[Photo: Darren Carroll/USGA]
Australia’s hopes of a second US Women’s Amateur champion have been snuffed out in the Round of 16 as both Ella Scaysbrook and Rachel Lee failed to advance.
Resuming their matches after an electrical storm forced the suspension of play late on Friday, both Scaysbrook and Lee returned to The Honors Course in Tennessee engaged in tight contests.
A semi-finalist in this event 12 months ago, Scaysbrook was all square through nine holes in her match against South Korean Seojin Park when play resumed Saturday morning.
It was the world No.13 who struck first, however, going 2 up after winning both the 10th and 11th holes.
Showing the fighting spirit that was the hallmark of her charge in 2025, Scaysbrook birdied the next two holes to once again tie the match but Park would respond in kind, making birdie at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to close out the match 3&1.
Starting Saturday 1 down against emerging American star Asterisk Talley, Lee went 2 down when she made bogey at the par-5 sixth and was 3 down when Talley made birdie at the par-3 eighth.
But, like her New South Wales counterpart, Lee rose from the canvas to turn the match on its head.
Birdies at nine and 10 reduced the deficit to just one hole and when Lee made par to Talley’s bogey at the par-5 11th, the match was all square.
The par-4 12th was halved before Talley once again assumed the initiative, winning the 13th, 15th and 16th holes to win 3&2.
While Park lost her quarter-final match, Talley advanced and was 3 up through nine holes of her semi-final against Lily Peng when play was suspended due to darkness.
Only one Australian has ever won the US Women’s Amateur, Victorian Gabriela Ruffels in 2019.
