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.

Gianna Clemente, Miles Russell capture 2023 Junior PGA Championship titles

It was a special week for Gianna Clemente and Miles Russell.

It was a special week for Gianna Clemente and Miles Russell.

They’re both going home with some new hardware for the trophy case.

Clemente and Russell won their respective divisions of the 47th Junior PGA Championship at Hot Springs Country Club in Hot Springs, Arkansas. Clemente finished at 9-under 275, beating Yana Wilson, Kylie Chong and Kinsley Ni by three shots. Last year, Wilson beat Clemente in the U.S. Girls’ Junior final.

Meanwhile, Russell ran away with the title on the boys side, finishing at 18-under 266 to win by seven shots. Jackson Byrd and Billy Davis tied for second at 11 under.

With their victories, Clemente and Russell earned spots on the Junior Ryder Cup team. Also earning spots were Byrd on the boys side and Chong on the girls side.

Everything to know about the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Eisenhower Golf Club

The event will be the first USGA championship conducted on a military base.

It’s time again for the best girls in the world to battle it out in the biggest junior event.

The 74th U.S. Girls’ Junior begins Monday at United States Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The event will be the first USGA championship conducted on a military base. The site was originally scheduled to host in 2020, but COVID-19 canceled that championship.

Last year, Yana Wilson of Henderson, Nevada, defeated Gianna Clemente of Estero, Florida, 3 and 2, in the 36-hole championship match at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Both are back in the field this week.

Here’s everything you need to know for the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

Five things to know from the second round of 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur beyond World No. 1 Rose Zhang’s brilliance

There were plenty of highlights on a day when red numbers peppered the leaderboard.

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EVANS, Ga. — The Rose Zhang Show broke out early at Champions Retreat and picked up steam as the World No. 1 put together another record day at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The Stanford sophomore broke her own course record with a second-round 65 and now leads Andrea Lignell by five strokes heading into Saturday’s final round at Augusta National.

Zhang’s 13-under 131 total also set a record.

While it almost feels like all that’s left is a celebration of Zhang, there were plenty of other highlights on a day when red numbers peppered the board for one of the most pressure-packed days in golf. A total of 31 players made the cut. Every player in the field, however, will tee it up on Friday for a practice round at Augusta National.

Here are five things to know beyond the Zhang headlines from Day 2 at ANWA:

Golf’s future men’s, women’s stars align at 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley

Everything you need to know for one of, if not the, best junior golf tournaments in the world.

GRANITEVILLE, S.C. — Founded in 2011, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley has become one of, if not the, best competitions in junior golf.

This year’s event at Sage Valley Golf Club, a private, pristine gem of a course nestled among the pines less than 20 miles from famed Augusta National Golf Club, features a loaded field of some of junior golf’s best players from 17 different countries.

Junior Invitational returned to the amateur schedule in 2022 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the 54-hole event featured a new wrinkle: a girls competition held concurrently alongside the boys. Last year’s event didn’t just include the first girls field, but also the first playoff. Not only that, both boys and girls champions were decided by a playoff.

With a pair of gold jackets on the line, here’s everything you need to know for this week’s 2023 Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.

Meet Gianna Clemente: The 14-year-old who Monday-qualified for three consecutive LPGA events

The fields

Neither defending champion will be back in 2023, but Bailey Shoemaker, who held a seven-shot lead entering the final round in 2022 and lost to girls champion Amalie Leth-Nissen in a playoff, returns as a favorite alongside 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis and nine of the top-10 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin girls ranking.

Of the 24 girls in the field, 13 are from the United States, with two from Spain and one from Belgium, Canada, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Taiwan.

The 36-player boys field includes the top-12 players in the Golfweek/Sagarin ranking, such as No. 1 Preston Stout and 2022 AJGA Player of the Year Eric Lee. A whopping 25 of the boys players hail from the United States, while Mexico and the United Kingdom each have two players in the field. Canada, the Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Thailand each have one player in the field.

Records

The lowest rounds recorded both occurred during the inaugural event in 2011, where both Nick Reach (first round) and Justin Thomas (final round) shot 10-under 62. The closest since? That’d be 2019 champion Tom McKibbin, who fired an 8-under 64 in his final round.

Reach also holds the record for lowest 54-hole total after winning by eight shots in 2011 at 20 under following impressive rounds of 62-66-68. Last year’s playoff participants Luke Potter and champion Caleb Surratt each finished at 14 under, the second-best 54-hole total in event history.

