Bandon, Oregon, United States: Asia-Pacific standouts Arianna Lau, Eila Galitsky and Ella Scaysbrook have continued their brilliant runs at the 125th US Women’s Amateur.
Hong Kong’s Lau, Thai Galitsky and Australian Scaysbrook booked their places in the quarter-finals with high-class performances at Bandon Dunes. All three players won two matches on Thursday to confirm their spots in the last eight.
Having eliminated top seed and defending champion Rianne Malixi of the Philippines in the Round of 64 on Wednesday, Lau was in imperious form on Thursday. In the Round of 32 she brushed aside the challenge of Emilia (Migliaccio) Doran 4&2. Doran was the lone mid-amateur to qualify for match play at Bandon Dunes and is also working as an on-course reporter for the network broadcasting the championship.
Returning to the course in the afternoon, 18-year-old Lau, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation (APGC) Junior Girls’ title, made light work of Carolina Lopez-Chacarra, winning 5&4 against the Spaniard who is 15th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), 35 places above her.
It was the second time this year that incoming Northwestern University freshman Lau has got the better of Chacarra. In January’s Patsy Hankins Trophy in the United Arab Emirates, Lau and Korean Jeong Min-seo defeated Chacarra and Austrian Emma Bunch 2&1 in the opening-day foursome, setting the Asia-Pacific team on track for a commanding victory against their European rivals in the Solheim Cup-style event.
Galitsky was also a member of that APGC team, stamping her mark with a singles success against England’s Lottie Woad, then number one in the WAGR and now playing on the LPGA Tour with a maiden professional win already under her belt.
On Thursday at Bandon Dunes, Galitsy beat fellow-Thai Pimchompoo ‘Pinky’ Chaisilprungruang 3&2 in the Round of 32 and then outlasted American Natalie Yen, one-up, in a tense Round of 16 clash.
For her part, Scaysbrook, 110th in the WAGR, produced two outstanding performances, despatching Americans Avery Weed (Round of 32) and WAGR number 10 Jasmine Koo (Round of 16) both by 4&3 margins.
In Friday’s quarter-finals, Lau will take on Brooke Biermann, who edged past Chinese Taipei’s Cindy Hsu Huai-chien on the 19th hole in the Round of 16. In the Round of 32, Hsu defeated China's Xu Ying 2&1.
Galitsky, winner of the 2023 Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific and currently seventh in the WAGR, will face 11th ranked Megha Ganne, while Scaysbrook is up against Canadian Taylor Kehoe who pipped American Rayee Feng at the 23rd hole of an epic Round of 16 match. Feng eliminated Australian Jazy Roberts, one-up, in the Round of 32.
Should Galitsky and Scaysbrook both win on Friday they would come up against each other in Saturday’s semi-final.
If Lau progresses, she would clash with the winner of the fourth quarter-final, an all-American affair between WAGR number one Kiara Romero and left-handed Lyla Louderbaugh.
