Iwanaga on Course for Final Showdown

Ooltewah, Tennessee, United States: It was an eventful day in southeastern Tennessee as inclement weather once again showed up uninvited at the 126th US Women’s Amateur, stopping play for nearly three hours during the semi-finals at The Honors Course.  

After the Round of 16 and quarter-finals concluded earlier in the day, both semi-final matches got underway before a storm, the fourth in as many days, halted play.

Two hours and 58 minutes later (at 6:27 pm local time) play resumed, with Japan’s Anna Iwanaga holding a one-up lead over her opponent through three holes and Asterisk Talley one-up on fellow-American Lily Peng through one hole.

Iwanaga, the number one seed, showed no sign of slowing down following the weather delay, increasing her advantage over American Gabriella Nicastro to two-up with a par on the fourth hole. Before the stoppage, Iwanaga extended her lead to three-up.

A member of Japan’s victorious Queen Sirikit Cup team in Indonesia in May, Iwanaga is looking to become the first co-medallist to go on to win the US Women’s Amateur since Amanda Blumenherst in 2008.

Should the 17-year-old succeed in reaching the final here, she’ll earn a spot in the 2027 US Women’s Open Presented by Ally at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio next June. 

Like Iwanaga, Talley hit a second gear following the weather delay, draining a 10-foot birdie putt on the fourth and winning the fifth and sixth holes with pars to extend her advantage over Peng, a fellow Northern Californian, to four-up.

But Peng showed she wasn’t intimidated by the more-experienced Talley, knocking in a 10-foot birdie putt of her own on the seventh hole to trim the deficit to three. The two traded pars on the eighth and ninth, although Talley missed an opportunity to extend her lead when a four-footer on nine failed to drop right before play was called for the day.

“I think it's definitely going to be a mental test, but I think today was a good warm-up for that,” said Talley, on what lies ahead. “I think it's going to just be whoever is kind of fatigued tomorrow. I think just kind of staying sharp out there and hopefully keeping the mistakes out of play.”

The quarter-finals took place earlier on Saturday with Iwanaga advancing most efficiently, defeating Korean Park Seo-jin 5&3. Nicastro earned her spot in the semis with a 2&1 victory over Thailand’s Pimchompoo ‘Pinky’ Chaisilprungruang.

On the other side of the bracket, Peng defeated China’s Liu Yujie 2&1.

The marquee quarter-final match-up came down to a battle between breakout star Maggie Ma and seventh-ranked Talley. The two had already played 14 holes earlier in the day to complete their weather-delayed Round of 16 matches, but neither showed any signs of fatigue in what became another marathon.

Talley, who owns one of the most accomplished résumés in the field, jumped out to a one-up lead that she carried through the front nine. She extended the advantage to as many as three-up by hole 15, but Ma refused to go away, winning three consecutive holes to tie the match on the 18th. The NorCal native then drew on her experience when it mattered most, sinking a birdie on the first play-off hole, The Honors Course’s 416-yard par-four 10th, to secure a semi-final berth for the second time in her career.

In the Round of 16, Iwanaga defeated Canadian Michelle Xing 3&1, while Park overcame Australian Ella Scaysbrook by a similar margin.

Pimchompoo and Liu also made it to the last eight with notable wins against formidable American opponents. The Thai beat Rachel Heck two-up, while Liu subdued Bailey Shoemaker 2&1.

Australian Rachel Lee was eliminated 3&2 by Talley, who is aiming to atone for her 2024 final loss to Rianne Malixi of the Philippines.

The semi-finals will resume at 7 am local time on Sunday, followed by the start of the 36-hole championship match.