LAKE FOREST, Ill. – For the first time this week, Farah O’Keefe was in real trouble.

The stroke-play medalist had dropped the first two holes of her semifinal match on Friday afternoon during the 124th Women’s Western Amateur at Onwentsia Club. A scrambling par save on No. 3 was the only reason she didn’t trail Huai-Chien Hsu, her Texas teammate, by three. But O’Keefe wasn’t panicking.

“I was joking with my caddie … ‘I want [Hsu] to be comfortable right now, because she’s not going to expect me to hit some great golf shots coming in,’” O’Keefe said. “That was kind of my mentality.”

The Austin, Texas, native didn’t lose another hole on her way to a 2 and 1 victory that preserved her chance to become the first medalist to win the W.A. Alexander Cup since Marissa Wenzler in 2021. The Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year built a 2-up advantage after 12 holes, then held on with a procession of pars. She closed the match on the 17th green by two-putting from 90 feet, letting out a scream as the winning four-footer dropped.

O’Keefe had to get past two of her Texas teammates to get to Saturday’s final match, also beating Hsin Chun Liao, of Taiwan, in the Round of 32.

“It’s sad, but in a way, it’s very satisfying,” O’Keefe said. “Our team is tough.”

O’Keefe started her day with a 3 and 1 win over N.C. State’s Lauren Dainia Olivares, of Celaya, Mexico, in the quarterfinals. During the bumpy start against Hsu, she thought back to an experience she had playing for Team USA at the Arnold Palmer Cup earlier this month. She and her partner, Findlay’s Mary Kelly Mulcahy, were 2 down after two holes in foursomes.

“I was getting worried,” O’Keefe said. “She just said, ‘I’m not worried. We have them right where we want them. They’re comfortable. They’re not going to expect this.’”

The duo rallied to win that match 2 and 1 as Team USA defeated the International Team. O’Keefe will face Elise Lee, of Irvine, California, in the final match at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Elise Lee, an incoming freshman at Northwestern, advanced by beating Isabella Rawl, of Lexington, South Carolina, 2 and 1 on Friday morning and surviving a tight 2-up match against Macy Pate, of Winston Salem, North Carolina, in the afternoon.

After shaking off a hole-in-one made by Rawl on the 160-yard, par-3 fifth in the morning, Lee found herself 2 down through seven holes against Pate. She won Nos. 8, 10 and 11 to take the lead and got to 2 up with a par on No. 13. A par on 18 clinched her spot in the final.

Round of 32 Results - Thursday, July 18, 2024

Upper Bracket
Farah O’Keefe, Austin, Texas, def. Hsin Chun Liao, Taiwan, 5 and 3
Casey Weidenfeld, Pembroke Pines, Fla., def. Sadie Englemann, Austin, Texas, 19 holes
Caitlin Peirce, Australia, def. Avery McCrery, Wilmington, Del., 5 and 4
Lauren Dainia Olivares, Celaya, Mexico, def. June Song, Australia, 3 and 2
Riana Mission, Las Vegas, Nev., def. Caitlyn Macnab, South Africa, 1 up
Kary Hollenbaugh, New Albany, Ohio, def. Anna Huang, Canada, 3 and 1
Momo Sugiyama, Australia, def. Anna Morgan, Spartanburg, S.C., 3 and 2
Huai-Chien Hsu, Taiwan, def. Morgan Smith, Westford, Mass., 21 holes

Lower Bracket
Justice Bosio, Australia, def. Catie Craig, Sautee Nacoochee, Ga., 1 up
Elise Lee, Irvine, Calif., def. Bohyun Park, Korea, 6 and 4
Grace Summerhays, Scottsdale, Ariz., def. Chloe Holder, Anderson, S.C., 3 and 2
Isabella Rawl, Lexington, S.C., def. Jazy Roberts, Australia, 4 and 3
Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Ind., def. Kelly Xu, Claremont, Calif., 1 up
Alice Hodge, Larchmont, N.Y., def. Siuue Wu, Hong Kong, 2 and 1
Macy Pate, Winston Salem, N.C., def. Sydney Roberts, Chesnee, S.C., 2 and 1
Kaitlyn Schroeder, Jacksonville, Fla., def. Lynn Lim, Gallatin, Tenn., 5 and 3

Sweet 16 Results - Thursday, July 18, 2024 

Upper Bracket
O’Keefe def. Weidenfeld, 3 and 2
Olivares def. Peirce 5 and 3
Mission def. Hollenbaugh, 1 up
Hsu def. Sugiyama, 22 holes 

Lower Bracket
Lee def. Bosio, 1 up
Rawl def. Summerhays, 1 up
Hodge def. Pancake, 3 and 1
Pate def. Schroeder, 1 up

Quarterfinal Results - Friday, July 19, 2024

Upper Bracket
O’Keefe def. Olivares, 3 and 1
Hsu def. Mission, 1 up

Lower Bracket
Lee def. Rawl, 2 and 1
Pate def. Hodge, 2 up

Semifinal Results - Friday, July 19, 2024 

O’Keefe def. Hsu, 2 and 1
Lee def. Pate, 2 up