9th U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship - Inside the Field

USGA

Information on the 64 teams (or sides) and 128 golfers competing in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship:
 
Youngest Competitors: Avery Schartz (14, born 2-21-10), Aphrodite Deng (14, born 2-20-10), Rina Kawasaki (14, born 10-17-09), Clairey Lin (14, born 11-13-09) 

Oldest Competitors: Shannon Johnson (41, born 12-15-82), Gretchen Johnson (37, born 5-15-86), Amanda Jacobs (36, born 11-5-87); Megan Buck (35, born 5-31-88); Olivia Herrick (35, born 8-4-88)

Average Age of Field: 19.4

Field breakdown by age: 
Age 12-15: 15 golfers 
Age 16-19: 68 golfers 
Age 20-29: 38 golfers 
Age 30-39: 6 golfers 
Age 40-64: 1 golfer

Youngest Sides: 14.0 average, Rina Kawasaki (14) & Clairey Lin (14); 14.5, Sofia Cherif Essakali (15) & Aphrodite Deng (14); 15.0, Angela Zhang (15) & Alice Ziyi Zhao (15); Avery Schartz (14) & Emerie Schartz (15); 15.0, Catherine Andino (15) & Nicole Sardinha (15)

Oldest Sides: 38.0, Shannon Johnson (41) & Megan Buck (35); 36.5, Gretchen Johnson (37) & Amanda Jacobs (36); 35.0, Olivia Herrick (35) & Samantha Sommers (35); 26.0, Jessica Spicer (26) & Sarah Spicer (26)

U.S. States Represented – There are 33 states and the District of Columbia represented in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: Texas (17), California (16), Florida (11), Georgia (6), Oregon (6), Ohio (5), Tennessee (5), Colorado (4), North Carolina (4), Indiana (3), Kansas (3), Massachusetts (3), Washington (3), Arizona (2),  Illinois (2), Michigan (2), Minnesota (2), Missouri (2), Nevada (2), New Jersey (2), Virginia (2), Wisconsin (2), Alabama (1), Arkansas (1), Connecticut (1), Delaware (1), District of Columbia (1), Hawaii (1), Idaho (1), Maryland (1), Mississippi (1), New Mexico (1), New York (1), Pennsylvania (1)

International – There are seven countries represented in the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball: United States (117), Canada (5), Hong Kong China (2), Denmark (1), England, (1), Mexico (1), Morocco (1)

USGA Champions (3): Savannah Barber (2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball), Shannon Johnson (2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Alexa Saldana (2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball)

USGA Runners-Up (2): Shannon Johnson (2016 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur), Kaitlyn Schroeder (2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball)

Drive, Chip & Putt National Champions (2): Emerson Blair (2016), Vanessa Borovilos (2018)

Members of 2024 U.S. National Junior Team (2): Chloe Kovelesky, Emerie Schartz

U.S. National Development Program Grant Recipients (6): Catherine Andino, Nicole Iniakov, Chloe Kovelesky, Avery Schartz, Emerie Schartz, Kennedy Swedick

Most U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Starts (2024 included): Olivia Herrick (5), Elle Nachmann (5), Alexa Saldana (5), Kaitlyn Schroeder (5), Samantha Sommers (5)

Sides Who Played in 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (9): Savannah Barber & Alexa Saldana (Round of 16), Vanessa Borovilos & Cara Heisterkamp (Quarterfinals), Amelia Guo & Grace Jin (Round of 32), Sydney Hackett & Melanie Walker (Quarterfinals), Kary Hollenbaugh & Anna Ritter (Round of 32), Jessica Spicer & Sarah Spicer (Round of 32), Angela Nip & Gloria Nip (MC), Amanda Jacobs & Gretchen Johnson (MC); Julia Calomiris & Clare Connolly (MC)

Individuals Who Played in 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball (25): Hadley Ashton, Savannah Barber, Emerson Blair, Vanessa Borovilos, Julia Calomiris, Clare Connolly, Amelia Guo, Sydney Hackett, Cara Heisterkamp, Kary Hollenbaugh, Amanda Jacobs, Grace Jin, Gretchen Johnson, Brynn Kort, Madison Moman, Nathaly Munnicha, Elle Nachmann, Angela Nip, Gloria Nip, Anna Ritter, Alexa Saldana, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Jessica Spicer, Sarah Spicer, Melanie Walker

Played in 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur (9): Emerson Blair, Catie Craig, McKenzi Hall, Grace Jin, Elise Lee, Lauren Lehigh, Alexa Saldana, Jessica Spicer, Melanie Walker

