Top Honors on Day 1 Goes to Iwanaga

Anna Iwanaga, 17, of Japan, carded a 5-under-par 67 to take the first-round lead at the 126th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in her championship debut at The Honors Course.

A member of Japan’s National Team, Iwanaga started her round on the 10th hole and wasted little time getting into a rhythm. She made three birdies on her opening nine holes, at the par-4 10th, 12th and 15th, before adding three more on her closing nine at the 1st, 6th and 9th. Her only blemish came at the par-3 8th, where she made bogey.

“Today, out of the four par-5s, I only had one birdie,” Iwanaga said. “Tomorrow, the goal is to birdie all of those.”

Iwanaga arrives at The Honors Course with an impressive resume of amateur success. Earlier this summer, she reached the Round of 16 at the U.S. Girls’ Junior, falling in a tight 22-hole match, finished runner-up at both the Australian Women’s Amateur and The Junior Invitational at Sage Valley, while also placing third at the Women’s Australian Master of the Amateurs. 

In 2025, Iwanaga won seven World Amateur Golf Ranking events, including the Girls 15-18 division of the Junior World Championships in San Diego, and captured a professional title on Japan’s Step Up Tour. She was runner-up at the Japan Women’s Amateur and tied for fourth at the Canadian Women’s Amateur.

Two shots behind Iwanaga at 3-under 69 is Madison Dabagia, 22, of Fort Wayne, Ind., as well as Jie-En Lin, 15, of Chinese Taipei. Dabagia made five birdies against two bogeys in her opening round. Dabagia recently graduated from Indiana University, where she earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors as a senior. Lin, who was four-under through 16 holes, bogeyed the par-5 17th on what was otherwise a clean card. She’s looking to add to an impressive resume that includes a start at the U.S. Women’s Open presented by Ally earlier this summer.

“I changed my driver after [the U.S. Women’s Open], and am hitting it better now,” said Lin. “It wasn’t great today, but my irons were pretty good, so I was able to make some easy putts.”

Four players, including top-ranked junior golfer and U.S. National Junior Team member Asterisk Talley, are three shots back at 2-under.  

What’s Next?

All 156 competitors will play a second round of stroke play at The Honors Course on Wednesday after which the field will be trimmed to the low 64 scorers and ties. If a playoff is necessary to determine the final spots in the draw, it would take place late Wednesday afternoon starting at No. 10 and then continuing to Nos. 11, 12, 16, 17 and 18, if necessary. Match play begins on Thursday with the Round of 64 and continues until Sunday’s 36-hole championship match. Golf Channel has live coverage of the opening round of match play on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. The network will continue live coverage through Sunday’s final. Admission is free and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• The Round 1 scoring average was 75.9. 

• Tennessee State Amateur champion Molly Hardwick (pictured above) had the honor of hitting the opening tee shot of the championship. Hardwick posted a four-over 76. 

• Three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Lara Tennant, 59, is chasing history this week as she looks to become the oldest player to make the cut in the championship’s 126-year history. Tennant opened with a 2-over 74, putting her in a tie for 48th, and punctuated her round with a chip-in birdie on the par-5 17th hole. 

• 2016 USA Curtis Cupper and UCLA All-American Beth Wu is on the bag for Kylie Chong. Wu is an assistant coach at the University of Southern California, where Chong is a rising sophomore. Wu is also a past Women's Am semifinalist. Chong shot a 3-over 75. 

• Several USGA champions and Curtis Cuppers have already made their way to the championship this week, including 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Sophia Schubert, 2024 U.S. Senior Amateur champion Louis Brown and three-time Curtis Cupper Rachel Kuehn, who is competing in an Epson Tour event about 90 minutes away. Also on site is two-time Curtis Cupper Brenda Kuehn, a member of the USGA Executive Committee. 

Quotable

• "It was amazing. I felt so overwhelmed just being in my home state and having won the state amateur to get here. It was just such a cool moment. I honestly didn’t care what happened with the shot itself. Having that honor is something that I will remember forever.” - Molly Hardwick on hitting the opening tee shot 

• “I think it was just pretty steady all day. I started off pretty good with three birdies towards the beginning and then just kind of dropped a couple of shots, wasn’t too mad about it, just kind of pacing myself out there, wasn’t trying to get too aggressive or anything, just kind of playing my game.” - Asterisk Talley on her round 

• “I hit the ball a little higher than other people, so I feel like that kind of plays into my advantage. I have a little bit more spin which is good. I’m assuming it’s going to be a little bit softer and a little less wind [tomorrow]. But you also never know. A storm could roll through.” - Farah O’Keefe on how The Honors Course suits her game and her game plan for tomorrow 

• “I’ve learned a lot between the two (championships). Being patient is something I learned throughout college golf because I was in high school then and I’m in college now. I made it to match play at Chambers Bay, so it’s the same mindset — playing really steady, calm and patient.” - Jaclyn LaHa on playing in her first U.S. Women’s Amateur since 2022 

• “It’s been really great. I had a great time celebrating with my family and my friends back home. This is my first U.S. Women’s Amateur so I’m really excited for it. I’m coming in here with a fresh slate, just taking it from the beginning again, taking it slow and really enjoying it.” - Clairey Lin on what life has been like since winning the U.S. Girls’ Junior three weeks ago