Latanna Stone had an impressive run in Los Angeles last week.
An impressive run for LSU graduate student golfer [autotag]Latanna Stone[/autotag] ended with a runner-up finish at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, which was played at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles this past weekend.
Stone came up short in the match-play final against Auburn’s Megan Schofill 4&3, but she took down the No. 7, 10 and 25 amateurs in the world to reach the final at the event despite battling injuries throughout the week.
“I think that I know that I can do this and hang out with the ’big guys,'” Stone said in a release. “It’s just so special. I have my parents and my coaches here and I’m going to cherish this moment forever.”
Stone will return to LSU for a fifth season this fall.
“It gives me a lot of confidence,” she said. “I’m so excited to go back and spend time with my teammates and coaches. I think we’re going to have a great year this year.”
Stone currently ranks as the No. 34 amateur in the women’s World Amateur Golf Rankings.
LOS ANGELES — Billy Schofill is superstitious by trade. So it’s no surprise to hear Megan Schofill, his daughter, also is.
That’s why since it wasn’t broken, there was no point in trying to fix it.
Schofill, 22 from Monticello, Florida, was succeeding in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club, so Billy didn’t want to risk it and possibly jinx his daughter. So he resorted to staying at home and stressing while watching his daughter compete for her biggest title in her career on TV.
Only Billy knows what his reaction was like when she won.
Schofill was unflappable Sunday in the canyons of Bel-Air, topping fellow Floridian Latanna Stone 4 and 3 to win the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur. Schofill, who’s set to begin her fifth year at Auburn this coming week, took the lead for good in the 36-hole final on the 15th hole of the morning session during a stretch of three consecutive holes she won to hold a 3 up lead heading into the break.
“I’m definitely still in shock,” Schofill said on the 15th green, where moments earlier Stone missed a par putt to halve the hole. “What an honor. This golf course was unreal. If you would have asked me coming into this week that I was going to be the champion, I would have said I got a long way to go, but you know, it just shows all the hard work has paid off and I really need to be proud of myself and just build on this.”
Schofill and Stone, who’s set to begin her fifth year at LSU this fall, are good friends, so it wasn’t a surprise to see them chatting each other up during their walk Sunday up and down the hills of Bel-Air.
Not until the back nine did the conversations become quiet.
Schofill led 4 up with nine holes to play, and Stone had numerous opportunities to shrink the gap, but a cold putter in the afternoon session took away any chance to dig into the lead.
Stone missed short putts on the ninth hole and 11th hole. Opportunities were there for her to claw her way back closer, but nothing fell. Earlier in the week, Stone was 5 down thru seven before winning in 20 holes, so Schofill knew no lead was safe.
“We never allowed ourselves to think about winning,” Schofill’s caddie and boyfriend, C.J. Easley, said. “It was just one shot at a time, one hole at a time. Even when we got four up with 10 to go, I just asked her to give me 10 more good holes. Give me nine more good holes. Latanna is a really good player, and she’s going to make a run. We just have to do one shot at a time.
“I don’t even have the words to describe it. It’s just super cool from my perspective to see her accomplish this. I was glad to be along for the ride.”
On Saturday night, Schofill admitted she was antsy. When her and Easley’s food didn’t arrive at 7:20 p.m. and instead came 20 minutes later, it set her off. Not as much as when Easley’s alarm went off at 4 a.m.
“I was like, ‘I’m not going back to sleep now,’” Schofill said.
A sunny day turned cloudy and cool as the players marched down the back nine. Schofill’s worst shot of the championship came on the par-5 14th, when her tee shot sailed right and landed on mulch covering the side of the canyon. She found the ball, but with an awkward stance could only manage to get it to the rough. She ended up losing the hole.
On the next hole, the clinching one, she wasn’t going to let the tee shot go right, but she smashed a drive up the left side. Then she capitalized, hitting her iron to about 5 feet. Stone left her second short and in the rough. After Stone’s pitch shot ran past the hole, Schofill barely missed her birdie chance, but Stone was unable to knock in the par and conceded the match.
