Heck of a Day in Tennessee

Following an eventful morning that saw 31 players complete their second stroke-play round and a 9-for-2 playoff finalize the match play field, the 126th U.S. Women’s Amateur transitioned to the Round of 64 at The Honors Course in the foothills of the White Oak Mountains. 

Two of the most recognizable players in the field, Anna Davis, 20, of Spring Valley, Calif., and Rachel Heck, 24, of Memphis, Tenn., brought years of experience to their Thursday match. Davis won the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur, while Heck is an NCAA individual champion. Both have represented the United States in two Curtis Cup matches. 

The match was back-and-forth throughout its entirety, with no player taking an advantage greater than 2 up in a battle that came down to the final hole.  

Davis, who entered match play as the No. 4 seed, earned the first edge by winning the par-4 fourth after Heck yielded a double-bogey 6, finding the fairway bunker and then the fescue behind the green. But Davis missed an opportunity to take a 2-up lead on the next hole, missing a short putt. She would have two more costly misses of similar length later in the round. 

Heck quickly responded with a birdie on the next hole that set the match back to tied. From there, the Tennessean, who hails from Memphis, rallied wins on Nos. 7 and 9 to go 2 up.  

But Davis showed why she has made the quarterfinals twice in this event, tying the match with birdies on the 562-yard, par-5 11th and par-4 13th. 

But Heck answered back, sticking her tee shot close on the par-3 14th and knocking in the short birdie putt. She would then win the 16th with a par. 

On the penultimate hole of the match, both players had birdie looks following strong approach shots with Davis stepping up first and draining her opportunity. With a chance to win the bout with a matching birdie, Heck’s putt burned the left edge of the hole, sending the match to the 18th hole with the 24-year-old, who has only played two other competitive tournaments this year, holding a 1-up lead.  

On the final hole, with a chance to extend the match, Davis’ greenside chip fell short and par putt slid by the hole. That left Heck with a comfortable two-putt to secure her first match play victory at the U.S. Women's Amateur in three years, her first since reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 championship at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. 

“Oh, my gosh, yes. So much excitement,” said Heck of getting back in the winner’s circle.  

“It was so fun to feel those emotions again, the adrenaline and the nerves. I haven't felt that in a long time... This is the feeling I really wanted when I decided to get back into amateur golf and play some more. I wanted the opportunity to come down the stretch in a match and have my heart racing.” 

In one of the first matches of the day, Molly Smith, 21, of Westford, Mass., earned a 3-and-2 victory against 2024 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball champion Sarah Lim to advance to the Round of 32.  

Smith, who is playing in her fifth U.S. Women’s Amateur, advanced to the match play portion of the championship for the first time, earning an early 1-up lead with a birdie on the first hole and never looked back. 

Following a round-opening birdie, the University of Central Florida rising senior rattled off 15 consecutive pars, including two pivotal saves on Nos. 9 and 10 she later identified as key moments in the match. 

"I made two really good pars on Nos. 9 and 10,” said Smith after the round. “On nine, I was out of position off the tee and had about a 9-footer for par that I made. On 10, I hit it into the left fescue, had to wedge back into the fairway, then hit my wedge close to save par. Those two were really important because I was 4 up at the time. If I had gone bogey-bogey, I could have been just 2 up with eight holes to play. I only made one birdie today, so I feel like the challenging pars I made were more important from a mental standpoint." 

The Massachusetts native made her championship debut in 2021 and has played every year except the 125th edition of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes.  

“[It] feels pretty good,” said the UCF Knight about finally advancing to match play.  

“Not going to lie, yesterday -- I played good the first round, I shot 1-under, but I was more nervous than typical because... I’ve played this tournament four times and I missed every time. So [my first goal was] I really wanted to get into match play. I think [today] I was a bit more comfortable.” 

The most dominant performance of the day came from a player who knows this championship all too well: 2024 champion Rianne Malixi of the Philippines.  

The two-time USGA champion took a significant step in her pursuit of a second Robert Cox Trophy, defeating No. 7 seed Jasmine Koo, 6 and 5, in the Round of 64. 

The rising Duke sophomore, who rewrote multiple program records during her freshman season, grabbed the lead with a birdie on the opening hole and never looked back, posting the largest margin of victory in the Round of 64. 

“At first there is pressure because I've won this event before. Everyone is looking at me,” said Malixi. “But I think it goes both ways. I won this event before, so there is really no need for me to feel pressured to win again. I'm just here to enjoy the week and see a lot of new and familiar faces.” 

Play was suspended at 8:43 p.m. due to darkness. Three matches remained on the course. They will resume at 7:15 a.m. ET on Friday.

What’s Next?

Friday will feature the Rounds of 32 and 16, beginning at 7:30 a.m. EDT and 1:25 p.m., respectively. Match play continues with the quarterfinals and semis on Saturday and the 36-hole championship match on Sunday. Golf Channel has live coverage of the Round of 32 from 10:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.. EDT. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• The 9-for-2 playoff on Thursday morning for the final spots in the match play draw lasted five holes. Hsin Chun Liao, of Chinese Taipei, and Addison Klonowski, of Naples, Fla., advanced to the Round of 64, where they faced No. 2 seed Hailey Kim and No. 1 seed Anna Iwanaga respectively. Klonowski lost 2&1 to Iwanaga while Liao won 1 up over Kim. 

• For the second year in a row, the No. 63 seed defeated the No. 2 seed. This year Hsin Chun Liao defeated Hailey Kim. Last year, Ella Scaysbrook won her Round of 64 match as the No. 63 seed. This year, Scaysbrook defeated Jude Lee who was seeded 15 places higher than her.

• Thirteen different countries were represented in the draw with the United States leading the way with 40. Australia had five, followed by Canada with four and Japan with three. Chinese Taipei, Republic of Korea had two, while Colombia, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Africa and Thailand had one. 

• Play was suspended at 3:51 p.m. for dangerous weather for the second straight day. Play resumed at 6:13 p.m. after a 2 hour and 22-minute delay.   

Quotable

“This summer I played match play at the British Amateur. It's definitely something that I'm not super-duper familiar with because I've only played it here and there, but I feel like I'm gaining more experience and getting better at it each match I play, so that's good.” - Molly Smith on her match play experience 

“Even though I'm not from this part of Tennessee, everyone makes me feel like this is my hometown. All the Tennessee crowd has really came out to support and that's meant so much to me. My parents are here, my fiancé is here, and a lot of little girls are out here from the Tennessee Golf Association, which makes my heart just so, so full.” - Rachel Heck on the crowd support 

“So much better than last year's U.S. Am. I was focusing on like rehabilitation with my back injury and then visa issues heading to Bandon that week. But now I'm all chill and relaxed. So, yeah, it will be a really fun week. I'm really excited for what's in store for me, so, yeah.” - Rianne Malixi on how she feels this week 

“I'm usually a cutter, and this week I'm drawing it for some reason. I showed up here drawing it. Looking at the course now, it's for a drawer, so it's kind of convenient. There are a lot of tee shots here that are so much better if you can draw it, a lot of pin positions and whatnot. So, kind of blessing in disguise for how I'm hitting it right now, but it's working.” - Bailey Shoemaker on how she’s approaching The Honors Course