WEST POINT, Miss. – Alexa Pano only needed 14 holes to get it done in the Round of 64 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Pano, who shared co-medalist honors with 16-year-old Jiarui Jin at the end of stroke play Tuesday after carding 4-under 68 with seven birdies and three bogeys, said her performance in the first two rounds gave her confidence coming into match play.
Pano, who never trailed and only lost one hole Wednesday at Old Waverly Golf Club, defeated Remington Isaac 5 and 4, but was still able to point out shortcomings after the round.
“Today was a bit of a struggle, but (Isaac) played really well today and it was a good match,” the 14-year-old said after her win. “I missed a lot of putts out there that could have helped me out a bit and definitely have some improvements tomorrow but excited to move on to Round of 32.”
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MORE: Alexa Pano, Jiarui Jin take co-medalist honors
Pano said she thought her drives and accuracy to greens translated well from her stroke play round and still felt she was striking the ball well, but she did name one area of improvement.
“I just didn’t get a lot of the birdie connections I had in stroke play,” Pano said. “Hopefully (I’m) saving them for tomorrow.”
Pano will face Lauren Beaudreau Thursday beginning at 9:35 a.m. ET. Beaudreau, the No. 34 seed, dominated her match 6 and 4 over Delaney Martin. Like Pano, Beaudreau also never trailed, but she lost three holes, finishing off the round with back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes.
One surprising result Wednesday at the oldest championship in women’s golf was the loss of Jin, the No. 1 seed. Jin lost to to Emily Hawkins 4 and 2 after she bogeyed holes 7, 8 and 11 and made a double bogey on 10.
Hawkins, seeded No. 64, will face Hailey Borja on Thursday at 8:15 a.m. ET in the first pairing.
Florida senior Sierra Brooks lost to Stanford senior Albane Valenzuela after she notched a double bogey on the 13th hole. Valenzuela will face Brynn Walker at 9:05 a.m. ET.
The Round of 16, which will begin after the Round of 32 Thursday, will be televised on FS1 from 4-7 p.m. ET.
