TULSA, Okla. — After 36 holes of stroke play, it’s time for match play at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Southern Hills Country Club challenged 156 of the best female amateurs in the world Monday and Tuesday, but the field has not quite been finalized for Wednesday’s Round of 64.
There are 55 players who punched their tickets to advance after Tuesday’s second round of stroke play, but Wednesday morning there will be a 20-for-10 playoff to complete the match-play bracket.
It will again be another steamer in Green Country, which in August of 2007 saw the hottest major ever recorded, the PGA Championship, which Tiger Woods won. Temperatures hovered around 100 degrees all four days. On Tuesday, temperatures reached 103 degrees with heat indexes going to 108.
The high Wednesday is expected to be 97, and 94 on Thursday.
After the playoff to set the bracket, one of those 64 golfers will add her name alongside Woods and other notable champions at Southern Hills come Sunday night at one of the best amateur events in the world.
Most of the notables in the field are near the top of the leaderboard, including a rising sophomore at Arkansas winning medalist honors and the defending champion finding her way into match play.
U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos
Here’s everything you need to know to get you set for match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Maria Jose Marin wins medalist honors
Maria Jose Marin is close to home this week.
The sophomore from Arkansas is only an hour and a half from campus in Fayetteville, and she is playing like she’s comfortable and familiar with the sweltering conditions through the first two days.
Marin, from Colombia, earned medalist honors after consecutive rounds of 2-under 69 helped her finish at 4 under after stroke play. On Tuesday, she had a chip-in birdie on the par-4 fourth hole and added birdies at Nos. 11 and 13.
“Competing against 156 of the best players in the world, you just get here hoping to make the cut,” Marin said. “Being one of the top seeds means a lot to me. It means that my game is really at it’s top. I still have to think about tomorrow. Everything’s not done yet, so I still have to keep playing well.”
The second-team All-American as a freshman won the Blessings Collegiate, recorded two runner-up finishes and was named SEC Freshman of the Year. She came into the week winning her last event at the Colombian Open by 18 shots.
With her dad on the bag, Marin is cruising into match play, where she’ll be looking for a signature win to add to her resume.
“He knows me, he’s my coach and we get along pretty good, so I think we made the right decisions to score well,” Marin said. “It’s a really good golf course for match play. You have to be very smart with your decisions. If you have the right yardage and a good pin, you can make lots and lots of birdies.”
Loaded leaderboard
The top of the leaderboard after stroke play has shaped up about as good as anyone could’ve hoped for.
After Marin, there’s Melanie Green, who won the British Women’s Amateur earlier this summer. Then there’s Asterisk Talley, who was runner-up at the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month. She also won the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in May.
It doesn’t stop there.
Zoe Campos, a rising senior at UCLA, and Oregon sophomore Kiara Romero, who won last year’s U.S. Girls’ Junior, are lurking. There’s also Rianne Malixi, who won the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month, and Western Women’s Amateur winner Farah O’Keefe as well as NCAA individual champion Adela Cernousek and former Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion Anna Davis.
And who can forget the two players from the championship match last year, Megan Schofill and Latanna Stone?
Names upon names upon names of proven players who have won all over the country in recent weeks and months. And now, they’ll battle it out for the Robert Cox Trophy.
“I’m just excited for another day and another round,” Campos said. “Surviving. Match play is great. I love playing 1-on-1, so we’ll see what happens.”
Defending champ makes match play
Schofill came to Tulsa looking to be the first woman to win consecutive U.S. Women’s Amateurs since Danielle Kang in 2010 and 2011. She was also looking to be the first since Kristen Gillman in 2018 to win the Robert Cox Trophy a second time.
Schofill has accomplished the first part: making match play.
Schofill shot 70-74 and sits at 3 over after stroke play, good enough for T-14. Last year, she was the sixth seed when she won at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.
Come Wednesday morning, she’ll be No. 15.
Big playoff coming
The largest playoff in the history of the U.S. Women’s Amateur is set for Wednesday morning.
20 players will compete for the final 10 spots in match play, and there are plenty of notables…