On the flipside, the girl’s record books are primed for filling after last year’s inaugural event. Shoemaker holds the mark for lowest score with her 7-under 65 in the second round in 2022, which was two shots better than Davis’ 5-under 67 in the opening round.

Leth-Nissen and Shoemaker each finished at 5 under for the tournament before their playoff.

Past champions

2011: Nicholas Reach

2012: Zachary Olsen

2013: Carson Young

2014: Scottie Scheffler

2015: Marcus Kinhult

2016: Austin Eckroat

2017: Joaquin Niemann

2018: Akshay Bhatia

2019: Tom McKibbin

2020: Jackson Van Paris

2022: Caleb Surratt (boys), Amalie Leth-Nissen (girls)

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Gianna Clemente, the 14-year-old who Monday-qualified for three consecutive LPGA events, will be youngest in field at Augusta National Women’s Amateur

“Seeing the invitation on my front doorstep was like, woah.”

Gianna Clemente watched Jennifer Kupcho and Maria Fassi battle in 2019 at the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur and, like so many, thought: I really want to do that.

Clemente, 14, will be the youngest player in the field at this year’s event, but it still took longer to get there than she expected. Clemente became the youngest player to Monday-qualify for three consecutive LPGA events last year, and the only part of that stretch that surprised her coach, Spencer Graham, was that she didn’t make the cut in any of them.

Clemente, who turns 15 on March 23, isn’t the favorite at this year’s ANWA, which will be held March 29-April 1, the week before the 87th Masters. That would be Rose Zhang, the Stanford super sophomore who first rose to No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings back in September 2020. It’s worth noting, however, that junior golfers have won the past two ANWAs, with 16-year-old Anna Davis winning last year and Japan’s Tsubasa Kajitani triumphing in 2021 at age 17.

Clemente, who is set to graduate in 2026, heads into this week’s Junior Invitational at Sage Valley as the No. 1 player in the Golfweek/Sagarin Junior Rankings. She’s No. 57 in the WAGR. At age 11, she became the third-youngest player to ever qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur.

“Seeing the invitation on my front doorstep was like, woah,” said Clemente, who recently tied for 16th at the Epson Tour’s season-opening event in Winter Haven, Florida, a field that included a number of card-carrying LPGA members and two major champions.

The Clemente family poured a lot into golf early on, with the family deciding to split their time between Ohio and Florida after Gianna finished the third grade. That’s also when she made the switch to online school.

“I remember them kind of sitting me down and saying ‘Hey, this is what we’re thinking about doing, would you be OK with that?’ ” said Gianna. “Obviously 8-year-old me was like ‘Oh yeah, sure, why not?’ I don’t think I fully realized what I was getting myself into at the time. But I’m glad I did it. Obviously, it wouldn’t work out for everybody. It’s not meant for everybody. But it worked out for me, and it’s working pretty good right now.”

Gianna Clemente and her father Patrick (courtesy Epson Tour)

Patrick Clemente called it a weather-dominated decision. He and his wife Julia saw a spark in their daughter’s eyes and a desire to get out and practice more than Ohio winters would allow. South Florida also offered more tournament options, and Gianna had a number of friends living in the area.

Graham, who has worked with Gianna since age six, said he’s most impressed with her “even-keeled killer instinct.”

Patrick agrees, noting that whether it’s pool or ping pong, Gianna, a winner of over 130 tournaments, doesn’t take losing lightly.

“If anything, we have to force her to relax sometimes rather than be more intense,” he said.

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After Clemente came up short in the U.S. Girls’ Junior last summer, Graham and Patrick sat down and quickly hashed out two areas that needed attention: distance control with her putting and wedge game.

“She was more of a hitter of the ball as opposed to a more rolling type of stroke,” said Graham, who runs Junior Golf Performance Academy in Naples, Florida.

It wasn’t long after those concentrated efforts that Clemente went on a roll at LPGA Monday qualifying. The rhythm and timing of her stroke, he said, is now a strength.

Graham describes Gianna as the straightest ball-striker he’s ever seen in junior golf, and that the next level of growth entails areas of the game she’s never worked on, such as learning how to shape the ball and trouble shots.

“She’s a pure ball-striker,” said Graham, who caps a high-level program he calls ‘The Process’ to 15 elite juniors from around the world.

Gianna reports that she’s recently become passionate about fitness as she looks to add more distance to her game. She’s added 10 yards in the past six months.

She’s also newly obsessed with paddle-boarding and, like most teenagers, admits to spending too much time on her phone listening to music, mostly country.

But really, it’s golf that consumes her heart.

