Kentucky, United States: If the intensity and pressure of trying to advance out of the Round of 64 at the 73rd US Girls’ Junior Championship wasn’t enough for the competitors, the stifling temperatures that reached the low 90s only added to the anxiety.
Never has the term ‘sweating out a match’ been more appropriate than at The Club at Olde Stone on a steamy mid-July day in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Water bottles, sports drinks, cold towels, umbrellas and sunscreen were just as important for the players as their 56-degree wedges, drivers, putters and hybrids. Given the area was in a Weather Alert 1 for extreme heat, caddies were even given the option not to wear USGA bibs. Most, however, chose to wear them.
The steamy conditions – the heat index was measured as high as 115 – was not uncommon to The Club at Olde Stone member Kynadie Adams, one of 32 players to earn a tee time on Thursday with a 3&2 win over Katie Cranston, of Canada.
Those from northern locales or the West Coast have had to adjust.
“I have been here since June, so I think my body is getting a little bit more used to it, if that can happen,” said Justice Bosio, of Australia, a 6&5 winner over Kristina Xu on Wednesday.
Co-medallist and number one seed Saki Baba, of Japan, and 2021 US Girls’ Junior semi-finalist Katie Li had little difficulty advancing. Three other quarter-finalists from last year, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Yana Wilson and Bailey Shoemaker, also moved on.
“Honestly, it’s been hot,” said Schroeder, accustomed to Florida summers, after eliminating the last remaining Kentucky resident, Trinity Beth, 3&2. “But it’s been a lot hotter for other people I would say than it has been for me. I can use that to my advantage of being used to this type of weather.”
Baba, number 44 in the latest women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking, cruised to a 6&4 win over Brynn Kort. The 2022 US Women’s Open qualifier needs five more victories to become the second player from Japan to win a USGA championship. Michiko Hattori won the 1985 US Women’s Amateur a year after losing in the US Girls’ Junior final.
But the other co-medallist, second-seeded Natalie Vo, wasn’t so fortunate. The rising sophomore at the University of Colorado was knocked out by 2022 US Women’s Amateur Four-Ball champion and Wednesday morning play-off survivor Thienna Huynh, 4&3. It’s the first time in six years that a medallist/co-medalist failed to advance out of the first round.
Huynh’s Four-Ball partner, Sara Im, also advanced, 3&1, over fellow Georgian Reagan Southerland.
Also progressing was New Zealand's Fiona Xu, Japan's Nika Ito and Chinese Taipei's Tiffany Huang Ting-hsuan. Ito and Huang will square off in the Round of 32.
The most dramatic match on Wednesday saw 17-year-old American Samantha Olson outlast 15-year-old Canadian Vanessa Zhang in 23 holes, which matched the fifth-longest in championship history. Olson stuffed an eight-iron from 150 yards on the 389-yard fifth hole to two feet, which was eventually conceded for a winning birdie when Zhang failed to get up and down for par.
The Round of 32 and Round of 16 will be contested on Thursday. The quarter-finals and semi-finals will be staged on Friday and the 36-hole championship match on Saturday.
The nine-for-seven play-off for the final spots in the match play draw lasted three holes and just over an hour. Four of the seven play-off survivors won Round-of-64 matches. Besides Huynh, Kylee Choi defeated fifth seed Catherine Park; Charissa Shang defeated seventh seed Alexa Siehl; and Jennifer Seo eliminated 2021 quarter-finalist Karen Tsuru.
Two other matches went to extra holes. Maria Jose Marin outlasted Chinese Taipei’s Wu Chun-wei in 21 holes, and Emily Mathews needed 19 holes to defeat Kylie Chong.
The youngest match play qualifier was 13-year-old Asterisk Talley. She advanced with a 3&2 victory over Kary Hollenbaugh.
In terms of countries, the US led the way with 50 match play qualifiers followed by Canada (5), Chinese Taipei (3) and Japan (2). Australia, China, Colombia and New Zealand had one apiece.