What Happened

Notable

• In a rematch from last month’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, Isabella Fierro, 17, of Mexico turned the tide on Alexa Pano, 13, of Lake Worth, Fla., with a 3-and-1 victory. Pano beat Fierro in the Round of 32, 4 and 3, en route to a runner-up finish.
  
  
• Five Round-of-64 matches went to extra holes and all of them ended on the 19th hole.
  
  
• Yoonhee Kim, who was one of the eight players eliminated in Wednesday morning’s 9-for-1 playoff for the final match-play spot, was on the course later in the afternoon to caddie for good friend Yealimi Noh. Kim, a junior at the University of California-Davis, caddied for Noh in her run to last month’s U.S. Girls’ Junior title at Poppy Hills Golf Course in Pebble Beach, Calif. Noh advanced with a 1-up win over Allisen Corpuz.
  
  
• Ashley Gilliam, the last remaining Tennessee resident in the championship, lost to 2016 semifinalist Yuka Saso, of the Philippines, 4 and 3. Tennessee native Kaylee Benton, of Litchfield Park, Ariz., did advance, 4 and 2, over Caroline Curtis. Benton was born in Jackson, Tenn.
  
  
• Lauren Stephenson, 21, of Lexington, S.C., joined fellow 2018 USA Curtis Cup competitors Lucy Li and Kristen Gillman in the Round of 32 with a 1-up win over Stephanie Bunque.
  
  
• The two remaining 2018 Great Britain and Ireland Curtis Cup players each advanced; third-seeded Olivia Mehaffey, 6 and 5 over Hannah Facchini; and 15-year-old Annabell Fuller, 2 and 1 over 2016 USA Curtis Cup competitor Mika Liu.
  
  
• Lauren Greenlief, 27, of Ashburn, Va., kept alive the hopes for the first title by a mid-amateur (25 and older) in 40 years with a 3-and-2 win over 14-year-old lefty Thienna Hyunh.
  
  
• 56-year-old Ellen Port, of St. Louis, Mo., saw her run end with a 4-and-3 loss to Dylan Kim. Port is believed to be the second-oldest player to qualify for match play in the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
  
  
• Play was delayed for 94 minutes, beginning at 9:41 a.m., due to thunderstorms.

Quotable

Co-medalist Lucy Li, 15, of Redwood Shores, Calif., on playing just 15 holes in her Round-of-64 victory:

“It’s match play, and anything can happen. I’ve had matches where I’ve been 5 up, 4 up and gone all the way to the last hole, so it’s definitely really important to push down the pedal and try to get it done. I feel like I’ve been playing really solid the whole week, and I’ve just got to keep that going.”

2016 USA Curtis Cup competitor Bailey Tardy, 22, of Peachtree Corners, Ga., on overcoming an early 3-down deficit to defeat Kailie Vongsaga, 2 and 1:

“I feel like every year, I go down like three. I think I did [this in 2015 in the Round of 64 against Dylan Kim] and I came back and won, 1 up. Match play, you can never give up on yourself. It doesn’t matter how much you go down or how much you’re up. You just have to act like it’s always all square or you’re always trying to win another hole. You can never breathe easy in match play. It’s what I’ve learned from the past and I kind of took that advice and ran with it.”

Jaclyn Lee, 21, of Canada, on getting into the field as a last-minute alternate, making match play and rallying from 2 down with four to play to win her Round-of-64 match over Kylie Raines:

“I believed that I belonged in this field. To qualify into this tournament, though, it’s so difficult. I’m lucky that I’m able to be here, but I feel comfortable here for sure.”

Elizabeth Wang, 18, of San Marino, Calif., on eliminating world No. 1 Jennifer Kupcho:

“Jennifer is an amazing player, and actually we knew each other because I used to live in Colorado, so we always played junior tournaments together. It was great to be able to play with a friend, especially since we only see each other once a year now for amateur tournaments. My dad, I think, was really helpful [as a caddie] because sometimes I would hit a really bad shot, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, what am I thinking, what am I going to do now?’ Dad is like, ‘Oh, don’t worry, calm down, just play your own game and you’ll be fine.’”

2015 runner-up Sierra Brooks, 20, of Lake Mary, Fla., on her late rally to beat Hailee Cooper, 2 and 1:

“It started on No. 14, the par 3. I stuck one to like 5 feet and made that for birdie and finally got some momentum, and from there was able to finish it off and just keep it going. I hit a lot of good shots coming in.”

David Shefter is a senior staff writer for the USGA. Email him at dshefter@usga.org

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