Quarterfinals Set at White Eagle
Thursday, July 20, 2023 – Naperville, Ill.
Sadie Englemann entered match play at the 123rd Women’s Western Amateur feeling confident. It wasn’t just her game, which carried her to the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago.
“I didn’t have the stroke-play curse this year,” Englemann said.
After winning medalist honors in 2022 at Sunset Ridge Country Club, Englemann lost in the Round of 32 to Annabelle Pancake, who is playing in the LPGA Tour’s Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational this week.
While the existence of a “stroke-play curse” may be debatable, there is little question that Englemann’s game has rounded into form, evidenced by two victories on Thursday at White Eagle Golf Club in Naperville, Illinois.
After dispatching Crista Izuzquiza, of Spain, in the Round of 32 on Thursday morning, Englemann jumped out to an early lead against defending champion Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, of Thailand, in the Round of 16. The rising Stanford senior from Austin, Texas, won Nos. 4, 5 and 6 to build her lead. Jeeravivitaporn eventually cut it to one with a birdie on No. 17, but Englemann’s par on 18 sealed a 1-up win and a spot in the quarterfinals on Friday morning.
“Going into a match with the defending champion gets your mind going because obviously she’s a good player and excels in match play,” Englemann said. “I just tried to play my game and not let the nerves get to me down the stretch. Making par to close it out was a really good feeling.”
Englemann said she is using her experience at the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links, her last rounds of competitive golf, to help her create a strategy and stay composed in difficult times this week.
“It definitely gave me confidence – playing with the best players in the world at one of the toughest golf courses,” said Englemann, who was on Stanford’s national championship team in 2022. “When I get in the rough here, I know I have the experience to get back into play after Pebble.”
Jaclyn LaHa, of Pleasanton, California, and Kelly Xu, of Claremont, California, also advanced to the quarterfinals. Both have played in the U.S. Women’s Open previously.
LaHa, an 18-year-old Virginia commit, competed at The Olympic Club in 2021 when she was 16. On Thursday, she advanced to the quarterfinals with a dominant 8 and 7 win against Caitlin Peirce, of Australia. LaHa took a 1-up lead going into the sixth hole before winning six straight holes.
“It was super windy, so I was just trying to play steady,” LaHa said. “Things really clicked, and I was able to go on a bit of a run.”
LaHa will face Rylee Suttor, of Shelbyville, Kentucky, in the quarterfinals. Suttor, a rising junior at Louisville, took down stroke-play medalist Catherine Park, of Santa Ana, California, 3 and 1 in the Sweet 16.
Xu, a fellow Stanford Cardinal who played at Pebble Beach alongside Englemann, defeated Sarah Arnold, of Geneva, Illinois, 4 and 3 in the Round of 32 and Jocelyn Bruch, of Carmel, Indiana, 4 and 2 in the Sweet 16.
The 123rd Women’s Western Amateur continues with quarterfinal and semifinal matches slated for Friday. The championship match will be played Saturday morning.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals are Savannah Barber (Oklahoma), of Fort Worth, Texas; Kary Hollenbaugh (Ohio State), of New Albany Country, Ohio; Jasmine Koo, a 17-year-old from Cerritos, California; and Casey Weidenfeld (Auburn), of Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Held without interruption since its inception in 1901, the Women’s Western Amateur is among the oldest and most prestigious annual championships in women’s amateur golf. The tournament is conducted jointly by the Women’s Western Golf Association and the Western Golf Association.
The championship features the top amateur and collegiate players from across the globe. The winner at White Eagle this week will join a list of past champions from legendary stars Patty Berg, Louise Suggs and Nancy Lopez to modern standouts like Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn.
Round of 32 Results Thursday, July 20, 2023
Upper Bracket
Catherine Park, Santa Ana, Calif., def. Leigha Devine, Windsor, Colo., 4 and 3
Rylee Suttor, Shelbyvillle, Ky., def. Sydney Seigel, Scottsdale, Ariz., 4 and 3
Caitlin Peirce, Australia, def. Maisie Filler, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., 3 and 1
Jaclyn LaHa, Pleasanton, Calif., def. Katie Lu, Plainsboro, N.J., 2 and 1
Lion Higo, Australia, def. Momo Sugiyama, Australia, 2 and 1
Savannah Barber, Fort Worth, Tex., def. Kelli Ann Strand, Challis, Idaho, 1 up
Sadie Englemann, Austin, Tex., def. Crista Izuzquiza, Spain, 3 and 2
Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Thailand, def. Grace Curran, New Lenox, Ill., 1 up
Lower Bracket
Bentley Cotton, Austin, Tex., def. , Thailand, 2 up
Kary Hollenbaugh, New Albany Country, Ohio, def. Kan Bunnabodee, Thailand, 6 and 5
Jocelyn Bruch, Carmal, Ind., def. Nicole Neale, Trabuco Canyon, Calif., 2 up
Kelly Xu, Claremont, Calif., def. Sarah Arnold, Geneva, Ill., 4 and 3
Jasmine Koo, Cerritos, Calif., def. Huai-Chien Hsu, Taiwan, 6 and 5
Megan Propeck, Leawood, Kans., def. Lauryn Nguyen, Seattle, Wash., 4 and 3
Casey Weidenfeld, Pembroke Pines, Fla., def. Brooke Biermann, Wildwood, Mo., 1 up
Annika Rathbone, Australia, def. Emma Schimpf, Charleston, S.C., 1 up
Sweet-16 Results Thursday, July 20, 2023
Lower Bracket
Kary Hollenbaugh def. Bentley Cotton, 4 and 3
Kelly Xu def. Jocelyn Bruch, 4 and 2
Jasmine Koo def. Megan Propeck, 3 and 1
Casey Weidenfeld def. Annika Rathbone, 2 and 1
Upper Bracket
Rylee Suttor def. Catherine Park, 3 and 1
Jaclyn LaHa def. Caitlin Peirce, 8 and 7
Savannah Barber def. Lion Higo, 2 up
Sadie Englemann def. Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, 1 u