Mid-Am Rookie Zhu (67) Leads at Monterey Peninsula C.C.

For Katherine Zhu, 25, of San Jose, Calif., this week has been circled on her calendar ever since she graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 2022.  

After a standout amateur and collegiate career -- highlighted by one of the best freshman seasons in Cal history -- Zhu briefly tried professional golf before regaining her amateur status in 2023. After unsuccessfully making it to the LPGA Tour and anxiously waiting to turn 25 (she did in January), becoming eligible for mid-amateur golf quickly became a major milestone. The timing couldn’t have been better: in her very first year of eligibility, the 38th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur was set to be played just 90 minutes from home at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, one of the most prestigious venues in the country.

“I've been looking forward to this since I graduated college,” said Zhu. “I played a good amount of junior golf at MPCC when I was like 12 or 13, so it was just really nostalgic to be back and see a lot of familiar faces in the staff. I think all of that together, I was just in a really good headspace.”

Zhu hadn’t teed it up in a USGA championship since the all-exempt 2020 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Woodmont Country Club, in Bethesda, Md., where she bowed out in the Round of 64 of one of four USGA events held during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, when she arrived at her Women’s Mid-Amateur qualifier in August, the nerves were a little sharper than expected. Leaning on experience, however, she steadied herself and fired a 72 at Soldier Hollow, in Midway, Utah, good enough for medalist honors and a coveted spot in the championship proper.

“I don't think my heart rate has been that high, ever,” said Zhu of her qualifier. “So, knowing that I would probably be nervous [again today], I just really focused on taking a step back and looking at the big picture and just remind myself that I'm really privileged to be out here.”

The attitude led to a Day 1-leading 5-under 67 from Zhu, who birdied four of her first six holes at MPCC’s Dunes Course. She would go the rest of the way in even par to post the third-lowest score ever in stroke play. Only Courtney Dow-Rowles (64 in 2023) and Jennifer Peng (66 in 2021) have gone lower over 18 holes.

One stroke back is Jessica Spicer, 27, of Williamsburg, Va., who is competing in her third U.S. Women’s Mid-Am. After tying for medalist honors two years ago and losing in the Round of 64, Spicer missed the cut last year at Brae Burn C.C., in West Newton, Mass. She is competing in the championship alongside her twin sister Sarah Spicer-Baldwin.

Dow-Rowles, Erica Whitehouse and Sherry Zhong sit two off the lead at 3-under 69.

What’s Next? 

The competitors will play one more round of stroke play on Monterey Peninsula C.C.’s Dunes Course on Sunday, with the low 64 scorers advancing to match play. Should a playoff be necessary for the final spots in the draw, it would take place on Monday morning at the Dunes Course. Match play will continue through Thursday’s 18-hole championship match. Admission is free, and spectators are encouraged to attend.

Notable

• Marissa Mar, a member at Monterey Peninsula C.C., had the honor of hitting the championship’s first tee shot. She was paired with 2009 champion Martha Leach, who is making her 35th career start in this championship, and Lauren Gebauer, who is from nearby Orinda, Calif.

• There were two eagles on the day, both off the clubs of those with strong ties to MPCC. Mar, who carded a 1-under 71, holed out from 66 yards on No. 16, while Corinna Rees-Limbocker, who grew up playing at MPCC with her grandparents and was married at the club, holed out from the fairway on No. 13. She carded an 81.  

• Kit Hampel, 30, of Buffalo, N.Y., is competing in the championship while seven months pregnant. She and her husband, Ty, who is caddying for her this week, are expecting later this year. She shot a 6-over par 78. 

• Defending champion Hana Ryskova, playing in her second U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, shot a 7-over par 79. She is at risk of becoming the first defending champion since Leach in 2010 to not qualify for match play.   

• Three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Lara Tennant, also a member at MPCC, opened with a 3-over 75. She played her last four holes in 2 under par.   

• Players are starting on the first and 12th holes this week due to onsite logistics. The 12th hole played as the hardest of the day Saturday, averaging .69 shots over par. 

Quotable

“It’s all right in front of you. That’s the nice part. What you see is what you get. And fairways and greens are important at any golf course, but here it’s definitely a premium. And then the big part is staying patient on those greens. Knowing which sides to miss it on, and honestly, if you are in the middle of the greens, you’ll have a decent putt at birdie, so knowing that is helpful.” - Marissa Mar, a member at MPCC, on what it takes to be successful on the Dunes Course

“I was excited, nervous, but also, it’s such a fun group. Getting to play with Martha [Leach], who is such an experienced player and so nice, and then Lauren I know really well from Northern California golf, and she’s an awesome player, I knew I was going to be comfortable, but still, hands were shaking over the first shot.” - Mar on hitting the championship’s opening shot

“I work for Sportsbox AI. We do 3D tracker-less data for swing-based sports, but I mostly work on the golf product side, and our CEO, she used to be on the LPGA [Tour], so everyone else also has played golf to some degree whether that's college or professional, so everyone has been super, super supportive of my journey. It's really cool to also be able to use the product here and there to check and make sure my swing is okay, but yeah it was just you know a perfect match.” - Katherine Zhu on her day job

“It was brutal. It was chilly, cold, the back nine played difficult on the coast with all the wind out there where you are really exposed. But it was just a grind out there. Tried to stay patient. It was definitely a demanding afternoon.” - Shannon Fish-Martin, who tied for the second lowest round of the afternoon (2-under 70), on the conditions