Fans of the North & South Amateur Championship will see some familiar faces when they tune into TV coverage of the US Women’s Amateur from Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York. Even though Rachel Kuehn, 2020 North & South Champion and top seed going into match play on Wednesday, was eliminated in the Round of 64, there are a few more with local ties to watch for.
Emilia Migliaccio. The Wake Forest standout from Cary, NC made it to the 2019 semifinals of the North & South before losing to eventual winner, Gabi Ruffels. Later that same year, Gabi would go on to win the US Women’s Amateur. Gabi turned pro at the beginning of this year.
Emilia Migliaccio
Aneka Seumanutafa. Playing now for Ohio State, the Maryland native was the 2017 Girls North & South Junior Champion in 2017. This year, Aneka made it to the Round of 32 and is continuing her hot summer at the US Women’s Amateur.
Anna Morgan. Her gritty play this year at the North & South earned her a runner-up finish — no small achievement. The Furman standout from Spartanburg, SC is one to watch this week.
Anna Morgan
Rachel Heck. A strong favorite to win this week, Rachel has won just about everything else this year. The rising sophomore at Stanford has captured six individual collegiate honors — including the NCAA Championship. Back in 2020, Rachel made it to the North & South quarterfinals before losing to the eventual winner, Rachel Kuehn.
Rachel Heck
The US Women’s Amateur is conducted annually by the United States Golf Association. The event is open to any female amateur who has a handicap index of 5.4 or less.
The North & South Amateur is the longest consecutively running national amateur championship in the United States. It has been played every year in Pinehurst since 1901 and includes notables in golf such as Francis Ouimet, Harvie Ward, Jack Nicklaus, Curtis Strange, Hal Sutton, Corey Pavin, Davis Love III and many others.
Feature photo: Aneka Seumanutafa.
~Article and photos by Sandhills Sentinel Reporter John Patota.