Megan Schofill kisses the Robert Cox Trophy on the iconic hole ten bridge after winning the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
“The disappointments you have in the game make you want to feel those big moments that much more,” Auburn women’s golf coach Melissa Luellen said. “She’s had a couple of SEC Championships where she has been runner-up twice. For someone that has worked so hard and so talented, she hadn’t won that big tournament yet.
“This is huge. This is a game changer for someone who wins the U.S. Women’s Amateur.”
Luellen was at Bel-Air earlier in the week and told her players if they advanced to the championship match, she would be back. After a late flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles on Saturday, she was back to support Schofill for every hole Sunday.
However, being as superstitious as she is, Schofill said if she had a poor start, Luellen would have to leave. Instead, Luellen watched her team leader become the first Auburn Tiger to win a U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Schofill was emotional during the trophy ceremony, thanking her parents and Easley for their support. Earlier in the week, she said how well Easley and her worked together and how the comfortable partnership pushed her.
Megan Schofill hugs her boyfriend and caddie CJ Easley after winning the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
“I just felt like with him on the bag, I really don’t think without him any of this would have happened this week,” Schofill said.
It all came to fruition on the 15th green, when she hoisted the Robert Cox Trophy toward the overcast skies as tears streamed from her face. Schofill was the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, and she finally had that elusive big title.
LOS ANGELES — Latanna Stone and Megan Schofill are good friends.
The two have competed against each other for four years in the Southeastern Conference, Stone playing for LSU and Schofill for Auburn. The Tigers, though from different litters, will battle for supremacy Sunday in the canyons of Bel-Air.
Stone and Schofill will play for the Robert Cox Trophy on Sunday, as the duo advanced to the championship match of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur on Saturday at Bel-Air Country Club. What has been a stellar week in LA comes to a close with 36 holes Sunday, but one of the fifth-year golfers hailing from Florida will be a United States Golf Association champion by day’s end.
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.
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.
Aine Donegan, Latanna Stone and Taylor Riley will represent the Tigers in Los Angeles this week.
Three LSU golfers will open qualifying at the 123rd U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles on Monday.
[autotag]Aine Donegan[/autotag], [autotag]Latanna Stone[/autotag] and [autotag]Taylor Riley[/autotag] are all among the 156-golfer field and look to be among the 64 golfers who advance beyond the two 18-hole rounds of qualifying and on to match play, which begins on Wednesday.
Stone, who will be a graduate student this fall, advanced to match play at the British Women’s Amateur earlier this summer. Donegan, a junior, was one of four amateurs to make the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach earlier this summer.
Riley, a sophomore and California native, reached the semifinal in the California State Women’s Amateur earlier this year.
How does a golfer go from anonymous to overnight sensation? A 69 in the opening round of the #USWomensOpen doesn't hurt!@LSUWomensGolf's @DoneganAine will look for another strong showing in California when she tees it up in the #USWomensAm.
Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
AUGUSTA, Georgia – LSU senior Latanna Stone for the second straight year will play in the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Saturday at Augusta National Golf Club after firing a 1-under par round of 71 Thursday here at Champion’s Retreat.
Stone, who was T2 in last year’s event, firing three rounds of 72, posted her best round in her two times of playing the event and finished 36 holes at even par 144 (73-71). She stands T14 after two rounds against an elite field of 72 golfers from around the world.
The Riverview, Florida native started her round on the 10th hole and posted a bogey when she couldn’t get up and down from a greenside bunker. But that was her only hiccup on the second nine as she posted birdies at the par 4 15th and the par 3 17th (second straight day to birdie the hole) to turn for the second straight day at 1-under 35.
On the first nine, Stone was able to get birdies at the par 4 second and par 4 seventh before bogeying her final two holes to post even par over those nine holes.
