Czech Mate! Ryskova Claims 37th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur

What Happened

As she prepared for her first round of stroke play last weekend in the 37th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Brae Burn Country Club, Lindsay Gahm saw a familiar University of Louisville golf bag near the practice green.

The bag belonged to Hana Ryskova, the native of the Czech Republic having just completed her college golf career and her MBA at the Kentucky school. Gahm, 32, a lifelong Louisville resident, introduced herself and they found out they live about 10 minutes apart. Five days later, after five rounds of grueling match play, No. 6 seed Ryskova and No. 12 seed Gahm met again, in Thursday’s 18-hole championship final.

It turned out to be Ryskova’s day, as the 25-year-old never trailed, taking the lead for good on the par-3 sixth hole, then reeling off four wins in five holes to seal a 5-and-4 victory over Gahm, who struggled with her speed most of the day on the testing Donald Ross greens. The long-hitting Ryskova birdied all three par 5s on the incoming nine (Nos. 10, 13 and 14) en route to victory over Gahm, who was buoyed by the presence of her husband, Austin Gutgsell, who flew into Boston the previous night to caddie for his wife in the final.

“The trophy was coming back to Louisville, no matter what, so we knew it was going to be special,” said Ryskova during the closing ceremony. Her boyfriend, Ethan Short, has caddied for Ryskova all week and she noted on Wednesday that, “It’s a dream come true. We started dating almost three years ago, and he loves to play. For him being here and caddieing for me, we are here mainly just for the memories, and they’re just getting better and better every day.”

Ryskova becomes the first golfer from the Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, to capture a USGA championship. The native of Frydek-Mistek, about 9 miles south of the regional capital of Ostrava near the borders of Poland and Slovakia, had an outstanding junior career, finishing seventh in the 2014 World Junior Girls Championship and competing for her country five times in the European Team Championship and twice in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship. She reached as high as No. 106 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) and went on the earn ACC academic honors twice at Louisville and earned her MBA in May.

Gahm has a 5-month-old son, Wyatt, with husband Gutgsell, who qualified for the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Erin Hills. A golf irrigation sales manager, Gahm tries to keep her game sharp around work and the demands of motherhood. She typically plays once a week and was thrilled to reach the final in her third U.S. Women’s Mid-Am start, having survived her Round-of-16 match with Judith Kyrinis, of Canada, by sinking a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th green to extend it, then winning in 19 holes. Kyrinis, 60, was the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion.

“I’m just grateful to be here,” said Gahm, who reached the Round of 16 in 2022. “I haven’t been playing much golf since having our baby. I really didn’t have any expectations; just getting here to the final was a dream come true. Really happy for Hana, though. She played solid today. She’s a great person and a fierce competitor.”

Along with the Mildred Gardinor Prunaret Trophy (named for a longtime member of Brae Burn Country Club who captained the USA Curtis Cup Team in 1960), Ryskova is exempt into the next 10 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs, the 2025 and 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Erin Hills in Erin, Wis.

When asked what she was most looking forward to in competing at Erin Hills next summer, Ryskova mentioned Nelly Korda, whose father, Petr, is a Czech native and a standout tennis professional who won the 1998 Australian Open.

“Obviously I would love to play with Nelly, but in general, I’m there as a player and I want to focus on my game,” said Ryskova. “I always wanted to play with [three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion] Annika Sorenstam, because she’s European and people say I sound like her, look like her. So it would be a dream to talk to her and play with her, but obviously she’s probably not going to be there.”

Ryskova becomes the second international player to win the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur title, joining Mary Ann Lapointe (now Hayward), of Canada, who won in 2005. Ryskova, who earned her berth in the 132-player field as a top-10 age-eligible player in the WAGR (No. 224 overall), defeated three fellow international players on the way to the final. She defeated Alexandra Vilatte Farret, of France, in a record-tying 22 holes in Wednesday’s semifinal, having extended the match with a winning par on the par-4 18th hole.

