NAPERVILLE, Ill. (July 19, 2023) – After setting a course record in the first round of the 123rd Women’s Western Amateur on Tuesday, Catherine Park entered the second round with one thought in mind.

“Forget about it and stick to my routine,” Park said.

The strategy paid off for the 19-year-old from Santa Ana, California, as she followed up a 64 with a 2-under-par 70 on Wednesday to capture medalist honors at White Eagle Golf Club. Park’s 10-under total was two strokes clear of the field, earning her the top seed going into the match play portion of the event.

“The score didn’t turn out as great as yesterday, but I was happy with how I played,” Park said. “It feels great to be the medalist and means a lot since it’s my first time playing in this event.”

The 32-player cut came at 2-over par. The match play portion of the event will begin with Round of 32 matches on Thursday morning, with the Sweet 16 to follow in the afternoon.

Park, a rising sophomore at USC, started strong, making birdies on three of her first six holes. Bogeys on Nos. 10, 11 and 13 brought her back to the pack.

“I wasn’t looking at the leaderboard at that point, but I knew I just needed to make a birdie to get back on track,” Park said.

Birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 brought Park back to 10-under par, allowing her to cruise home atop the leaderboard.

She is the first Trojan to earn medalist honors at the Women’s Western Amateur since Allisen Corpuz (2017), who won the U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links earlier this month. Park also joins an accomplished list of medalists, including Grace Park, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis, Ariya Jutanugarn, Brooke Henderson and Louise Suggs.

Bentley Cotton, of Austin, Texas, finished second in stroke-play at 8-under total. Despite arriving in Naperville on Monday night without playing a practice round, the rising senior at Texas posted rounds of 66-70.

“Given the circumstances, I came into this week with little to no expectations, but obviously it’s gone pretty well so far,” Cotton said. “I love this golf course and am really looking forward to seeing what I can do the rest of the week.”

Finishing in third was Park’s future USC teammate, 17-year-old Jasmine Koo. The Cerritos, California, native carded a 72 on Wednesday after an opening 65, bringing her stroke-play total to 7-under. Momo Sugiyama (Purdue), of Australia, and Crista Izuzquiza (North Carolina), of Spain, finished in a tie for fourth at 5-under. Izuzquiza was one of four players to shoot 4-under 68, the low round of the day.

Casey Weidenfeld (Auburn), of Pembroke Pines, Florida, finished alone in sixth place at 4-under, one shot ahead of Jocelyn Bruch (Purdue), of Carmel, Indiana, and Caitlin Peirce, of Australia.

Weidenfeld is one of several players making a return to match play. She’ll be joined by 2022 champion Taglao Jeeravivitaporn (Iowa State), of Thailand, who is attempting 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).

Also advancing to match play is 2022 semifinalist Brooke Biermann (Michigan State), of Wildwood, Missouri; 2022 quarterfinalist Grace Curran (Minnesota), of New Lennox, Illinois; and 2021 quarterfinalist Kan Bunnabodee (Purdue), of Thailand.

Lisa Copeland, of Naperville, Illinois, earned the Marion Miley Bracelet for being the low stroke-play finisher across both the Women’s Western Amateur and Women’s Western Junior.

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. The winner at White Eagle this week will join a list of past champions from legendary stars Patty Berg, Louise Suggs and Nancy Lopez to modern standouts like Cristie Kerr, Brittany Lang, Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Attendance and parking for the Women’s Western Amateur are free.

To view the full leaderboard, click here.

To view the full match play bracket, click here.