Played in 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior (18): Andee Avery, Vanessa Borovilos, Molly Brown Davidson, Aphrodite Deng, Veronika Exposito, Amelia Guo, Logan Hale, Nicole Iniakov, Jessica Jolly, Brynn Kort, Marissa Malosh, Madison Moman, Abra Richmond, Emerie Schartz, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Kennedy Swedick, Asterisk Talley, Natalie Yen

Played in 2023 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (8): Megan Buck, Clare Connolly, Olivia Herrick, Amanda Jacobs, Gretchen Johnson, Shannon Johnson, Kiley Specht, Jessica Spicer

Sisters in the Field (6): 
Caroline (23) and Catie (20) Craig, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga.
Lauren (23) and Katelyn (20) Lehigh, Loveland, Colo. 
Janae (20) and Jasmine Leovao (20), Oceanside, Calif. 
Angela (16) and Gloria (18) Nip, Hong Kong China
Jessica (26) and Sarah (26) Spicer, of Bahama, N.C. 
Avery (14) and Emerie Schartz (16), Wichita, Kan.

College Teammates; Current, Past or Future (16):  
Amelia Guo & Grace Jin (Sam Houston State)
Maria Harrouch & Morgan Miller (University of Colorado) 
Jessica Spicer & Sarah Spicer (Virginia Tech)
Elisa Fennell & Jessica Jolly (Illinois State)
Madeleine Laux & McKenzi Hall (University of Nevada-Las Vegas)
Audrey Park & Jasmine Wong (Gonzaga)
Cybil Stillson & Kelli Scheck (Butler)
Emma Grace Messenger & Brooke Patterson (Cincinnati)
Gabriella Gilrowski & Sophie Dalfonsi (Georgetown)
Maelynn Kim & Ellen Yates (Houston)
Janae Leovao & Jasmine Leovao (Long Beach State)
Christina Carroll & Marissa Malosh (University of Delaware)
Vani Karimanal & Katelyn Parr (UC Davis)
Alexandra Armendariz & Emma Kaisa Bunch (New Mexico State)
Annie Buffolino & Elli Gordon (Boise State)
Emree Cameron & Madison Moman (Louisville)
  
PLAYER NOTES

Addie Baggarly, 24, of Clarksville, Tenn., & Kendall Griffin, 25, of Sebring, Fla.
Both players are serving as assistant women’s golf coaches – Baggarly at the University of Louisville, and Griffin at Indiana University. Griffin finished her college career at Louisville as a grad transfer from Louisiana State University. Griffin is a two-time Florida Women’s Amateur champion (2019, 2021) who earned an undergraduate degree from LSU in marketing and a master’s in sports administration from Louisville. Baggarly played four seasons at the University of Florida and one as a grad transfer at Baylor. She also qualified for the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open.

Savannah Barber, 20, of Fort Worth, Texas, & Alexa Saldana, 20, of Mexico

Barber and Saldana, who met at the Crown Golf Academy in the Dallas Metroplex, won the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball title at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, just 30 minutes from the campus. Barber is completing her sophomore season at the University of Oklahoma, while Saldana is finishing her sophomore campaign at the University of Houston. She is a member of the Mexican National Team. 

Christina Carroll, 22, of Bear, Del., & Marissa Malosh, 19, of South Fayette, Pa.

Carroll, who recently earned an electrical engineering degree from the University of Delaware, is a past participant in First Tee, where she also has volunteered and mentored current participants. As a junior, she was an All-CAA second-team selection. This is Carroll’s first Women’s Four-Ball and third USGA championship after becoming the first University of Delaware golfer to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2021 and again last summer. Malosh just completed her freshman season at the University of Delaware. Last July, Malosh qualified for the U.S. Girls’ Junior. She finished fourth in the Pennsylvania state championship in 2022. The duo helped Delaware win its first CAA title since 2017 in mid-April.

Olivia Herrick, 35, Roseville, Minn., & Samantha Sommers, 35, Richmond, Minn.

After qualifying for the first four championships, the duo returns to the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball for the first time since 2018. They advanced to the quarterfinals in 2016 at Streamsong in Florida. Herrick, a veteran of 20-plus USGA championships, operates her own graphics design company while also being a mom to two daughters. She played collegiately at Drake University. Sommers, a graduate of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, currently works as an admissions applications processing specialist at the University of Minnesota-Morris.

Alaythia Hinds, 18, Rancho Murieta, Calif. & Erica Villegas, 17, Fairfield, Calif.

