Tag: Briana Chacon

It was a bad morning to be a top seed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Round of 32

It was a bad morning to be a top seed at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

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LOS ANGELES — Coming into the Round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, four of the top five seeds were still alive. After the latest round of match play, that number is down to zero.

There was carnage Thursday morning at Bel-Air Country Club, coming in the tune of the top seeds going down. It started with medalist Briana Chacon, who fell 4 and 2 to Catie Craig, a rising junior at Western Kentucky. Third-seed Gianna Clemente, who won the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball earlier this year, advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior and won last week’s Junior PGA Championship, lost 4 and 3 to Anne Chen, a senior at Duke.

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos

Fourth-seeded Katie Cranston also lost 2 down against 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior winner Yana Wilson. UCLA’s own Caroline Canales, the fifth seed, fell 4 and 3 to incoming LSU freshman Taylor Riley.

No. 8 Nikki Oh (1 up over Laney Frye) and No. 9 Rachel Heck (4 and 2 over Rin Yoshida) were among the low seeds who avoided going down and will face off in the Round of 16, which begins Thursday afternoon.

The highest seed remaining is No. 6 Megan Schofill, a grad student at Auburn. She was 3 down after 4 but fought back to win 3 and 2. Also moving on is No. 7 Hailey Borja, who won 1 up over Sara Im.

LSU’s Latanna Stone knocked off Wake Forest’s Rachel Kuehn, 2 and 1. Kuehn is seventh in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, the second-highest ranked player in the field behind No. 5 Anna Davis, who won 3 and 2 in the Round of 32 to advance and will face Chen.

After Thursday’s Round of 16, the quarterfinals will be set for Friday afternoon’s quarterfinals. The semifinals will be Saturday with the 36-hole final set for Sunday.

Best matchups in Round of 16

No. 8 Nikki Oh vs. No. 9 Rachel Heck, 4:10 p.m. ET

No. 29 Yana Wilson vs. No. 45 Latanna Stone, 4:20 p.m. ET

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.

Briana Chacon claims medalist honors at U.S. Women’s Amateur in record fashion

Briana Chacon rewrote the record books.

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LOS ANGELES — Briana Chacon did something Tuesday morning that no golfer in the history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur has ever accomplished.

She finished stroke play at 9-under 131, a gross scoring record in the championship. In the 122 editions of the event before this year, no golfer has ever shot better than 133 in the 36-hole stroke-play format. During the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club, Chacon rewrote the record books.

Chacon, a fifth-year player at Oregon, will be the top seed in match play, which begins Wednesday morning. Ole Miss fifth-year Andrea Lignell had a chance to tie Chacon with a par on the 18th hole, but she made double bogey after hitting her tee shot in a fairway bunker. Lignell was 7 under before the blunder, but she carded a 5-under 65 on Tuesday.

“I didn’t really play in too many events this summer,” Chacon said of her prep for the U.S. Women’s Am. “But I worked really hard on my putting the past few months. That’s always been my missing piece. I got a coach, worked really hard and it paid off.”

U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos

Chacon shot 5-under 65 on Tuesday morning to follow up with her opening 4-under 66 Monday, when she shared the lead with fellow Californian Caroline Canales, who is playing a true home game this week. Canales, who tied for fifth in stroke play at 4-under 136, plays collegiately at UCLA.

“I think the greens are faster than normal,” said Canales, who mentioned she plays the course about twice a week during the season. “I didn’t expect them to be this fast. On the flip side, I do think they’ve cut the rough a bit, which evens it out.”

Lignell will be No. 2 seed come match play, but her and Chacon will have to wait to see their opponents.

2023 U.S. Women's Amateur
Briana Chacon shares a laugh with her caddie Greg Puga after hitting her tee shot on hole 18 during the second round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)

Come Wednesday morning, there will be a 10-for-9 playoff for the final match play spots. Charlotte Cantonis birdied her final hole, meaning 65 players were inside the cut line and forcing a playoff.

The playoff will begin at 7 a.m. Wednesday on No. 10, the 205-yard par-3 over a canyon. The scoring average on the hole this week is 3.35.

Gianna Clemente, who won the Junior PGA Championship last week in Arkansas, continued her strong play with a 5-under 65 performance Tuesday afternoon, giving her the third seed for match play. At last month’s U.S. Girls’ Junior, Clemente was the 18th seed and made the semifinals, losing to eventual champion Kiara Romero, an incoming freshman at Oregon.

Clemente said she’s not worried about burning out with her recent busy stretch and is looking forward to match play.

“I love playing competitive golf and never get sick of it,” Clemente said. “I knew I had a busy schedule coming into the summer, but it has been really fun to travel to a lot of new places, and I’ve got a lot of golf left in me.”

Romero and Clemente were paired together the first two rounds, with Romero also making match play after shooting 2-under 138. 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Jensen Castle, a fifth-year at Kentucky, will be a part of the playoff.

Photos: 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club. 

LOS ANGELES — The best women’s amateur golfers in the world are in California for the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur.

Play began Monday at Bel-Air Country Club, which is near UCLA’s campus in Los Angeles. The field of 156 players will compete in two rounds of stroke play before a cut is made for the top 64 players. Any ties will be resolved, and match play begins Wednesday.

The championship final is set for Sunday and will be contested over 36 holes.

Jensen Castle, the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, is the lone winner in the field. Last year’s winner, Saki Baba, isn’t teeing it up.

Here’s a look at some of the best photos from the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club.