Pancake and Jeeravivitaporn set to duel in the 122nd WWGA Amateur Championship Final
Northfield, Ill. (July 22, 2022)
The week began with 120 players and after two days of qualifying for 32 spots and completing four rounds of match play, number 3-seed Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Thailand (143) and the number 32-seed Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Ind. (151) are the last players standing.
With the last two spots in the Elite Eight left undecided after a series of weather delays Thursday evening, the remaining Sweet 16 matches resumed play at 7 a.m. Friday.
Both players spent over eight hours today to complete the challenging journey to the 18-hole championship match, which is set to start at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow.
With the last two spots in the Elite Eight left undecided after a series of weather delays Thursday evening, the remaining Sweet 16 matches resumed play at 7 a.m. this morning.
Number 3 seed Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Thailand (143)
Jeeravivitaporn and number 14-seed Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Perth, Australia (148) were through 13 holes with Hinson-Tolchard 1-up before Thursday’s stoppage. Jeeravivitaporn ended up defeating Hinson-Tolchard after 19 holes Friday morning. Jeeravivitaporn shot 6-over par 41 on her first nine holes, then made four birdies over holes 13 through 17 to take a 1-up lead heading into the final hole. Hinson-Tolchard made a birdie to send the match to a playoff, but Jeeravivitaporn would win the first extra hole and the match.
After defeating Hinson-Tolchard, Jeeravivitaporn had a quick turnaround after defeating Hinson-Tolchard and faced the number 22-seed Grace Curran, New Lennox, Ill. (150). Jeeravivitaporn won the match 2 & 1 to advance into the semifinals.
In the battle for the final quarterfinal spot, the number 4-seed Brooke Biermann, Wildwood, Mo. (144) attempted to win off her 1-up lead after 13 holes from Thursday against the number 13-seed Zoe Slaughter, Houston, Tex. Both players spent over 12 hours at Sunset Ridge Thursday. (148). Slaughter won holes 14 and 15 this morning, but Biermann answered with wins on holes 16 and 17. With both players tying the final hole, Biermann secured her spot in the Elite Eight.
After finishing her match, she had little time to meet the 28-seeded Caroline Smith, Inverness, Ill. (150) at 8:10 a.m.
Biermann gained a 4-up lead after the front nine, but Smith stormed back, winning holes 10, 12, 14 and 15. Biermann won the 16th after Smith double-bogeyed. Two tied holes later, Biermann punched her ticket to the Final Four.
“You had to be patient today,” Biermann said. “I had to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to get here. I knew in my mind that it was going to be a long grinding day and you just got to be mentally prepared for that.”
In the first quarterfinal match, Pancake faced the number 9-seed Chloe Schiavone, Jacksonville, Fla. (147). Pancake won the match 5 & 3 after taking a 2-up lead early through six holes. Pancake shot a bogey-free 33 on the front nine, two birdies and seven pars, before winning holes 10, 13 and 15 to secure her spot in the afternoon semifinals.
In the battle for the last semifinal spot, the number 2-seed Rianne Malixi, Philippines (140) faced reigning champion and the number 26-seed Marissa Wenzler, Dayton, Ohio (150).
Malixi, the field’s youngest player at 15 years old, triumphed over the defending champion 3 & 2. Malixi seized an early 2-up lead by hole 4 and never looked back, carrying her momentum to a 4-up lead after the 14th hole. Wenzler won hole 15, but was unable to mount a comeback once both players tied hole 16.
Number 32-seed Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Ind. (151)
The first semifinal match was between the 32-seed Pancake and the number 4-seed Biermann who held a 1-up lead after the sixth hole. Pancake then won four of the next six holes to hold a 3-up lead. Biermann birdied and won hole 13.
After both players parred holes 14 through 16, Pancake punched her spot into the championship final when she made par on the 17th hole while Biermann was unable to get up-and-down.
“I'm really tired, but I'm really excited and thankful. All day I was like, ‘God's Will will be done,’ and I ended up making it so I'm very thankful,” Pancake said. “The girls I played with were amazing, so fun and so sweet and encouraging. We just had a blast.”
Although Biermann didn’t make it to Saturday, she had plenty of positive reflections on the week.
“I think I gave it my all, Annabelle was just a great competitor and really good. She was solid all day,” Biermann said.
With Pancake in the clubhouse, the crowd of family and member spectators at Sunset Ridge Country Club turned their attention to the other semifinal match between the number 2-seed Malixi and the number 3-seed Jeeravivitaporn. It became the second-longest match from Thursday or Friday, needing 20 holes for the winner, Jeeravivitaporn, to eventually emerge victorious.
Jeeravivitaporn missed the match play cut from last year’s tournament.
“I’m really happy and I get to go home finally,” Jeeravivitaporn said after her semifinal match. “I’m excited for tomorrow because it’s going to be only two people playing and it’s going to be more tough.”
Jeeravivitaporn also went through an afternoon caddie switch. Her Iowa State teammate caddied for her in the afternoon after her original caddie, also her boyfriend, had to leave early to catch a flight. She had commented that the chemistry with her teammate made for a fun Final Four contest.
“We’re very close and we hadn’t seen each other for a month,” Jeeravivitaporn said. "She was actually saying, ‘This is actually more tiring than playing golf,’ because she had to entertain me.”
Jeeravivitaporn never led during the first 18 holes, but every time her opponent took a 1-up lead, Jeeravivitaporn would answer and win the next hole. Only six of the final 17 holes were tied and Jeeravivitaporn eventually ended the match thanks to a winning birdie on the second extra hole.
“I’m feeling great, although it stinks a bit that I didn’t make it to the finals,” Malixi said, walking back from the playoff. “I still learned a lot, and it’s a good thing that I had experience in this tournament for my prep for my upcoming tournaments.”
Jeeravivitaporn gave high praise to her opponent, who pushed her to the second of her only two matches with extra holes during the week.
“She is a little girl with so much power, not like a body power, but her mentality is very strong, so that is something I really had to deal with her,” Jeeravivitaporn said. “I don’t know how to explain my feelings right now because it was very nervous. I was actually shaking in there when I played with her.”
With the championship match established, both Jeeravivitaporn and Pancake are ready and looking for steady mentalities.
“I’m excited, but I don’t really have a lot of pressure. It’s just playing golf and play our own game,” Jeeravivitaporn said. “We don’t have to compare ourselves with someone else. If she plays good, good for her and if I play good, good for me. So it's not going to be too scary and trying too hard to make myself feel too much pressure.”
Two tournaments are held annually, the Amateur Championship has been held without interruption since 1901, not even two world wars and Covid-19 kept the tournament from being played. The Junior Championship was first held in 1920 and has been held annually with the exception of World War II and Covid-19. This year marks the 122nd playing of the Women's Western Amateur Championship at Sunset Ridge Country Club, the previous home to four previous WWGA Championships
1961 Women's Western Junior - Ann Baker
1953 Women's Western Junior - Anne Richardson
1942 Women's Western Amateur - Betty Jameson
1935 Women's Western Open - Opal Hill
Latest scores from the Elite EIght Match Play can be found here.
The 122nd Championship Match Starts Saturday at 7:30 am