Bohyun Park will be tied to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur forever.
Bohyun Park made history Thursday. Her name will forever be tied to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur thanks to her tee shot on the par-3 eighth hole.
Park, the 20-year-old from Farmers Branch, Texas, stepped to the tee at Champions Retreat Golf Club in Evans, Georgia, at 1 over par for the tournament. The 142-yard hole goes over a creek and had a front pin location. The sophomore at Texas hit her tee shot, and the ball landed short of the hole and bounced a couple times before rolling into the left side of a cup.
Boom, an ace. A historic hole-in-one, as Park hit the first ace in the history of the ANWA.
🚨 ACE 🚨@TexasWGolf's Bohyun Park claims the first Augusta National Women's Amateur hole-in-one on No.8 🤯
— Augusta National Women's Amateur (@anwagolf) March 30, 2023
It moved her to 1 under for the tournament and into the top 10 on the leaderboard.
The top 30 players and ties make the 36-hole cut and will play at Augusta National Golf Club in the final round on Saturday. All 72 players in the field will play in a practice round Friday at Augusta National.
Virginia is looking to clinch the victory come Wednesday.
LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Lauren Walsh stepped to the tee knowing she had a special round going.
The senior for Wake Forest knew the closing stretch at Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis provided multiple birdie opportunities. A short par 4. Two par 5s. After birdieing five of her past six holes, Walsh had an opportunity to go even lower.
“I made bogey on 15, which was plenty frustrating,” Walsh said while cracking a smile, “and then I missed a short birdie putt on 16. so I was determined to birdie one of the last two.”
And she did just that, bringing a loud cheer from her three teammates sitting greenside.
Walsh fired a 6-under 66, tied for low round of the day, to help propel herself and Wake Forest up the leaderboard during Tuesday’s second round of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. The Demon Deacons, third in Golfweek‘s preseason women’s college team rankings, moved up four spots to second on the team leaderboard after a 9-under performance but still trail Virginia heading to Wednesday’s final round. Walsh sits tied for second place at 5 under for the tournament, and Emilia Migliaccio shot 4 under on the day and moved up to 2 under overall.
“Today gives us a lot of confidence moving forward,” Walsh said “We’ve all worked hard on our games over the summer at home. To come back together and see some good scores is always good.”
The 2022-23 Wake Forest women’s golf team at the 2022 ANNIKA Intercollegiate. (Photo: Taylor Britton, ANNIKA Foundation)
Wake Forest at one point was in a three-way tie for first with Virginia and South Carolina, which won last season’s tournament. But the Demon Deacons teed off before the Cavaliers and Gamecocks, and there was plenty of leaderboard shuffling before the conclusion of the second round.
Royal Golf Club played almost two strokes easier during the second round Tuesday compared to the first round. The five most difficult holes come on the front nine through two rounds, according to Golfstat. Meanwhile, of the six holes playing under par, four come on the back nine, with three of the four being Nos. 15, 17 and 18.
Virginia finished strong, as it leads following the second straight round at 9 under, six strokes ahead of Wake Forest. Sophomore Amanda Sambach, who shot 7-under 65 in the first round, is at 11 under for the tournament after a second-round 4-under 68 that included birdies on three of her final four holes. She leads by six strokes in the individual competition.
“The team stayed really patient on the front,” Virginia coach Ria Scott said. “There’s a stretch of really challenging holes. They did a great job of sticking to what they were doing and waiting for the opportunities on the back.”
South Carolina fell back after holding the lead alone about halfway through the second round. Mathilde Claisse and Hannah Darling both moved into the top five on the leaderboard, as the duo are tied for second with Walsh. Claisse was 5 under on the day, and Darling tied Walsh for low round of the day at 6-under 66. The Gamecocks are at 2 under, one behind Wake Forest and seven behind Virginia.
Duke had a strong back nine and sits at even par, tied with Michigan for fourth. Phoebe Brinker had four birdies, including three straight, on the back nine and she’s tied for seventh on the leaderboard at 3 under. Freshman Andie Smith birdied six holes on her back nine and shot 3 under for the day.
Florida’s Maisie Filler also finished strong, making birdie on her final three holes to finish 5 under in the second round. Filler is at 3 under for the tournament, in a tie for seventh. Michigan’s Monet Chun and Texas’ Bohyun Park are tied for fifth at 4 under. Auburn’s Megan Schofill is tied for ninth with Migliaccio at 2 under, rounding out the top 10.
Amanda Sambach changed her putter three weeks ago.
LAKE ELMO, Minn. – Amanda Sambach was frustrated.
The sophomore on Virginia’s golf team was coming off an excellent summer where she advanced to the semifinals of the North & South Women’s Amateur at Pinehurst No. 2 and played in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay. Yet she wasn’t getting the results she wanted because of one club.
