Cernousek Leads NCAA Women's Tourney by 6; A&M Is 1 Ahead of Stanford
May 20, 2024
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
Contact Us
Have a question about the Minnesota Golf Association, your MGA membership or the contents of this website? Let us help.