What the Champion Receives

• A gold medal and custody of the Mildred Gardinor Prunaret Trophy for one year
• Exemptions into the next 10 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championships
• Exemptions into the 2025 and 2026 U.S. Women's Amateur Championships
• Exemption into the 2025 U.S. Women's Open Championship at Erin Hills
• Name engraved on a plaque that will reside in the Hall of Champions at the USGA Museum in Liberty Corner, N.J.

Notable

• Lindsay Gahm is the granddaughter of Dwight Gahm, the founder of Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, three-time host of the PGA Championship (including 2024) and the 2008 Ryder Cup Matches. She and husband Austin Gutgsell are members at Valhalla. Gutgsell qualified for the 2022 U.S. Mid-Amateur at Erin Hills.
  
  
• Hana Ryskova played 102 holes over the six rounds of match play, which is tied for the fifth-most holes required by a champion all-time. The most is 108, by Corey Weworski in 2004 at Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn. The fewest holes needed came in the inaugural championship in 1987, when Cindy Scholefield needed just 81 holes at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla.
  
  
• At 25 years, 10 months and 1 day, Ryskova is the third-youngest U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion. The youngest is Lauren Greenlief, who captured the title just 25 days after turning 25 in 2015. Greenlief, of Ashburn, Va., reached the semifinals this week, losing to Gahm, 2 and 1.
  
  
• There were 11 extra-hole matches this week at Brae Burn, which is tied for the second-most in championship history with Holston Hills in Knoxville, Tenn., in 2004. The most ever is 13 at Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas, in 2017.
  
  
• The 2025 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur will be played from Oct. 4-9, at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, Calif. Lindsay Gahm is also exempt into the 2026 championship at Montclair Golf Club, in West Orange, N.J., and the 2027 championship at the Country Club of Buffalo in Williamsville, N.Y.
  
  
• Brae Burn Country Club, which had hosted seven USGA championships before this week, including three U.S. Women's Amateurs, two Curtis Cups, the 1919 U.S. Open (won by Walter Hagen) and the 1928 U.S. Amateur (won by Bob Jones), will host its ninth USGA championship in 2028, when it becomes the third club to host four U.S. Women's Amateurs, joining Merion Golf Club, in Ardmore, Pa., and Rhode Island Country Club, in Barrington. The championship will be played from Aug. 7-13.

Quotable

“I just need to tell my future employer that I need some PTO for [the 2025 U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills and the U.S. Women’s Amateur, at Bandon Dunes]. We were looking at the sites, and I’ve never been to Wisconsin or Oregon. I’m just super excited. It’s a big thing just to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Amateur in general. And for the U.S. Open, dream come true. I’m an amateur. I didn’t really want to turn pro ever. It's just a good experience to go as an amateur and play that tournament.” – Hana Ryskova, on the exemptions she earned for her victory

“The front nine doesn’t really play in my cards because I can’t use my driver, and if I use driver on 5 I can't reach it most of the time anyway. I knew if I was patient – again, patience is everything. I was just being patient and really more focused because I knew Lindsay is a really good player.” – Ryskova, on her conservative strategy for the final match

“Oh, man, it felt good because I am a good wedge player and it hadn't showed up yet, so I was glad it showed up in the right moment. It was 76 meters [83 yards], and I hit 58½ degree wedge.” – Ryskova, on the wedge shot she hit to 3 feet for the match-clinching birdie on the par-5 14th hole

“The speed was not really there. I was being a little more tentative and the greens weren’t as quick as I was used to. Just not really judging it correctly. Same thing with my ball-striking, just a little shaky, honestly, from the start. Yeah, just didn't really have it today – again, Hana played solid. It just wasn’t my day.” – Lindsay Gahm

"It really wasn't until a month ago that I felt like my body was back to where I could start hitting balls and getting more of that focus, so I really haven't had much time to prepare. Going forward, I'm definitely going to try to practice a little bit more and get out there and play more." – Gahm, who has a 5-month-old son, Wyatt

"These events have been so incredible, so much fun. It's always a great golf course, so I'm really looking forward to next year, seeing Monterey Peninsula. I've never been there, so I'm excited." – Gahm, who is exempt into the next three U.S. Women's Mid-Ams as the runner-up

Ron Driscoll is the senior editor of Golf Journal for the USGA. Email him at v-rdriscoll@usga.org.