Amelia Garvey (USC Athletics photo)
The last time we saw Amelia Garvey, she was sparring with Emily Toy in the final match of the Women’s Amateur Championship at Royal County Down. Garvey, a New Zealand native who is about to enter her junior season at USC, is back in action, but still far away from home. Garvey leads the North & South Women’s Amateur after one round of stroke play at Pinehurst No. 2.
Garvey’s opening-day card was dotted with six birdies and three bogeys. She has managed to hold off Baylor’s Gurleen Kaur by a shot so far in the race for the No. 1 seed.
“Really, I just was grinding out there,” Garvey said. “I really didn’t hit a lot of great shots, but my scrambling was so good, and my chipping was immaculate. I’m definitely happy with this number.”
Garvey has two other USC teammates within the top 10 after Day 1 – those include Allisen Corpuz (T-4, even-par 71) and Jennifer Chang (T-7, 1-over 72). Not surprisingly, the 90-player field is riddled with collegians.
Defending champion Stephanie Lau, who plays for Northwestern, is also part of the tie for seventh.
There’s a new name in the mix after the first round, too. Nicole Adam isn’t necessarily new to these parts – she’s the only Pinehurst player on the tee sheet, after all – but the high school senior is enjoying something of a coming-out party on the national stage this summer. Last month, she played her way into the final group at the inaugural Donna Andrews Invitational in Lynchburg, Va., and finished an eventual third.
Andrews, a renowned teacher based in Pinehurst, works with Adam’s swing.
“I’m really excited,” said the 17-year-old North Carolina commit. “It’s a great experience playing against all of these really high-level college players.”
With amateur golf’s best in town, Pinehurst No. 2 looked a little different than Adam is used to seeing it. A tougher setup hardly seemed to bother her, though.
The Nicole Adam highlight reel included a made 30-footer on No. 7 for one of her four birdies on the day.
“Definitely, the greens were faster,” she said. “I knew it was going to be very important to hit the middle of the greens, and I did that today.”
“That was one of my best rounds ever on No. 2,” she added.
Quotes from Pinehurst Resort used in this report
ABOUT THE
North & South Women's Amateur
The Women's North & South has drawn the top
amateur women from around the country. Three
rounds of stroke play followed by four rounds of
match play will determine the Champion.
The 96 player field will be cut to a 16 player
match play field and medalist honors. All stroke
&
match play rounds will be contested on Pinehurst
No. 2. The top 16 players who qualify for match
play will play two rounds a day until our
champion
is determined.
Nine of the last 12 North & South Women’s
Amateur champions have drawn paychecks as
members of the LPGA Tour. The equation is near
perfect. Win the North & South Am, go on to
professional success at the highest level.
North & South champions are among the legends
of the game: Babe Zaharias, Louise Suggs,
Peggy
Kirk Bell, Hollis Stacey, Brandie Burton, Brittany
Lang, Morgan Pressel and Yani Tseng.
Along with the Women's North & South,
Pinehurst
Resort & Country Club annually plays host to the
Men's North & South, the Junior North & South,
and Senior Men's and Senior Women's North &
South.
View Complete Tournament Information