Semifinals Set for 100th Women’s Amateur Championship
ORADELL, N.J. –– The final four are locked in for the 100th Women’s Amateur Championship and the stage is set for the semi-final matchups with Katie Li, Reese Hannon, Sarah Shao and Vidhi Lakhawala all vying for the storied title.
Scoring
Photo Gallery
Championship HQ
Li, 20, shot a 5-under par 67 in the stroke play portion of the championship on Tuesday to earn medalist honors. In her Wednesday morning round of 16 matchup, Li defeated Jessica Danckwerth 1 up with a key birdie on No. 18 to close out the match. Danckwerth took an early lead on Wednesday morning, pinning Li to a two-hole deficit going into the turn. Li battled back from there, shifting her momentum with a birdie putt on No. 15 to cut the deficit to one.
“I'm very happy going into the semifinals,” Li said following her second match. "This morning, I missed a ton of putts, but I was just trying to stay patient out there. I knew my time would come at some point.”
In the afternoon, Li took down Angelina Tolentino, 4 and 3. Li took a strong front nine lead with a birdie on No. 1 and an eagle on the 430-yard par 5 2nd hole to start her quarterfinal match.
“Making that putt on No. 18 in the morning match definitely turned the whole day around,” Li said. “Then on hole 1 I made a putt for birdie against Angelina and then made another putt for eagle. I was just on a roll again, like yesterday. It was easy. It was smooth. So, I’m feeling pretty good.”
The defending champion will take on Hannon in the semifinal matchup Thursday morning.
Hannon, 19, defeated Taylor Oberparleiter in her round of 16 matchup with key birdies on holes 14 and 15 to come back from a two-hole deficit late in the match. Oberparleiter got out to a strong start against Hannon, with a highlight hole-in-one on No. 12, the 177-yard par 3.
From there, pars on holes 16,17 and the 332-yard par 4 18th closed out the match for Hannon.
“I’m feeling really happy,” Hannon said. “My competitors were great. We went to 18 holes during my first match and 17 holes the second one, and it was just so much fun playing with them. This course is beautiful.”
In her quarterfinal round, Hannon defeated Samantha Galantini, 2 and 1. Through a back-and-forth round, Hannon stayed composed and opened up the back nine with a birdie on No. 10 to take the lead, 1 up.
“My tee shot was definitely working,” Hannon said after her quarterfinal round. “My driver was great and I was able to find my iron shots out there. Could use a little work on the putting but we’ll dial that in tomorrow.”
During her round of 16, Shao, 18, defeated Sammie Dolce on their 19th hole with a birdie on the 378-yard par 4 1st hole. The pair battled back-and-forth, exchanging the lead and tie throughout the back nine.
In her quarterfinal round Shao defeated Megan Meng going to the 19th hole, yet again. Shao and Meng traded 1-up leads early but it was Meng who took a 2-up lead heading into the turn. Again Shao and Meng would trade victories early but it was Shao who claimed clutch wins on hole numbers 16 and 17 with back-to-back birdies to pull even late. Shao was able to make par on the 19th hole of the quarterfinal match to advance in extra holes for the second time on Wednesday.
Lakhawala, 17, defeated Anushka Sawant 2 and 1, in her round of 16 match with a key birdie on No. 17 to secure the lead with one hole remaining. Lakhawala recently played in the AJGA East vs. West Wyndham Cup for the East Team, and helped lead the squad to their 14th Wyndham Cup victory.
In her quarterfinal matchup against Grace Lu, Lakhawala won 1 up with a victory on the 18th hole after a back-and-forth match. Lakhawala led 1 up heading into the turn before Lu grabbed wins on holes 10 and 11 to flip the script. The dup would trade victories on the next three holes highlighted by birdies on 12 and 13 before Lakhawala would even the score on 14. The Forsgate Country Club-product, Lakhawala would make a clutch par on the 18th hole to secure victory.
Round of 16 Results
Angelina Tolentino def. Christine Park, 5 and 3
Katie Li def. Jessica Danckwerth, 1 up
Samantha Galantini def. Savannah Laverty, 3 and 1
Megan Meng def. Kate Granahan, 5 and 3
Reese Hannon def. Taylor Oberparleiter, 1 up
Sarah Shao def. Sammie Dolce, 19 holes
Grace Lu def. Emily Renoff, 1 up
Vidhi Lakhawala def. Anushka Sawant, 2 and 1
Quarterfinal Results
Katie Li def. Angelina Tolentino, 4 & 3
Reese Hannon def. Samantha Galantini, 2 & 1
Sarah Shao def. Megan Meng, 19 holes
Vidhi Lakhawala def. Grace Lu, 1 up
The first semi-final round will start at 8 a.m. Thursday morning at Hackensack Golf Club.
NJ Golf Social Media
For the latest updates and news, visit njgolf.org or follow New Jersey Golf on Facebook, X and Instagram at @njgolf1900.