“I really spend all my time on the golf course and that’s by choice,” she said. “A lot of people think that’s by force, but it isn’t. I’d spend 24/7 on a golf course if somebody would let me.

“Outside of golf, I’m a normal teenager.”

Gianna signed with IMG last fall for name, image and likeness (NIL) representation. The family has taken a long-term approach when it comes to partnerships and hasn’t yet signed with anyone.

Patrick said the two main takeaways from that Monday-qualifying spree were that she loved it and learned what she needed to work on.

“The level of short game and wedge game that we saw was a whole other level,” said Patrick. “It was great for her to see that first-hand, and she saw it literally for 20 days straight.”

Gianna Clemente plays her tee shot at the fourth hole during the first round of stroke play at the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly Golf Club in West Point, Miss. on Monday, Aug. 5, 2019. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)

The Clementes took a preview trip last December to Champions Retreat Golf Club, where the first two rounds of the ANWA are played on the Island and Bluff nines.

This year, the top 30 players and ties will advance to Saturday’s final round, held over Augusta National. But first, every player in the field will play a practice round over the iconic course.

For the first time ever, the first two rounds will be broadcast on Golf Channel from 1:30-3:30 p.m. ET. NBC will air the final round from 12-3 p.m. ET. Clemente had quite a bit of experience last year playing in front of crowds and television cameras.

“The most special thing that I can say about her,” said Graham, “is that she continues to defy the thought process of how good can a young girl can be against older players.

“She thrives in the pressure.”

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Nasa Hataoka paces Kroger Queen City Championship, where Paula Creamer has an ace, 14-year-old Gianna Clemente shoots 2 under

The LPGA has returned to Cincinnati for the first time since 1989.

MADEIRA, Ohio – The first round of the LPGA’s Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G kicked off Thursday morning at Kenwood Country Club under clear skies.

The battle for the top of the leaderboard was heated, but Nasa Hataoka found herself on top early with a 7-under round of 65 to pace the field. Hataoka is followed by Sarah Kemp and A Lim Kim, both at 6-under. While Hataoka’s scorecard didn’t feature any eagles, she did card eight birdies and only one bogey.

Amateur sensation Gianna Clemente, the 14-year-old who Monday qualified after shooting a 65, shot a bogey-free 2-under 70, good enough to be T-22 alongside fellow amateur and Xavier University golfer Emma McMyler.

Also at 2 under is LPGA pro Jillian Hollis, whose caddie, Luke Brennaman, helped her avoid penalty strokes by identifying she had 15 clubs in the bag before teeing off.

On the opposite end of the leaderboard, Minjee Lee, the top-ranked player on the LPGA, found herself T-138 after carding a 4-over 76. Brooke Henderson, the fifth-ranked player and one of Lee’s playing partners this week, finished with a 1-under 71.

Perhaps the most interesting round of the morning wave came from Paula Creamer, who was grouped with Lee and Henderson. Creamer’s adventure around the Kendale course included a double bogey on the par-4 16th hole, a hole-out eagle at the par-4 fifth hole and a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth hole.

This is the first time the highest level of professional women’s golf has been played in Cincinnati since 1989 when the Jack Nicklaus Golf Center near Kings Island hosted the LPGA Championship.

Built in 1930, Kenwood also hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 1963.

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Gianna Clemente, 14, shoots 65 in Cincinnati to Monday qualify for a third consecutive week on the LPGA

“I definitely didn’t expect a 65, but I got the putter on fire.”

It’s not just that Gianna Clemente has Monday-qualified for an LPGA event a third consecutive week. While that’s certainly impressive enough, consider that she also carded a 7-under 65 at Kenwood Country Club to win by three and earn her spot in the field at the Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati.

At 14 years old, Clemente becomes the youngest player to ever Monday qualify for three consecutive events. She’s also only the second player to do it, following in the footsteps of South Korea’s Hee-Won Han in 2001. Han went on to win six times on the LPGA.

“I definitely didn’t expect a 65,” said Clemente, “but I got the putter on fire.”

Gianna Clemente watches her tee shot on the fifth hole during the second round of the Dana Open presented by Marathon at Highland Meadows Golf Club on September 02, 2022 in Sylvania, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Monday marked the first time Clemente has qualified on the actual tournament course. Weather kept her from being able to play a practice round at Kenwood, but she did walk 14 of the holes. Her father and caddie, Patrick, walked all 18. Clemente said she didn’t sleep well the night before and chalked it up to life on the road.

