event.

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USC’s Amari Avery among favorites at NCAA Championship, where she could make history and follow in footsteps of idol Tiger Woods

Cheyenne Woods, niece of Tiger, played a practice round with Avery and declared that she has “it.”

One year ago at The Olympic Club, Amari Avery, competing in her first U.S. Women’s Open, wasn’t sure what 2022 might bring: college or professional golf. Now, four and a half months into life at USC, she’s absolutely thriving as an 18-year-old freshman and among the favorites at this week’s NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championship, held May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Physically, Avery feels she’s ready for LPGA. But mentally, she said, it might have been too soon for the play-for-pay ranks.

“I think skipping a big level like that,” said Avery, “I feel like it could cause harm more harm than good to certain people’s games.”

And given the amount of star power Avery possesses, every building block will prove crucial to maximizing her intriguing potential. Last year at Olympic, Cheyenne Woods, niece of Tiger, played a practice round with Avery and declared that she has “it.”

Avery became part of the national conversation as early as elementary school, when she starred in the 2013 Netflix documentary, “The Short Game.” Her dad, Andre, nicknamed her “Tigress” and her personal website lists all the ways she’s like her hero Tiger. Both were born on Dec. 30 in Orange County, California. Both are African-American and Asian (Avery’s mother is Filipino). Both recorded their first ace at Heart Well Golf Course and notched their first big title at what’s now known as the IMG Academy Junior World. (Avery was 6; Tiger was 8.)

It’s probably fitting then that Avery wound up going to college because Woods did that too, winning the national title at Stanford in 1996. No black female has ever won an individual NCAA Championship since the first event was held in 1982.

Avery’s three-win season trails only USC’s Annie Park (2013), Mikaela Parmlid (2003) and All-American Irene Cho (2006), who each had four. Both Park and Parmlid collected their fourth wins at NCAAs. Avery comes into the national championship currently No. 3 in the Golfweek rankings and on the shortlist for the ANNIKA Award.

“I think she’s growing up every month that she’s here,” said head coach Justin Silverstein.

Amari Avery prepares to lead the eighth-ranked Trojans at the NCAA Championships in Scottsdale, Arizona. (courtesy USC)

Homeschooled since the sixth grade, being back in the classroom came as a bit of a jolt to Avery, but she’s loving it now. Even little things like going to class in jeans with her hair down, laptop in hand, is a nice shift from everyday golf life.

“I just want to grow up a little bit and find who Amari is without the golf part,” said Avery. “Just kind of see what that looks like and see who I become.”

Avery said she cherishes time spent with her family, especially daily practice back home at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrieta, California, with her father and little sister Alona. But this time apart is an important building block, too.

“I’ve always wanted to turn pro, and I will do it at some point,” said Avery, who told USC coaches that she’ll be there for at least two years.

“If I’d turned pro before going to school and playing college golf … I wouldn’t know how to handle that world by myself.”

In one semester at USC, Avery, who has won three times, said her game has done “almost a complete 180” and her confidence has soared. While she’s competing against many of the same players from junior golf, Avery said most of their games seem completely different at the next level.

Avery’s ball-striking, which was already a strength, has gotten stronger thanks to the Trojans’ data-driven approach. She’s especially fond of the line drill on the simulator, where the focus is on hitting a line rather than trying to hit a number.

“I hardly miss any greens now,” said Avery. “I don’t have to chip as much.”

She quickly noted that Silverstein still reminds her to practice her short game, however, as he should.

Silverstein said Avery arrived trying to do too much with her golf ball and didn’t know her yardages. He has encouraged her to hit cuts, unless there is no other option. At the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, he wrote in her yardage book in big black Sharpie, “No trick shots,” on the par-5 13th.

Silverstein said Avery hits the ball more solid than anyone he’s ever coached, and he told her that if she hits 54 greens in a college tournament, “theoretically, there’s almost no way you can lose.”

A more disciplined approach, less aggressive targets, a better understanding of her yardages and better speed on the greens. (Avery hit her putts too hard when she arrived.) These are critical areas of improvement since she came to L.A.

Putting, Silverstein said, is what needs to improve the most from now until Avery leaves school, which might not be as early as she expected given the bonus of NIL (name, image, likeness) money.

Avery’s first NIL deal came with Bank of America when she shot a commercial for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She’s also an ambassador for Angel City Football Club, a team whose owners include Natalie Portman and Serena Williams.

And just recently, she fulfilled a longtime dream of signing with Nike.

“I think it has been a dream ever since I touched a club,” said Avery, who signed with Wasserman for representation and has the same agent as Cameron Champ.

Days before the NCAA Championship, Avery opened her own bank account and got a debit card. While she declined to divulge how much she’s making in NIL deals, she described it as a “great deal of money,” and not what she expected for a freshman in college.

She’s currently learning about taxes, savings and LLCs. It’s a lot to take in, and Avery is grateful to be learning these lessons before she turns pro.

“I come from a middle-class family,” she said. “We have some money but not a ton. There was a point where I thought I have to support my family in some way, so if that means turning pro at 17, then that’s what I was going to do. But luckily, we had a lot of backing to keep me going for all these years, and obviously, my little sister will keep going and finish her junior career.”

NIL money makes a four-year career at USC seem entirely possible, though right now she’s only committed to two.

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When Avery won the NCAA Stanford Regional last week, she beat the top two amateurs in the world. No. 1 Rose Zhang finished one stroke back, and Ingrid Lindblad of LSU finished four back in fifth.

Avery has posted 10 of 24 rounds in the 60s and boasts a scoring average of 71.04. She needs only one more round in the 60s to tie the school’s all-time record set by Kyung Kim in 2014. Annie Park holds USC’s season record scoring average of 71.36.

The impressively consistent Avery has finished outside the top eight only once this semester in eight starts – a tie for 18th in the Silverado Showdown.

2022 Augusta National Women's Amateur
Amari Avery of the United States plays a second stroke on the No. 13 hole during a practice round for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 1, 2022. (Photo: Augusta National Women’s Amateur)

Last summer, Bailey Davis came up short in her bid to become the first Black American female to win a USGA title when she fell to Zhang in the final of the U.S. Girls’ Junior. Though Avery wanted to be the first to do it, she was rooting hard for Davis to make that history.

“Wherever we can get a win like that, I’ll take it,” Avery said.

The more times Avery finds herself in the position to be the first, she said it gets both easier and harder. Easier in that she’s had more experience, harder in that she still hasn’t done it yet.

“Eventually we’ll get one of those,” she said, “and that will be long gone in the past.”

That kind of history could be made this week, and with the NCAA Championship now broadcast live on Golf Channel, it would be captured for the world to see.

Amazingly, the player once known as “Tigress” has yet to meet her idol Tiger.

“It’s the worst thing in the world!” Avery exclaimed. “I’ve gotten very close to him.”

She once watched him play a 6 a.m. practice round at Torrey Pines, where Woods’ manager gave her a golf ball.

“I’m pretty sure he saw me,” she said. “I would hope that he knows who I am, but I’m sure we’ll meet somewhere down the road.”

That much seems destined.

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ANNIKA Award: Final watch list for 2021-22 women’s college golf season

Check out who’s in the running for player of the year in women’s college golf.

The postseason is underway in women’s golf, and after last week’s NCAA Regionals, the NCAA Div. I Women’s Golf Championship field is set for May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.

With the championship field set, the race for the ANNIKA Award is starting to heat up. A handful of players have made their case throughout the season as front-runners for the ANNIKA Award, which honors the player of the year in women’s college golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media.

The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers.

Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual