From the Start of the 1st Match, Schofill Dominates the U.S. Women's Am

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LOS ANGELES -- Megan Schofill started her first match (the Round of 64) at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship on Wednesday by making an eagle at the 501-yard, par-5 first hole at Bel-Air Country Club. She made four birdies in the next 11 holes and was 5 under par for the 12 holes she played in a 7&6 demolition of Jackie Rogowicz.

In the stroke-play qualifying that preceded the match-play portion of the tournament, Schofill put together a 36-hole  total of 136, having opened with 70 and followed it with a 4-under 66. That put her in a tie for fifth place, and she got the No. 6 seed for match play. From that point on, she played better than anyone else. Schofill was at least 2 under in every one of her six matches, 20 under par in all, and she capped off her triumph Sunday by going 5 under for 33 holes in a 4&3 victory over the No. 45 seed, Latanna Stone, in the scheduled 36-hole final. 

Both of the finalists are Floridians -- Schofill is from Monticello, Stone from Riverview -- and they have been competing against each other since they were in eighth grade. The U.S. Am is serious golf, especially the title match, but there were a lot of smiles and laughs on Sunday as the two finalists walked the fairways together.  

Schofill started the championship match with a birdie at the first hole. That got the 22-year-old University of Alabama grad student to 8 under on No. 1 for the eight rounds she had played at that point, but she didn't win the hole. Stone made a birdie, too, and the 21-year-old LSU grad student took the initial lead in the match when she made a 25-foot putt for birdie at the 108-yard, par-3 fifth. That was the only lead Stone had on Sunday, and it lasted just one hole.

Throughout the week, Schofill made birdies in bunches, and she made three in a row to conclude front nine. The first one came at the 340-yard, par-4 seventh, and the second was a concession at the 509-yard, par-5 eighth, after Stone made a bogey. Just as they had done on the first hole, both players made birdies the par-4 ninth, which meant that Schofill was 1 up as they made the turn.

Stone leveled the match by making a birdie at the par-4 12th, but Schofill established a lead that she would never relinquish by winning three holes in a row -- Nos. 15, 16 and 17. She won the 409-yard, par-4 15th when Stone three-putted for a bogey. At the par-3 16th, Schofill made a 55-foot putt from the back of the green for a birdie, and she followed that with a wedge shot to within a foot of the cup at the par-4  17th for a tap-in birdie -- and a 3-up lead going into the lunch break.

"I felt like that was huge going into the second 18," said Schofill, who is No. 21 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings. (Schofill beat the player with the highest ranking in the Women's Am field, No. 4 Anna Davis, 2&1 in the quarterfinals.)

(Dave Podas, the former head professional at Minneapolis Golf Club, has been the Director of Golf at Bel-Air since 2003, and he served as the referee for the morning round of Sunday's match.)

Stone, who is No. 21 in the WAGRs, and who came back from 5 down after 7 holes and 4 down after 12 to beat Yana Wilson on the 20th hole in the Round of 16 match, won the first hole of the afternoon round with a birdie. It was the first time Schofill lost the par-5 opening hole all week, but she responded by winning the par-4 second with a par. Stone cut her deficit to 2 down once again when she birdied the sixth, but that was as close as she got. Having birdied the seventh, eighth and ninth holes in the morning, Schofill birdied the par-4 seventh and par-5 eighth again in the afternoon.

Suddenly, she was 4 up. 

The next five holes were tied with pars, and then Stone won the par-5 14th with a birdie. But for the third time in the afternoon round, Schofill came back from losing a hole by winning the next one, in this case the 409-yard, par-4 15th, where she hit a 165-yard 6-iron second shot to 8 feet. Although she missed the birdie putt, her par was conceded, and when Stone missed a 5-footer for par, the U.S. Women's Amateur title was Schofill's.  

"It's definitely a dream come true," the winner said afterward. "I'm definitely still in shock. I can't put into words the emotions I'm feeling. It's just such an honor to be able to say I won here this year."


