Top Seed Advances at 98th Women’s Texas Amateur
DALLAS – Top-seeded Madison Goldberg from Austin survived a scare Wednesday morning with a slim 1-up victory over Rebecca Reed from Midland in the Round of 32 match on Day 2 of the 98th Women’s Texas Amateur at Bent Tree Country Club. Goldberg decided to take care of business a little quicker in her afternoon match.
The Southwestern University sophomore defeated Alisa Rodriguez from Austin, 4 and 3, in the Round of 16 to advance to Thursday morning’s Quarterfinals. The match between Goldberg and Rodriguez went back and forth on their first nine holes; Rodriguez held a 1-up lead at the turn.
“Then something just clicked for me,” said Goldberg, who won Medalist Honors during Tuesday’s Qualifying Round with a 1-under 70. “I was pin-pointing the flag and started hitting it to five feet.”
Goldberg poured in three birdies on the back nine to grab momentum and put Rodriguez away by the 15th hole. She said the excessive heat took a toll on her. It was another sunny, sultry day at Bent Tree with temperatures exceeding 97 degrees and Heat Indexes reaching 104 degrees.
“I was roasting,” Goldberg said. “I just tried to drink a lot of water after every shot and sit down when I had the chance.”
The Championship Bracket’s No. 2 seed didn’t make it out of the Round of 32. Arlington’s Kate Tran, who fired an even-par 71 in Qualifying, suffered a 4-and-3 defeat to Kelsey Wylie of Katy.
Most of the top seeds did advance, however. Seven of the top 10 seeds won in the Round of 32; six of those competitors won again in the Round of 16.
No. 4 seed Hanna Alberto from Kingwood was one of them. The Sam Houston State senior defeated Meagan Winans, 3 and 2, in the Round of 16. Earlier in the day, Alberto, a 2017 Women’s Stroke Play Co-Champion, defeated Lexi Read of Bridgeport, 5 and 4.
Fifth-seeded Julia Gregg, who was the runner-up last summer at San Antonio Country Club in the 97th Women’s Texas Amateur, also moved on to the Quarterfinals. The Arkansas freshman from Farmers Branch beat Sydney Garber from Fate, 2 and 1, in the Round of 32. Gregg then won again in the afternoon with a 1-up victory in the Round of 16 over Madelyn Jones from Austin.
Sixth-seeded Annika Clark from Highlands also made it through to the Quarterfinals. The recent TCU graduate is a past winner of this championship; she won the 94th Women’s Texas Amateur at Ridgewood Country Club in Waco back in 2015. Clark won her Round of 32 match over Paola Cortes from Allen, 2 and 1. Clark then blitzed Reid Isaac from Montgomery in the Round 16 with a 7-and-6 victory.
“I was a lot more consistent with my ball-striking. I hit more fairways with my driver, which allowed me to hit more greens,” said Clark, who won the 2019 Women’s Stroke Play Championship last month. “I feel like I didn’t take as much time over the ball, which ended up really helping. It really simplified my game.”
The players who didn’t qualify for the Championship Bracket were divided into seven flights based on their GHIN Handicap Indexes. All seven flights played their Quarterfinals matches on Wednesday.
In the first flight, Lauren Mason from Frisco defeated Kenlie Barrett from The Woodlands, 4 and 3. Camille Enright from Plano defeated Emily Campbell from Lewisville, 2 and 1. Jordan Shackelford from Austin defeated Allie Bianchi from Allen, 2 up. Hanna Harrison from Plano defeated Ariana Saenz from Porter, 2 and 1. Mason, Enright, Shackelford and Harrison all advanced to the First Flight Semifinals on Thursday.
In the second flight, Cameron Newhouse from Montgomery advanced via a bye. Anna Schultz from Heath defeated Madigan Murray from McKinney in 19 holes. Ashton Begley from Southlake defeated Margaret Cowart from New Braunfels, 1 up. Janane Tan from Coppell defeated Katie Reeves in 19 holes. Newhouse, Schultz, Begley and Tan all advanced to the Second Flight Semifinals.
In the third flight, Leigh Casey from Kerrville advanced via a bye. Jennifer Hoyt defeated Kathy Crumley from San Antonio, 4 and 3. Iliana Stowers from Montgomery defeated Denise Hachtel from Allen, 4 and 3. Launa Wilson from Lantana defeated Lindy Patterson from McKinney, 3 and 2. Casey, Hoyt, Stowers and Wilson all advanced to the Third Flight Semifinals.
In the fourth flight, Connor Howard advanced via a bye. Nancy Beck defeated Olive Henry from Ennis, 3 and 2. Caitlyn Lindell from Grand Prairie defeated Simone Campise from Lewisville, 1 up. Madison Gorman from Dallas defeated Isabela Miravite from Pearland, 4 and 3. Howard, Beck, Lindell and Gorman all advanced to the Fourth Flight Semifinals.
In the fifth flight, Sally Sohn from Flower Mound advanced via a bye. Cindy Gilkeson defeated Jennifer Lazar from Frisco, 1 up. Mackenzy Turner from Georgetown defeated Madeline Zimmerman from Lufkin, 5 and 4. Kelli Ann Dugan from San Antonio defeated Jewell Malick from Heath, 5 and 4. Sohn, Gilkeson, Turner and Dugan all advanced to the Fifth Flight Semifinals.
In the sixth flight, DLynn McCoppin from Corinth advanced via a bye. Sherri Buster defeated Kristi Thiele from McKinney, 5 and 4. Ryleigh McCain from Kingwood defeated Lee Ann Penick from Austin, 4 and 2. Lori Daniel from Athens defeated Carol Turnage from Anna, 5 and 4. McCoppin, Buster, McCain and Daniel all advanced to the Sixth Flight Semifinals.
In the seventh flight, Kristin Hawk from Heath advanced via a bye. Cynthia Birsch defeated Suzzette Kirchner from Spring, 2 and 1. Lindsey Mitchell from Montgomery defeated Brill Wise from Clifton, 7 and 6. Dana Huffman from Richardson defeated Cathy Zelzer from Plano, 7 and 6. Hawk, Birch, Mitchell and Huffman all advanced to the Seventh Flight Semifinals.
Day 3 at the 98th Women’s Texas Amateur begins Thursday at 8 a.m. The Championship Bracket starts with the Quarterfinals in the morning, and then the Semifinals in the afternoon. All the other flights play their Semifinals matches. For more information on this championship, click here.