The Round of 64 is complete at the 120th U.S. Women’s Amateur and many of the pre-championship favorites are still in the running for the Robert Cox Trophy. Gabriela Ruffels, the 2019 champion, is still alive in her quest to become the first player since Danielle Kang (2010-11) to successfully defend her title, while top-seed Rachel Heck is attempting to become the first medalist to win since Amanda Blumenherst in 2008.

The field will be reduced from 32 to eight on Friday, as patience and stamina will be paramount for the competitors to survive this demanding double-round day to reach the quarterfinals. Golf Channel will broadcast the action at Woodmont Country Club from 1-4 p.m. EDT.

Here are three things to know going into play today:

Champions Clash

Two USGA champions remain in the Women’s Amateur field, but only one will emerge from the Round of 32. The 2019 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion, Lei Ye, will square off against last year’s winner of this championship, Ruffels, at 9:20 a.m. EDT. Both players were challenged by tough opponents in their first-round matches, but answered the call with key shots down the stretch. On Thursday, Ye took advantage of a rare misstep from Megha Ganne on the 17th to sneak past the 2019 Women’s Amateur semifinalist, 1 up, while Ruffels found her groove midway through her match with Kajal Mistry, winning five of seven holes from Nos. 9-15 to turn a 1-down deficit into a 3-and-2 victory.

Player Options

Nearly all of Woodmont’s 18 greens are elevated and have closely mown areas surrounding them. That gives players options with how to play shots around these well-guarded greens. Trillium Rose, Woodmont’s Director of Instruction, has seen competitors use four main strategies: putting the ball from off the green, hitting a low-runner with a hybrid, playing a bump-and-run with a mid-iron, or using a wedge to fly it all the way to the hole with some spin.

Another decision the players will need to make on Friday is at the fifth hole, where the teeing ground has been moved up some 40 yards to give players’ the option of attacking this par 5 in two. What was a true three-shot hole for most of the field during stroke play and in the Round of 64 will be an opportunity to swing a match with aggressive play today. Watch for some birdies and maybe even an eagle or two in the Rounds of 32 and 16.

Comeback Kids

For a while on Thursday, it looked as if Isabella Fierro and Courtney Dow would be going home after the Round of 64, but both charged from behind to emerge victorious. Fierro needed to win four of her last six holes against Gina Kim to get past the 2019 U.S. Women’s Open low amateur in 19 holes, while Dow was 4 down early in her match to Catherine Park, before rallying to win six of nine holes between Nos. 8-16. Dow sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second hole – the 20th of the match – to advance. Both players have plenty of match-play experience with a combined 16 U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur appearances between them, so expect a tight battle to see who can gain the upper hand early in this showdown.

Mike Trostel is the executive producer of content for the USGA. Email him at mtrostel@usga.org.