Her putter.
So, before the start of her sophomore season, Sambach went and got a couple putting lessons. She switched from a mallet-style flat stick to a blade. And the change was incredible during her first round with the new putter Monday at Royal Golf Club in the first round of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate.
“It has completely changed everything,” Sambach said. “I have never putted this well. It has been a huge change, but it has been good so far.”
Sambach dominated the field Monday, recording seven birdies and no bogeys, shooting a 7-under 65 to open the tournament. She opened with birdies on two of her first three holes and closed with one on her 18th hole, the par-5 ninth. The 7-under performance tied Virginia’s single-round scoring record.
The ANNIKA Intercollegiate presented by 3M is a college golf tournament founded by the ANNIKA Foundation in 2014. The 54-hole stroke play event is held annually at the Royal Golf Club outside of Minneapolis and features 12 of the top Division I women’s programs in the country. This event allows Sorenstam to stay connected with the players through the entirety of their careers, bridging the gap from junior to professional golf. In addition, a gala reception takes place before the event during which Annika presents the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel to the nation’s best female player in college golf.
Virginia sophomore Amanda Sambach (@AmandaSambach) makes birdie on her 18th hole (No. 9) to shoot 7-under 65 in the first round of the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. She leads by five with half the players done for the day. @UVAWomensGolfpic.twitter.com/qFhktc7huB
“She has really recommitted herself to becoming a great putter,” Virginia coach Ria Scott said. “That has been the difference maker here in the first few weeks we’ve been back. Her ball striking has always been exceptional, but she got the putts to fall today.”
Sambach leads by four strokes heading to the second round over Texas sophomore Bohyun Park, who sits at 3 under. Florida’s Annabell Fuller and Michigan’s Mikaela Schulz are tied for third at 2 under, and a trio of golfers at 1 under make up the only seven women who broke par.
Sambach is one of 25 players on the preseason ANNIKA Award watch list, given to the top college golfer in the country each year. That’s why Monday’s performance meant even more.
“Annika is literally the greatest of all time, so it’s really awesome to be at a site where I know she’ll be,” Sambach said. “She’s such an inspiration, and this tournament is one of the bigger ones, so it is a bit more nerve-wracking, but I’m just excited to be here.”
Virginia also holds the team lead at 4 under and was the only team to finish under par during the first round. Michigan and Texas are tied at even par with Duke and Oregon tied for fourth at 4 over. Jennifer Cleary shot 1 under for the Cavaliers, Megan Propeck was at 1 over and Celeste Valinho tallied a 3 over round as the four counting scores.
Although there’s plenty of golf to be played, Scott couldn’t have asked for a better start from her team.
“This is a really strong field, one of the best in the country,” Scott said. “When you come up and play at the ANNIKA (Intercollegiate), it kind of takes guts to tee it up against such a strong field in the start of the season. We don’t have some of these warm-up weeks like some other sports do. But that’s what we pride ourselves in, is giving these girls a great schedule and great chances to test themselves throughout the year.”
This year’s Chevron field includes amateurs Natasha Andrea Oon, Brooke Seay, Bohyun Park, and Gurleen Kaur.
Four amateurs will take part in the historic last major at Mission Hills Country Club. Amateurs have long held an important presence in the year’s first major, though less so after the Chevron Championship started going up against the Augusta National Women’s Amateur three years ago.
This year’s Chevron field includes amateurs Natasha Andrea Oon, Brooke Seay, Bohyun Park, and Gurleen Kaur.
Malaysia’s Oon, ranked 10th by Golfweek and 17th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, is a senior at San Jose State. In seven events this season, the Spartans have finished outside the top two just once and have twice toppled top-ranked Stanford.
Park, a freshman at Texas, is ranked 39th by WAGR. Born in South Korea, Park has lived in the U.S. since age 13 and was a three-time Texas 4A individual state champion.
Brooke Seay plays a bunker shot on the sixth hole during the quarterfinals at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. on Friday, August 6, 2021. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
Stanford’s Seay, a junior from San Diego, is a human biology major in Palo Alto. Seay has three top-five finishes in her last three starts for the Cardinal and is ranked 11th by Golfweek.
Kaur, a senior at Baylor, is a three-time All-American. Coached by major champion Hal Sutton, Kaur made the cut at last year’s U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club. The Houston resident is ranked 81st by WAGR.
Michelle Wie and Caroline Keggi boast the record for lowest finish by an amateur, placing fourth in 2004 and 1988, respectively. Rose Zhang holds the record for the lowest 72-hole score by an amateur at 8-under 280, set in 2020. The Stanford star will compete in Augusta next week.
The 2023 Chevron Championship will move to May and be held in Texas. The venue has not yet been announced.
