NORTHFIELD, Ill. (July 21, 2022) – Annabelle Pancake’s Thursday got off to a pretty bad start.

Playing stroke-play medalist Sadie Englemann in the first Round of 32 match at the 122nd Women’s Western Amateur Championship at Sunset Ridge Country Club, Pancake found herself three down after five holes. She was even par, but Englemann, of Austin, Texas, had already made three birdies to take control.

“Sadie’s an amazing player, obviously. She was just on fire,” said the 20-year-old Pancake, of Zionsville, Indiana. “I had put myself in position, so I was not worried. I just thought, ‘Keep hitting the shots and they’ll drop eventually.’”

She made a birdie on the par-5 seventh and picked up a pair of wins when Englemann (Stanford) bogeyed Nos. 9 and 10. Then, the putts started to drop.

Pancake made three straight birdies on Nos. 12-14 to turn a one-hole deficit into a 2-up advantage. The rising senior at Clemson closed out the match with a series of pars, then won her Sweet 16 matchup against Casey Weidenfeld, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, 6 and 4 without dropping a hole to become the first player to secure her spot in Friday’s quarterfinal round.

“I think it’s just endurance and keeping that mental focus throughout the day, knowing that at any moment, things can change,” Pancake said.

Pancake was done by 2:45 p.m. on a marathon day when play went until dark. After two evening delays for inclement weather, players still on the course were given the option to finish their matches on Friday morning.

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard (Oklahoma State), of Perth, Australia, and Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, of Thailand, decided to stop for the night with Hinson-Tolchard 1 up through 13 holes. Brooke Biermann (Michigan State), of Wildwood, Missouri, and Zoe Slaughter (Texas A&M), of Houston, Texas, made the same decision with Biermann 1 up through 13. Both matches will resume at 7 a.m. on Friday.

The quarterfinal matches that are already set will start at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, with the semifinal matches following in the afternoon. The championship match will be played Saturday morning.

To view the match play bracket, click here.

Pancake will face Chloe Schiavone, of Jacksonville, Florida, on Friday morning. Schiavone won her Round of 32 match 1 up, then outlasted Ashley Kozlowski (Purdue), of Littleton, Colorado, 4 and 2 in the Sweet 16. Schiavone excelled on another windy day at Sunset Ridge, using a 2-iron and low, penetrating shots to keep her ball in play.

“I hit this stinger shot, and that helps so much out here, because all you have to do is hit it in the fairway,” the 20-year-old rising junior at Notre Dame said.

Schiavone didn’t have time to rest between her matches on Thursday, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“I went to 18 on the first match, which I think actually helped me because I was in that pressure situation early,” she said. “Because there was only 30 minutes between the two matches, it kind of felt like just playing the 19th hole.”

Caroline Smith, of Inverness, Illinois, advanced to the quarterfinals by beating Sky Sudberry, of The Woodlands, Texas, in 19 holes and Jackie Lucena, of Chico, California, 4 and 2. Smith (Wake Forest), was on the brink of elimination against Sudberry, but hit an excellent approach on No. 18 to force extra holes.

Defending champion Marissa Wenzler, of Dayton, Ohio, survived a pair of close matches to return to the quarterfinals. The rising senior at Kentucky tied her Sweet 16 match against Abby Glynn (Kansas), of Topeka, Kansas, on the 17th hole, then waited out a weather delay before hitting her tee shot on 18. There was another lengthy delay when the match reached the final green.

When they finally resumed play, Glynn failed to get up and down from the greenside bunker and Wenzler two-putted for par to advance. Wenzler is trying to become the first player to win back-to-back Women’s Western Amateurs in more than two decades (Meredith Duncan in 2000 and 2001).

“It was a bit stressful. At some point you get tired, and the stress just becomes tiredness,” Wenzler said. “We made it through, thankfully, but it was definitely a long 18th hole.”

Held without interruption since its inception in 1901, the Women’s Western Amateur is among the oldest and most prestigious annual championships in women’s amateur golf. The tournament is conducted jointly by the Women’s Western Golf Association and the Western Golf Association.

The championship features the top amateur and collegiate players from across the globe. Its list of past champions spans more than a century, from legendary stars Patty Berg, Louise Suggs and Nancy Lopez to modern standouts like Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn.

This is Sunset Ridge’s fifth WWGA championship. The club was also the site of the 1935 Women’s Western Open (won by Opal Hill), the 1942 Women’s Western Amateur (won by Betty Jameson) and the 1953 and 1961 Women’s Western Juniors (won by Anne Richardson and Ann Baker, respectively).

In addition to its WWGA championships, Sunset Ridge has hosted three WGA championships – the 1936 Western Junior, the 1972 Western Open and, most recently, the 2018 Western Amateur won by Texas standout Cole Hammer.

Attendance and parking for the Women’s Western Amateur are free. For more information, visit www.womenswesternamateur.com.

Round of 32 Results
Thursday, July 21, 2022

Upper Bracket
Annabelle Pancake, Zionsville, Indiana, def. Sadie Englemann, Austin, Texas, 2 and 1
Casey Weidenfeld, Pembroke Pines, Florida, def. Jocelyn Bruch, Carmel, Indiana, 19 holes
Ashley Kozlowski, Littleton, Colorado, def. Jennifer Rosenberg, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, 2 and 1
Chloe Schiavone, Jacksonville, Florida, def. Jennifer Herbst, Australia, 1 up
Brooke Biermann, Wildwood, Missouri, def. Matilda Miels, Adelaide, Australia, 4 and 3
Zoe Slaughter, Houston, Texas, def. Kelly Sim, Edgewater, New Jersey, 25 holes
Caroline Smith, Inverness, Illinois, def. Sky Sudberry, the Woodlands, Texas, 19 holes
Jackie Lucena, Chico, California, def. Rebecca Skoler, Needham, Massachusetts, 2 up

Lower Bracket
Rianne Mikhaela Malixi, Philippines, def. Megan Furtney, St. Charles, Illinois, 2 and 1
Jo Hua Hung, Taiwan, def. Natasha Kiel, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2 and 1
Marissa Wenzler, Dayton, Ohio, def. Emily Lauterbach, Hartland, Wisconsin, 2 and 1
Abby Glynn, Topeka, Kansas, def. Sarah Willis, Eaton, Ohio, 6 and 4
Taglao Jeeravivitaporn, Thailand, def. Sarah Arnold, Geneva, Illinois, 2 and 1
Maddison Hinson-Tolchard, Perth, Australia, def. Sora Kamiya, Toki, Gifu, Japan, 19 holes
Kirsten Rudgeley, Perth, Australia, def. Sydney Seigel, Scottsdale, Arizona, 19 holes
Grace Curran, New Lenox, Illinois, def. Meiyi Yan, Windermere, Florida, 4 and 2

Sweet 16 Results
Thursday, July 21, 2022

Upper Bracket
Pancake def. Weidenfeld, 6 and 4
Schiavone def. Kozlowski, 4 and 2
Biermann 1 up on Slaughter thru 13*
Smith def. Lucena, 3 and 2

Lower Bracket
Malixi def. Hung, 3 and 2
Wenzler def. Glynn 1 up
Hinson-Tolchard 1 up on Jeeravivitaporn thru 13*
Curran def. Rudgeley 2 and 1

*Match will be finished on Friday morning