Hinds, who turns 18 on Day 1 of the championship, captured the 2023 Cameron Mack Invitational, a competition conducted in Houston, Texas, named in honor of the grandfather of three-time PGA Tour winner and 2017 USA Walker Cupper Cameron Champ. The event brings together top minority players from around the country. Hinds also finished second in the girls’ division of the Pure Insurance Classic at Pebble Beach on the PGA Tour Champions last year. That event, held at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill, pairs top players from First Tee chapters with a Champions Tour player. Hinds is coached by Don Levin, the father of Spencer Levin, a current professional who was the low amateur in the 2004 U.S. Open. Don, himself, qualified for the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont C.C. Villegas and Hinds got into the field as first alternates from the Las Vegas Golf Club qualifier on Aug. 30. This will be their first USGA championship.

Gretchen Johnson, 37, of Portland, Ore., & Amanda Jacobs, 36, of Portland, Ore.

Johnson gravitated to the game through a boyfriend while attending New York University, and she eventually played on the golf team as a senior. The director of business development for a capital management company met Jacobs through a mutual friend, and the two are set to compete in their third U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball together. Johnson has twice advanced to the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (2018 and 2023). This will be her 10th USGA championship. Jacobs, a project manager for Jacobs Heating & Air Conditioning, played collegiately at the University of Idaho. Back in her junior golf days, Jacobs went out to watch Jenny Rosales in the Kraft Nabisco Pro-Am, and when her partner failed to show, she invited Jacobs inside the ropes to play 9 holes with her clubs. Jacobs also qualified for the 2018 LPGA Portland Classic at Columbia-Edgewater C.C., where she grew up playing the game. She also spent two years abroad in Japan after college (2010-2012) teaching English through an exchange program.

Shannon Johnson, 41, of North Easton, Mass. & Megan Buck, 35, of North Easton, Mass.

The long-time best friends and fellow Thorny Lea Golf Club members are the elder stateswomen of the field. Johnson won the 2018 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, two years after finishing as the runner-up. A native of South Dakota, she played collegiately at Indiana University before becoming an equipment sales representative for Ping. Her decorated amateur career includes four South Dakota Women’s Amateur titles, a Massachusetts Women’s Amateur crown, and two New England Women’s Amateur titles. She also has claimed five Anne Marie Tobin Women’s Player of the Year Awards (Mass Golf) since 2016. Buck, a Texas native who works as a club fitter, played collegiately at Northern Arizona University. She won the 2022 Massachusetts Women’s Mid-Amateur, besting Johnson by seven strokes. This will be the duo’s third U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball start and first since 2019.

Chloe Kovelesky, 17, of Boca Raton, Fla., & Elle Nachmann, 20, of Boca Raton, Fla.

Nachmann is making her fifth appearance in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball, but with a fourth different partner. Previously, Nachmann competed with Dana Williams (2017), Laura Edwards (2019) and Kendall Griffin (2022, 2023), making match play in all four previous appearances. A senior at the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton Business School), Nachmann played two seasons for the Quakers. In the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y., Nachmann eliminated defending champion and world No. 1 amateur Rose Zhang in the Round of 64. Her uncle, Vince Spadea, was a professional tennis player who once was ranked in the top 15. Along with her brother, Alec, they started Kids Helping Kids One Stroke At A Time, a charity that has raised money for the Hispanic community and breast cancer. Kovelesky qualified for the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at The Olympic Club and was one of the longest hitters through the first two rounds (she missed the cut). She recently was named to the inaugural U.S. National Junior Team, along with fellow Four-Ball competitor Gianna Clemente. Kovelesky also claimed the 2023 Florida Women’s Amateur title.

Kaitlyn Schroeder, 19, of Jacksonville, Fla., & Reagan Zibilsky, 20, of Springfield, Mo.

Schroeder, who is completing her freshman season at the University of Alabama, is the daughter of University of North Florida men’s golf coach Scott Schroeder. She advanced to the championship match of the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in Puerto Rico with current University of Southern California standout Bailey Shoemaker. She advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior and the Round of 32 in 2022. Schroeder, the 2022 American Junior Golf Association’s Rolex Player of the Year, also won the 2022 Girls Junior PGA Championship and the 2022 Rolex Girls Championship. Zibilsky is completing her sophomore season at the University of Arkansas. Like Schroeder, she is a past Rolex AJGA All-American. In 2019, she qualified for the U.S. Women’s Open and advanced to match play in the 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur. She currently is an alternate for this year’s U.S. Women’s Open at Lancaster C.C.

Jessica Spicer, 26, of Bahama, N.C., & Sarah Spicer, 26, of Bahama, N.C.

The identical twins will make their third consecutive appearance (fourth overall) in the championship. Both played collegiately at Virginia Tech University. They have teamed together to win Virginia State Golf Association and Carolinas Golf Association four-ball titles. Jessica, a pro shop assistant at Cypress Point C.C. in Virginia Beach, Va., has made a couple of unsuccessful attempts at LPGA Tour Q-School, while Sarah is a data analyst for Capital One Bank. Jessica qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 2023.