“I feel like I played really good out there today,” Stone told the media afterwards. “Last two holes just kind of unfortunate a little bit. Made two bogeys coming in, but I think it might be good enough total for two days, so we’ll see.”
Stone was in the first group of the day but by the time she finished her score was already more than good enough to finish above the cutline to advance.
The day began in a cold morning fog that delayed Stone’s 8 a.m. ET start time an hour. The fog settled over several holes and with no wind to blow it away it just hung in the area. Stone and her group were on the 10th tee when the delay was first announced as 10 minutes and then later 20 minutes to 8:30 before it was decided to regroup at 9 a.m. ET.
Of the delay and staying ready to play, Stone said: “Yeah, I was contemplating on going back (to the practice range) after they said 8:20 or 8:30. When they said 9 a.m. restart I was like, okay, just going to go back and like rewarm up.”
Although much colder at the start of the round, the sun was out all day quickly warming temperatures into the low 70s. And with warmer temperatures and virtually no wind, the cut line which this year included the ties instead of a hard 30, barely moved all day long.
The cut by mid round had moved to 3-over par 147 but then moved back to +2 and late missed putts made the difference for a few golfers in making or missing the cut.
With leader Rose Zhang shooting 65 on Friday and standing at 13-under par 131 after 36 holes at Champions Retreat, Stone was asked about the mindset with a player having such a big lead. “I think that I’m just going to go out there and have fun and just play golf on Saturday. So just enjoy the course. Yeah, I mean, anything can happen. It’s Augusta National, so…,” Stone said.
Stone had to go through qualifying again this year and be in that Top 30 to have another final round tee time in the ANWA.
“It’s kind of like just getting there, right?” said Stone. “You got to get there to get to the weekend. I think that playing steady golf, it works, so, I mean, just making it to the weekend.”
Stone posted steady numbers with eight total birdies in 36 holes, 21 pars, 6 bogeys and only one of the so-called big numbers, a double bogey. In Wednesday’s first round, Stone hit 13-of-14 fairways and 11 greens in regulation.
One thing Stone is happy for is that her entire LSU team will be on hand to watch her play in the final round.
“I’m so looking forward to seeing all my teammates,” she said with a big smile. “Really excited. I just can’t wait for them to watch and enjoy Augusta National.”
Overall, Zhang’s lead is five shots over Andrea Lignell of Ole Miss who is at -8, 136, with Georgia’s Jenny Bae in third at 6-under 138.
A total of 13 golfers broke par for the 36 holes and a total of 31 golfers qualified at +2 146 or better.
Both Ingrid Lindblad and Carla Tejedo were unable to make the top 30 with Lindblad posting a 2-over 74 Thursday to finish at 8-over par 152 and a tie for 59th. Tejedo improved on the second day with 74 as well to finish at 9-over par 153 and T63.
All 72 players are invited to Augusta National Golf Club on Friday to play a round over the historic layout before the final round on Saturday. It was announced in the media room late Thursday afternoon that the tournament committee will not announce tee times until Friday afternoon because of a weather forecast that does not look ideal.
Presently, there is a 90 percent chance of thunderstorms on Saturday. A postponement is not a possibility with the Drive, Chip and Putt scheduled for Sunday and activities for The Masters getting underway on Monday.
The television coverage on Friday will be on an edition of “Live From The Augusta Women’s National” on the Golf Channel beginning at Noon CT. Live coverage Saturday of the final round is set for 11 a.m. CT on NBC and Peacock.
History repeated itself once again at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Wednesday’s first round of match play made for a bad day for the favorites at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
The Round of 64 featured upset losses for the top seed Latanna Stone and defending champion Jensen Castle at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, as history continued to repeat itself at one of amateur golf’s most prestigious championships. This year marked the sixth time in the last nine years that the No. 64 seed has knocked off the No. 1 seed, and it’s also the second year in a row where the defending champion has lost in the first round.
