Doran Cruises Into Quarterfinals in Mid-Am Debut

Emilia (Migliaccio) Doran has spent plenty of time telling golf stories the past few years — this week, she’s writing one of her own.

The 26-year-old Wake Forest alum and Golf Channel/SiriusXM analyst continued her impressive run on the Dunes Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club on Tuesday, winning twice to reach the quarterfinals in her U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur debut.

“I changed my ball flight to a cut on the second day of stroke play because I couldn’t hit a draw, and it’s working so well,” said Doran. “And so, I’m just really trusting that. And we’re really hitting our numbers, so I feel really dialed in with my irons.”

Doran, a two-time Curtis Cup competitor (2021 and 2022), opened the day with a dominant 6-and-5 victory over Catherine McEvoy in the Round of 32. In the afternoon, she faced a familiar championship pedigree in 2018 champion Shannon Johnson — and delivered another composed, clinical performance.

After bogeying the opening hole to fall behind early, Doran responded with a par at the second to win the hole and tie the match, then rattled off three consecutive wins on holes 3–5 to seize control. She widened the gap with victories on 7, 8 and 9 to go 5 up at the turn, building a cushion she would not relinquish.

Johnson cut into the deficit with a birdie at the par-5 13th. But Doran showed impressive poise on what turned out to be a pivotal par-3 14th. After finding the water off the tee and having to go back to the tee box, she hit what was her third shot to 20 feet and then holed the long putt for bogey to tie the hole and maintain her lead. When both players halved the 15th with pars, Doran closed out the match, 4 and 3.

"It’s the first time [I’ve ever used a local caddy],” said Doran. “It’s been unbelievable. I would consider him a professional caddy. Someone who could caddy on tour. I’m learning so much just from watching him go through my shots. I almost feel like I’m going to school.”

For Doran, who made the Round of 32 at this summer’s U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bandon Dunes — while simultaneously serving as an on-course reporter for Golf Channel — the run at Monterey Peninsula has added a new chapter to an already unique career in the game. Despite being a top amateur in college, Doran decided to forgo a professional career. Last year, her first year of Mid-Am eligibility, she couldn’t compete due to a work conflict. This time, she’s making the most of the opportunity.

Doran will face co-medalist Katherine Zhu, of nearby San Jose, Calif., in Wednesday morning’s quarterfinals. Zhu has been equally dominant this week, also cruising to a 4-and-3 win in the Round of 16.  

Joining them in the quarterfinals are 2019 champion Ina Kim-Schaad, Justine Fournand, Jennifer Wang, Shannon Fish-Martin and Hanley Long. The final Round-of-16 match was suspended due to darkness at 7:05 p.m. PST with Jasmeen Somrock leading 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Judith Kyrinis, 1 up, on the 18th hole. They will resume play at 7:30 a.m.

What’s Next? 

The quarterfinal and semifinal matches will take place on Wednesday, beginning at 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. PST, respectively. Thursday’s 18-hole championship match will commence at 8:30 a.m. Admission is free, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• All players who reached the Round of 16 are now fully exempt into next year’s U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, which will be conducted at Montclair Golf Club, in West Orange, N.J. 

• Laura Bavaird (pictured above) recorded a hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole during her Round-of-32 match, using a 7-iron from 173 yards. It marks the 10th known ace in U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur history and the first since last year’s Round of 64. Bavaird works as the foundation director for the Golf Association of Michigan.  

• Monterey Peninsula Country Club boasts not one, but two acclaimed golf courses, and several players who were eliminated from the championship took advantage of Tuesday’s free day to tee it up on the Shore Course, which was one of the rotation courses for the AT&T National Pro-Am. 

• The match of the day came in the morning’s Round of 32, when Jasmeen Somrock, of Carver, Minn., defeated MPCC member and three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Lara Tennant in 22 holes. After a 19-hole win in the Round of 64, Tennant held a 3-up lead over Somrock through 11 holes but would eventually fall to the 41-year-old Minnesotan. It is the longest match of the championship thus far. 

• Eleven U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champions started the week, but only one remains. Ina Kim-Schaad, the 2019 champion, defeated 2017 champion Kelsey Chugg in the Round of 64, 2022 champion Blakesly Brock in the Round of 32 and Bavaird in the Round of 16. Kim-Schaad, 42, is looking to become the first two-time champion since Julia Potter-Bobb in 2016.

Quotable

“I would say two things have really worked well for me this week, my iron play, especially with the wind. Coming into this week, something I worked on with my coach was getting the spin access as low as possible, because we knew the wind would affect things. And also lag putting. These greens have been really difficult, but I’ve always been a pretty decent lag putter, so making sure I got calibrated with these greens before the competition started was really important.” - Katherine Zhu on where her success this week has come from

“Everyone is keeping close tabs. After every match they are sending nice and encouraging messages.” - Zhu on how her coworkers at Sportsbox AI are following her run

“They’re quick. And you kind of have to know the subtle undulations, just when it’s uphill and then down, and just kind of navigating the speed. But I mean, having Nathan on the bag, who is a local caddy and caddies out here all the time, I’m pretty much just trusting him.”  - Emilia [Migliaccion] Doran on what she’s learned about the Dunes Course’s greens this week

“It’s beautiful. I love playing here. Just unbelievable watching the sea. And the course is in such great condition. It’s an absolute pleasure.” - Justine Fournand, from France, on playing the Dunes Course

“She bombed one right down the middle, so I had to back it up. Since I was the furthest out, the easiest thing I could do was just execute, put a good swing on it, so I hit a shot to 12 feet. So, short term memory is key.” - Hanley Long on resetting for her 19th hole against Brooke Seay

“When I briefly turned pro back in 2019, [Brown’s] parents actually sponsored me. So, whenever I got my amateur status back, his dad called me and asked if I wanted to coach Blades and his high school team. I said, ‘might as well.” But I’ve literally known Blades since he was less than my shoulder in height. He and I have such a great relationship, and I’m not surprised that he is succeeding the way he is.” - Long on her relationship with Korn Ferry Tour player and U.S. National Junior Team alum Blades Brown