Clemente qualified for the CP Women’s Open in late August followed by the Dana Open in Sylvania, Ohio. She has yet to make the cut. The high school freshman was runner-up in her first U.S. Girls’ Junior appearance earlier this summer.

Anna Davis, 16, winner of the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, is competing this week on a sponsor exemption and saw her friend in the parking lot before she teed off.

“I just told her she’s big-time and to have a good round,” said Davis. “Yeah, but she’s a good friend of mine, and she’s solid. Especially being at that young of an age, I thought I was young, and then she just qualified three times in a row, and I was like, maybe I’m not that young.”

Amateurs must apply for an exemption to participate in LPGA local qualifiers. The Clementes live in Warren, Ohio, and Gianna went to the Dana Open as a kid, mostly following Lexi Thompson.

“I’ve learned that this is definitely what I want to do with my life,” said Clemente, “and this is where I want to belong in the future. I stick out a little bit now because I look young and I am young.”

Clemente said putting is what has held her back of late. Before Monday’s round, she used the metronome app on her cell phone to work on the speed of her stroke. She first began working with putting coach David Angelotti at Sea Island 18 months ago.

“I have a really naturally slow stroke,” said Clemente, “so I do my best to speed it up, and when I speed it up that works.”

Rain closed the course again Tuesday, so Clemente took the opportunity to catch up on her schoolwork. She worked on her world history, English, science and algebra classes prior to taking several calls from the media. She planned to get out her metronome again Tuesday afternoon.

“It’s definitely a lot easier to prepare now, having already seen the course,” said Clemente, “knowing what it looks like and knowing how to play it.”

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Meet 14-year-old Gianna Clemente, who has Monday-qualified for the last two LPGA events

It’s Gianna Clemente’s second time in as many weeks to Monday qualify.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lexi Thompson signed a glove for Gianna Clemente not far from where the 14-year-old stood on the first tee at Highland Meadows Golf Club on Tuesday giving an interview. From ages 5 to 10, Clemente and her family made the three-hour trek from Warren, Ohio, to Sylvania to watch what’s now known as the Dana Open.

“A lot of people still think I have the attitude of Lexi,” said Clemente, “really feisty, really serious at times. I literally wanted to watch Lexi for 18 holes, that was me as a kid.”

Clemente, a high school freshman who was runner-up at the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior, played in her first LPGA Monday Qualifier last week in Canada and earned a spot in the CP Women’s Open field for her first LPGA start. Incredibly, she Monday-qualified again for this week’s Dana Open, bouncing back from a late double with two birdies to shoot 3-under 69 and win the qualifier.

“I saw Lexi in the locker room in Canada,” said Clemente, “and I was just way too scared to go up and say hi.”

She played a practice round with Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis and Cristie Kerr and hit balls next to World No. 1 Jin Young Ko. (“I was like oh, oh my goodness.”) Clemente shot 69-74 to miss the cut in Ottawa.

“Just seeing everybody inside the ropes, Nelly and Lexi, all the big names you see on TV,” she said. “To be inside the ropes and playing, that was surreal.”

Mostly though, Clemente seems relatively at ease in the professional environment. Certainly when it comes to the media.

“I’ve always loved the cameras and attention,” she said.

Clemente was given an exemption to compete in the Monday qualifier for next week’s new Kroger Queen City Championship in Cincinnati, as well. Amateurs must apply for an exemption to participate in LPGA local qualifiers.

Patrick Clemente, a former collegiate player at Youngstown State, gave his daughter her first set of plastic clubs when she was 18 months old. She played in her first tournament at age 5. The Clementes live on a golf course, Avalon Lakes, in Warren.

“At about 9, 10 as crazy as that sounds,” said Patrick, “you could see this is what she wanted to do.”

Gianna has done online schooling since the fourth grade, and at age 11, she became the third-youngest player to qualify for the 2019 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Old Waverly. Only Lucy Li (10 years, 10 months, 4 days) and Latanna Stone (10 years, 11 months and 2 days) were younger.

Patrick, VP of sales for a manufacturing company, is on the bag most weeks. Both father and daughter typically have homework left to do once they leave the course.

“We’re seeing a little bit of overdue marks on my assignments right now,” said Gianna. “It’s OK. I’m going to do it later when I get back to the hotel.”

Next month, Gianna heads to the Amundi Evian Juniors Cup in France. She’ll also try to defend her title at AJGA’s Ping Invitational at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

As for turning professional early, Gianna said she can’t yet talk to college coaches but isn’t ruling anything out.

“For now, I do want to go to college,” she said. “But we’ll see what happens. I still have a lot of time.”

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