CHULA VISTA, Calif. – Classmates Stephanie Lau and Janet Mao are moving on to match play at the 117th U.S. Women's Amateur Championship at San Diego Country Club. Northwestern's rising juniors were two of the best in the field during Tuesday's second round, with both surging up the leaderboard to earn one of the 64 coveted spots in the match play bracket.
2017 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship - LIVE LEADERBOARD
Lau finished off Monday's opening round with back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to sign an even-par 72. She carried that finishing kick right into Tuesday's second round, with three straight birdies to start the day.
The Fullerton, California, native carded 3 on the 362-yard Par-4 No. 1, a 4 on the 513-yard Par-5 No. 2, and a 2 on the 191-yard Par-3 third. She added another birdie on the 339-yard Par-4 No. 7 to make the turn at 4-under, and birdied two of her last five holes of the day to post a 68, the second-best score of the day in the 156-player field. The two-time All-Big Ten honoree finished third after the 36-hole stroke play portion with a 4-under 140.
Mao teed off Round 2 at No. 10, on the outside of the 64-player cut line that would determine match play invitations. The Johns Creek, Georgia, native and Academic All-American dazzled down the stretch with three birdies over her final eight holes, including two in the last four, to post a 2-under 70. That score, bested by only eight women in the elite field on Tuesday, rocketed her up the leaderboard into the Top-35 by the time the day ended. This marks the second straight year Mao has advanced to U.S. Women's Amateur match play, having also done so last summer at Rolling Green Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
Sixty-four of the world's best amateur golfers move on to match play with two rounds scheduled for Wednesday. The match-play rounds of the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship will be broadcast on FS1 (Fox Sports 1). Coverage will be from 3-6 p.m. PDT Wednesday through Friday, from 4-7 p.m. Saturday and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Exclusive bonus coverage will be streamed live on usga.org on Thursday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and Sunday from 9:30-11:30 a.m.
2017 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship - LIVE LEADERBOARD
Lau finished off Monday's opening round with back-to-back birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to sign an even-par 72. She carried that finishing kick right into Tuesday's second round, with three straight birdies to start the day.
The Fullerton, California, native carded 3 on the 362-yard Par-4 No. 1, a 4 on the 513-yard Par-5 No. 2, and a 2 on the 191-yard Par-3 third. She added another birdie on the 339-yard Par-4 No. 7 to make the turn at 4-under, and birdied two of her last five holes of the day to post a 68, the second-best score of the day in the 156-player field. The two-time All-Big Ten honoree finished third after the 36-hole stroke play portion with a 4-under 140.
Steph Lau was ?????? in R2 of the #USWomensAm.
— #B1GCats Golf (@NUGolf_Live) August 9, 2017
Lau AND #B1GCats classmate Janet Mao advance to match play!https://t.co/jHcMe2D5Uk pic.twitter.com/PNFwRbdMF4
Mao teed off Round 2 at No. 10, on the outside of the 64-player cut line that would determine match play invitations. The Johns Creek, Georgia, native and Academic All-American dazzled down the stretch with three birdies over her final eight holes, including two in the last four, to post a 2-under 70. That score, bested by only eight women in the elite field on Tuesday, rocketed her up the leaderboard into the Top-35 by the time the day ended. This marks the second straight year Mao has advanced to U.S. Women's Amateur match play, having also done so last summer at Rolling Green Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
Sixty-four of the world's best amateur golfers move on to match play with two rounds scheduled for Wednesday. The match-play rounds of the 2017 U.S. Women's Amateur Championship will be broadcast on FS1 (Fox Sports 1). Coverage will be from 3-6 p.m. PDT Wednesday through Friday, from 4-7 p.m. Saturday and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. Exclusive bonus coverage will be streamed live on usga.org on Thursday from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and Sunday from 9:30-11:30 a.m.