Pikesville, Md. – The 103rd playing of the Maryland Women’s Amateur took place over the weekend at the Suburban Club, and it was Helen Yeung of Argyle CC who came out on top over Jada Richardson of USGA/Maryland-DC GC 4&3 in the final match and etched her name into the Maryland Women’s Amateur history books.
Stroke Play Qualifier
On Monday, the field of 30 players looked to grab one of the 15 spots available in the match play bracket. Zoe Cusack (Congressional CC), the 2024 Girls’ Junior Amateur Champion, set the tone early with a blistering hot 5-under-par round of 67. She started off the day with four straight pars, but she got into a rhythm as she birdied four out of her last five holes on the front nine to shoot 32. She cooled off a little bit on the back nine by making six pars, two birdies, and one bogey to shoot 35. By the end of the day, Cusack was the only round under par, and she earned medalist honors as well as the second overall seed for match play.
Helen Yeung finished in second place in the stroke play qualifier by shooting a 1-over-par round of 73. She made eight pars and one bogey on the front nine to shoot 37 before turning to the back nine and making her first birdie of the day on No. 10. She would go on to make one more birdie, two bogeys, and five pars to shoot 36 on the back nine.
The cut this year was at 81 (+9), but there were three players that were tied at that score with only two spots left for the championship division match play bracket. Makenna Rodriguez (Worthington Manor GC), Tatyana Smith (First Tee of Baltimore), and Qin Zhang (Lakewood CC) battled it out in a playoff on Tuesday morning. Tatyana Smith bowed out after the first hole, and then Rodriguez and Zhang had to play to determine who would get the fifteenth and sixteenth seeds. Zhang prevailed and earned the fifteenth seed while Rodriguez was given the sixteenth seed.
Round of 16 & Quarterfinals
Zoe Cusack made a statement win in the Round of 16 by beating Qin Zhang 9&8. Cusack won the first six holes, tied the seventh hole, and then won Nos. 8, 9, and 10 to win.
Lani Park (Youth on Course MD) had a long battle against Leela Kenwood (Youth on Course MD) that included a lot of drama. In regulation, only five holes were halved between the competitors. On the first playoff hole, they both made bogey, and on the second playoff hole, they both made par. On the third playoff hole, Park was in a good position greenside after her approach shot while Kenwood was fighting with the trees down the right side. Kenwood misjudged her punch shot, hitting it over the green in a tough spot. In the end, Park won the match by making bogey.
Helen Yeung competed against Julia Garcia (UMD GC) in the Round of 16, and after the first nine holes, Yeung was in a good position by being 2-up. On the back nine, however, Garcia started to fight back. By the end of No. 16, Garcia was only 1-down, but Yeung made two impressive pars on the last two holes to secure her spot in the Quarterfinals.
The other matches in the Round of 16 saw Joelle Johnson (Youth on Course MD) beating Cameron Freund (Congressional CC) 2&1, Claire Son (Worthington Manor GC) beating Irene Kim (Youth on Course MD) 2&1, Jada Richardson defeating Clare Connolly (Chevy Chase Club), two-time Women’s Amateur Champion, in nineteen holes, Makenna Rodriguez moving on, and Mia Zanghetti (MSGA eClub) getting a spot in the Quarterfinals.
The Quarterfinals started off with Rodriguez and Zanghetti playing against each other. Zanghetti took control early and never lost it. She won three holes on the front nine to be 3-up at the turn. Rodriguez pulled herself back into contention by winning Nos. 12 and 13, but Zanghetti slammed the door by winning No. 15 and holding on to her lead to win 2&1.
Claire Son and Jada Richardson then played to see who would take on Zanghetti in the semifinals the next day. The front nine was a roller coaster of events with only two holes being halved. Richardson came out of the front nine being 1-up, but Zanghetti came back on the back nine to square the match. After being tied after No. 18, the two headed to No.1 to try to decide a winner. Richardson eventually made par to beat Son and move on.
Zoe Cusack and Lani Park was the next match up. Cusack, who had a dominating performance in the morning, was looking to pick up right where she left off, but Park had something to say about that. There was not much action in the first four holes, but then the players started delivering blows left and right. From No. 5 on, only four holes were halved, and by the end of regulation, they were tied. They would eventually halve the first playoff hole with Cusack draining a huge 15-foot par putt. On the second playoff hole, Park then drained a 15-foot putt of her own for birdie to win the match.
The last match of the Quarterfinals was between Helen Yeung and Joelle Johnson. Yeung took a quick 2-up lead after five holes, and then extended that lead to 3-up after the front nine. Yeung even went 4-up after No. 10, but then Johnson came roaring back by winning Nos. 12, 13, and 16. Yeung held on, however, by winning No. 17 to win the match 2&1.
Semifinals & Championship Match
The first Semifinal match was between Mia Zanghetti and Jada Richardson. Zanghetti started off hot with a birdie on No. 1 to go 1-up, but Richardson made par on No. 2 to square the match. By the end of the front nine, Richardson was 1-up. The two players traded blows on Nos. 10 and 11, but then Richardson made par on No. 15 to go 2-up. Zanghetti cut into Richardson’s lead after winning Np. 16 to go only 1-down, but Richardson prevailed by winning No. 18 to win 2-up.
The second Semifinal match was between Lani Park and Helen Yeung. There was not much action on the front nine aside from the two trading blows a couple of times, but they made the turn with the match squared. After Yeung won No. 10 to go 1-up, Park turned the tables by winning Nos. 11 and 13 to go 1-up. Yeung then caught fire on Nos. 14, 15, and 16 by going birdie-eagle-birdie to go 2-up. Park won No. 17 to go only 1-down, but Yeung tied Park on No. 18 to win the match 1 up.
The Championship Match between Jada Richardson and Helen Yeung went off in the early afternoon with a lot of anticipation in the air. Both Richardson and Yeung made pars on the first three holes, but then Yeung went on a roll by winning Nos. 4, 5, and 7 to go 3-up. Richardson cut into the lead on No. 9 by making bogey, but Yeung won the next three holes to take a commanding 5-up lead. Richardson did not go down without a fight, however, as she made an impressive up-and-down on No. 13 to go 4-down. She then made another par on No. 14 to go 3-down. After hitting their tee shots on No. 15, Yeung was in a great spot to go for the par 5’s green on her second shot. Richardson, on the other hand, was in the trees on the right. She was forced to punch out and hit the green with her third shot. Yeung successfully hit the green on her second shot, which set up an eagle attempt. After Richardson hit her lag putt to a couple of feet, the only thing that she could do was watch Yeung. From 30 feet away, Yeung hit a marvelous lag putt that finished just a foot away from the hole, and Richardson conceded the putt to make Helen Yeung the 103rd Maryland Women’s Amateur Champion.
The MSGA would like to thank the Suburban Club’s membership and staff for being such gracious hosts for the 103rd Maryland Women’s Amateur.