“Honestly I wouldn’t say I was intimidated because we’re all at such a high level, I feel like it’s really anyone’s game,” said Misemer, a rising freshman at Arizona. “I kind of got that No. 64 coin on the first tee and I was like, ‘I want to always remember this as a good thing.’ I just tried to relax.”
Castle, a senior at Kentucky, was locked in a back-and-forth battle with Aneka Seumanutafa but made bogey on the last hole to lose, 1 up.
Defeat the defending champion = earn @Lexus Top Performance of the Day!
“This year has been a whirlwind. It’s been crazy. It’s been awesome. So many exemptions, so many great opportunities and a ton of great learned lessons. It’s been a year that I won’t forget for sure,” said Castle after the loss.
Five of the 32 matches on Wednesday went to extra holes and four were decided by six holes or more, the in a Round of 64 since 2012.
The Round of 32 is already underway Thursday morning, with the Round of 16 to follow in the afternoon. Friday will feature the quarterfinal matches, with the semifinals on Saturday and 36-hole final on Sunday.
Others are salvaging the final days of their summers, spending time at the pool or doing whatever to distract themselves of the impending return to school this fall. Zhao, however, is dominating one of the premier women’s amateur golf events in the world.
Zhao earned co-medalist honors at the 122nd U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. After 36 holes of stroke play, Zhao sat at 10-under 136, tied with Latanna Stone and Laney Frye. The trio will occupy the top three seeds when match play begins Wednesday with the round of 64.
Stone earned the first seed for match play after firing a 8-under 65, a new women’s competitive record at Chambers Bay.
“Just like yesterday, everything was working well,” Stone said. “I was hitting the ball great and putted really well. Putting kind of saved me a little bit today. But it’s just fairways and greens and keeping it simple. I’m really pumped for match play. I think I can play really aggressive – even more aggressive than I did in stroke play. Yeah, I’m excited.”
Zhao, who shot 6-under 67 in the opening round, was 4 under on Tuesday. Frye was consistent, shooting two rounds of 5-under 68.
Stone will be the top-seeded player in match play, with Zhao earning the second seed and Frye the third.
“I had a couple of mistakes, but otherwise I played pretty solid today,” Zhao, from China, said. “I think I missed two short birdie putts. I really like match play, so hopefully I can put together another couple good rounds.”
Defending champion Jensen Castle, who will be a senior at Kentucky, shot 4-under 69 in the second round to finish in a tie for 14th after stroke play. Rachel Heck, the top-ranked player in the field, finished tied for 46th at 2 over. Megha Ganne, an incoming freshman at Stanford, is in a tie for fourth at 7 under.
Stroke play isn’t quite over yet, however. There was an 8-for-4 playoff to determine the final match play spots that began on the par-4 10th hole. Jieni Li, Jennifer Rosenberg and Camryn Carreon all made par to qualify. Alice Hodge was eliminated with a double bogey, and Victoria Zheng, Julia Misemer, Emma Abramson and Anika Dy made bogey to move on to the second playoff hole.
Playing the par-3 17th, all but Abramson made par, and the playoff was suspended due to darkness. It will resume at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday with Zheng, Misemer and Dy playing the par-5 18th hole to determine who earns the final match play spot.
The Tigers are off to NCAA Regionals on a good run of form.
Latanna Stone still can’t get over the response. Just recently the LSU junior received two letters in the mail from admirers who appreciated how she handled a tough loss at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Even that night after the round, a surprise direct message from Maria Fassi on social media had her in shock.
Fassi, of course, is one of the few people in the world who could relate, having finished runner-up at the inaugural event to Jennifer Kupcho.
“It was really almost calming to hear,” said Stone. Fassi said she wanted to crawl through the TV to give Stone a hug.
As Stone says, it was “just two holes.” But those two holes – a double-bogey on the 17th and a bogey on the 18th at Augusta National – lost Stone what many consider to be the most coveted prize in amateur golf.
Even so, Stone said she was more nervous competing in the SEC Championship last weekend than she was the back nine at Augusta National.
