BEE CAVE –— Top-seeded players Tillie Claggett of Spring and Isabel Emanuels of Austin advanced to the quarterfinals after the first day of matches at the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur.
Claggett started strongly, defeating Spicewood native Emma Von Hoffmann 7&6 in her opening match. She then faced Meagan Winans of Richardson in the Round of 16, winning in a rematch from the 2020 Girls Match Play Championship semifinals.
“Today was two very different matches out there for sure,” shared the Vanderbilt University rising Junior. “One of the matches I was able to get done on No.12 and the most recent one went all the to No.18.”
In her match, Claggett trailed heading into No. 17 but managed a birdie putt to force a decisive No. 18.
“I just kept my head down and know that anything is possible after the birdie on No.17 and just let things fall into place.”
Claggett will face two-time Women’s Texas Amateur Champion Emma McMyler of San Antonio in the quarterfinals, setting up a matchup between successful collegiate golfers.
“It’s a long week and can get pretty exhausting playing 36 holes two days in a row but just rest and recover as much as I can and be prepared for tomorrow,” shared McMyler.
Sharing medalist honors from the qualifying round, second-seeded Emanuels, a junior at Westlake High School also advanced to the quarterfinals. Emanuels won her Round of 32 match against Brooke McDonough of Spicewood and continued with a victory over Gabriela McNelly of Mico in the Round of 16.
Emanuels, the Junior Medalist at the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur, will face seventh-seeded Ashleen Kaur of Cypress, a junior golfer at Baylor University, in the quarterfinals.
Sixth-seeded Grace Jin of Huntsville also advanced to the quarterfinals with wins in her matches. The rising sophomore golfer at Sam Houston State University defeated MacKenzie Moore of Trophy Club 3&2 in the Round of 32 and continued her dominance with a 4&3 victory over 22nd-seeded Addison Surber of Montgomery in the Round of 16.
“This morning I felt really good about my swing,” shared the Huntsville native. “I was hitting and putting it well.”
In the Round of 16, Jin would show her dominance again winning 4&3 against the No. 22 seed Addison Surber of Montgomery.
“Going into the afternoon I think we were all just tired and I won’t lie my hands were shaking a little while putting but we talked through everything and finished well,” shared Jin laughing.
Jin will head into the quarterfinals and face the No.3 seed Veronika Exposito of The Woodlands, a player she is very familiar with from junior golf.
“You never know what is going to happen with match play,” shared Jin. “I’m just excited to play with Veronika because I haven’t played with her in a long time, so tomorrow I will just enjoy it and see how it goes.”
In back-to-back upsets, 28th-seeded Maelynn Kim of Katy earned a spot in the quarterfinals. Kim defeated two-time NCAA Champion and fifth-seeded Sadie Englemann 5&4 in the Round of 32, losing only one hole in the entire match.
Continuing her strong play, Kim defeated 12th-seeded Camille Pazouki of San Antonio 4&3.
The Match Play Day One played at 6,020 yards, 41 yards shorter than the qualifying round.
Spanish Oaks Golf Club greeted golfers with temperatures in the high 70s and winds around 8 mph, gusting to 12-13 mph. Temperatures rose into the low 90s for the Round of 16, with winds decreasing to 2-3 mph.
The quarterfinals of the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur will begin at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow from the No. 1 tee. The semifinals will follow at 1:00 p.m., also off the No. 1 tee.
To see match results and read more on the 103rd Women’s Texas Amateur, click here.