Meet the quarterfinalist in the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay
The quarterfinals are set for the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington. Here’s what you need to know about the eight remaining players in match play (courtesy NBC Sports Research Unit).
You can watch live action on Friday, beginning at 7 p.m. on Golf Channel.
Annabel Wilson vs. Catherine Rao
Wilson, 21, Ireland
Road to the quarters:
- Shot 73-73 in stroke play (par 73)
- Round of 64: Defeated Fiona Xu, 5 and 4
- Round of 32: Defeated Julia Misemer, 4 and 3
- Round of 16: Defeated Katie Li, 3 and 2
Notes: She has not trailed in any of her matches and is the first player from Ireland to reach the quarterfinals since Mary McKenna in 1980. No Irish player has ever won this championship and the last European to do so was Silvia Cavalleri in 1997. Wilson will be a senior at UCLA in the fall. She is the 2019 Irish Women’s Open champion and was a member of GB&I’s 2021 Curtis Cup team. She is ranked 144th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Rao, 18, Camerillo, California
Road to the quarters:
- Shot 73-67 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Defeated Izzy Pellot, 1 up
- Round of 32: Defeated Sara Im, 2 and 1
- Round of 16: Defeated Annabelle Pancake, 4 and 3
Notes: She will be a freshman at Princeton in the fall and was valedictorian at Oaks Christian High School. She represented the U.S. in the 2021 Junior Solheim Cup and was a 2020 and 2021 AJGA Junior All-American. She is ranked 647th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Match scoring from the U.S. Women’s Amateur
Navarrosa, 20, San Diego, California
Road to the quarters
- Shot 71-76 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Defeated Jaclyn LaHa, 20 holes
- Round of 32: Defeated Rachel Heck, 2 and 1
- Round of 16: Defeated Kelsey Bennett, 21 holes
Notes: She will be a junior this fall at USC and was a three-time Rolex Junior All-American in high school. She played in the 2021 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, but failed to make the cut. She is ranked 160th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Chun, 21, Canada
Road to the quarters:
- Shot 76-73 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Defeated Lauren Gomez, 1 up
- Round of 32: Defeated Amanda Sambach, 1 up
- Round of 16: Defeated Julia Gregg, 4 and 3
Notes: She will be a junior this fall at Michigan and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 and became the first Wolverine freshman to be named First-Team All-Big Ten. She is looking to become the first Canadian to reach the finals since Brooke Henderson lost in 2014 to Kristen Gillman. She is ranked 143rd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Saki Baba vs. Lauren Lehigh
Baba, 17, Japan
Road to the quarters:
- Shot 73-74 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Defeated Jennifer Cleary, 1 up
- Round of 32: Defeated Alice Ziyi Zhao, 3 and 1
- Round of 16: Defeated Aneka Seumanutafa, 3 and 1
Notes: She was co-medalist in July’s U.S. Girls’ Junior, but lost in the Round of 32. She finished T-49 in this year’s U.S. Women’s Open. She is ranked 45th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, which is the highest of any remaining players.
Lehigh, 21, Loveland, Colorado
Road to the quarters:
- Shot 77-70 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Defeated Kayla Smith, 3 and 2
- Round of 32: Defeated Anna Fang, 6 and 5
- Round of 16: Defeated Mia Hammond, 4 and 3
Notes: She will be a senior this fall at New Mexico and has not trailed at any point this week in her matches. She won the 2019 Colorado Junior PGA Championship and the 2018 Colorado Girls Match Play. She is ranked 520th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Leigh Chien vs. Bailey Shoemaker
Chien, 16, Irvine, California
Road to the quarters:
- Shot 73-73 in stroke play
- Defeated Aliea Clark, 19 holes
- Round of 32: Defeated Laney Frye, 2 and 1
- Round of 16: Defeated Rachel Kuehn, 1 up
Notes: She will be a junior this fall at Santa Margarita Catholic High School and is committed to attend Stanford in the fall of 2024. She is ranked third in the Rolex AJGA Rankings and won the 2022 Mariah Stackhouse Girls Invitational.
Shoemaker, 17, Dade City, Florida
Road to the quarters
- Shot 77-72 in stroke play
- Round of 64: Defeated Kaleiya Romero, 4 and 3
- Round of 32: Defeated Kynadie Adams, 1 up
- Round of 16: Defeated Amari Avery, 2 up
Notes: She is currently committed to USC and defeated future teammate Amari Avery in the Round of 16. She competed in the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, but missed the cut. She made it to the finals (alongside Kaitlyn Schroeder) of the 2022 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball and became the first junior to win the Florida Women’s Amateur Championship this year. She is currently ranked seventh in the Rolex AJGA Rankings.