U.S. Women's Amateur Championship

At Bel-Air Country Club 

Par 70, 6,155 yards

Los Angeles

Stroke Play results (the top 64 finishers in stroke play will begin the match-play part of the tournament Wednesday morning)

1. Briana Chacon, Whittier, Calif.                66-65--131
 
2. Andrea Lignell, Sweden                           68-65--133

3. Gianna Clemente, Estero, Fla.                69-65--134

4. Katie Cranston, Canada                          67-68--135

T5. Caroline Canales, Calabasas, Calif.      66-70--136

T5. Hailey Borja, Lake Forest, Calif.            68-68--136

T5. Megan Schofill, Monticello, Fla.             70-66--136

T8. Rachel Heck, Memphis, Tenn.               70-67--137

T8. Nikki Oh, Torrance, Calif.                      69-68--137

T8. Malia Nam, Kailua, Hawaii                    68-69--137

Cut -- 144 (There was a 10-way tie at 144; so there will be a 10-for-9 playoff Wednesday morning.)

Bella McCauley, Inver Grove Heights       72-74--146

Grace Curran, New Lennox, Ill.                 73-74--147

Emma Groom, Eden Prairie                       73-75--148

Emma Carpenter, Dekalb, Ill.                      76-73--149

Megan Furtney, St. Charles, Ill.                  77-78--155

Natalie Young, Rapid City, S.D.                  88-87--175


Match Play

Round of 64

No. 1 Chacon def. No. 64 Olivia Duan 19 holes

No. 63 Charlotte Canntonis def. No. 2 Lignell 4&3

No. 3 Clemente def. No. 62 Jensen Castle 4&3

No. 4 Cranston def. No. 61 Brooke Rivers 3&2

No. 5 Canales def. No. 60 Bentley Cotton 1 up

No. 6 Schofill def. No. 59 Jackie Ragowicz 7&6

No. 7 Borja def. No. 58 Megan Meng 1 up

No. 8 Oh def. No. 57 Ching-Tzu Chen 2&1

No. 9 Heck def. No. 56 Sera Hasegawa 21 holes

No. 55 Bailey Shoemaker def. No. 10 Nam  1 up

Round of 32

No. 32 Catie Craig def. No. 1 Chacon 4&2

No. 34 Lauren Leihigh def. No. 63 Cantonis 3&2

No. 30 Anne Chen def. No. 3 Clemente 4&3

No. 29 Yana Wilson def. No. 4 Cranston 2 up

No. 37 Taylor Riley def. No. 5 Canales 4&3

No. 6 Schofill def. No. 27 Kelly Xu 3&2

No. 7 Borja def. No. 39 Sara Im 1 up

No. 8 Oh def. No. 40 Laney Frye 1 up

No. 9 Heck def. No. 24 Rin Yoshida 4&2

No. 55 Shoemaker def. No. 23 Rianne Malixi 19 holes 

Round of 16

No. 16 Catherine Rao def. No. 32 Craig 19 holes 

No. 18 Kyra Ly def. No. 34 Lehigh 1 up

No. 46 Anna Davis def. No. 30 Chen 4&3

No. 45 Latanna Stone def. No. 29 Wilson 20 holes 

Np. 53 Thienna Huynh def. No. 37 Riley 4&3

No. 6 Schofill def. No. 54 Caitlin Pierce 19 holes 

No. 7 Borja def. No. 55 Shoemaker 3&2

No. 9 Heck def. No. 8 Oh 4&3


Quartrerfinals

No. 9 Heck def. No. 16 Rao 8&6

No. 6 Schofill def. No. 46 Davis 2&1

No. 45 Stone def. No. 53 Huynh 3&2

No. 7 Borja def. No. 18 Ly 3&2


Semifinals 

No. 45 Stone def. No. 9 Heck 3&2

No. 6 Schofill def. No. 7 Borja 2&1


Final (36 holes)

No. 6 Schofill def. No. 45 Stone 4&3