“I don’t know, it just felt way more important,” said Stone. “I could let everyone down if I don’t win this match.”
The power of a team.
Stone birdied her last three holes to seal LSU’s first SEC title in 30 years at Greystone Country Club’s Legacy Club, where the Tigers beat Florida, 4-1.
LSU after winning the 2022 SEC Championship. (Photo by: Andrew Wevers)
Ingrid Lindblad, a junior from Sweden who finished second at the ANWA for a second straight year earlier this month, trounced Annabell Fuller, 6 and 5, in the championship match.
Lindblad keeps looking back at pictures and videos from SECs with a “wow, we did that” reaction. She feels the same way when she looks back at the birdie she made on the 14th at Augusta on Saturday followed by eagle on the 15th.
This year’s runner-up finish at the ANWA wasn’t as tough to swallow, she said, given that she closed with a 4-under 68 to climb up the leaderboard.
LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad during the 2022 SEC Championship. (Photo: Andrew Wevers)
Anna Davis was the surprise winner at Augusta, a 16-year-old high school sophomore who recently earned a sponsor invite into next week’s new LPGA event at Palos Verdes. While Davis prepares for her LPGA debut, Lindblad and Stone are busy preparing for NCAA regional action.
“I think we’ve just got to take one step at a time,” said Lindblad, “not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Stone hopes the team has a crawfish boil sometime soon to celebrate SECs.
Is she over the heartbreak at Augusta?
“I’m still like shoot,” said Stone. “But at the same time, you kind of have to move on, and what’s done is done.”
EVANS, Ga. — With 72 of the best women’s amateur golfers in the field it was no surprise that 36 holes weren’t enough to determine the top-30 players to make the cut at the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Following a 7.5-hour weather delay on Thursday, second-round action rolled over to Friday morning at Champions Retreat Golf Club, host of the first two rounds of play, and featured a 4-for-1 playoff for the last spot in Saturday’s final round. After making par on Nos. 10, 11, and 17 on the first three playoff holes, Paula Schulz-Hanssen emerged victorious with a fourth par on No. 18, dispatching Virginia’s Amanda Sambach, who made bogey. Arizona State senior Alexandra Forsterling was eliminated with a bogey on No. 11, with Vanderbilt senior Auston Kim doing the same on the 17th.
As if qualifying for the final round at Augusta National Golf Club wasn’t good enough, Schulz-Hanssen did so on her 19th birthday.
“I was so nervous, but I just tried to not think too much about it, and Charles, my caddie, and I was just like, ‘Just trust your game. Just do your own thing,’” explained Schulz-Hanssen, who missed the cut at last year’s ANWA. “Yeah, I didn’t make any big mistakes. So I think that was the key.”
Florida State senior Beatrice Wallin – the lone player to shoot under par in the second round – and LSU junior Latanna Stone are tied atop the leaderboard at even par entering the final round.
Wallin is no stranger to the weekend at Augusta National after finishes of T-7 in 2019 and T-10 in 2021. Knowing it’s her last time at the event, the 22-year-old from Sweden is just soaking it all in one last time.
“So I’m just going to go out there with a big smile and see, whatever happens, happens,” said Wallin.
Stone has some Augusta National experience as well, having been a national finalist at the 2014 Drive, Chip & Putt.
“I’m really pumped to play Augusta. I’ve never played it before, so it’s going to be a real treat,” said Stone. “I’ve just been trying to keep it simple – fairways, greens, two-putt, and kind of get off. I’m not trying to do anything special. I know there’s not a lot of birdies out there, and I’m just trying to stay patient.”
The Riverview, Florida, native remembers watching Bubba Watson’s famous shot from the Woods at the 2012 Masters and even had the chance to go in the PING vault and see his wedge. Would she try to recreate that shot during Friday afternoon’s practice round?
“I don’t know about that,” she said with a smile. “I’m just going to try to hit the fairway.”
