The Stanford women’s golf team doesn’t need any more help, but the defending NCAA champions are about to welcome another promising talent into the fold. She’ll be arriving on campus in Palo Alto, California, coming off a victory, too.
Kelly Xu of Claremont, California, shot 4-under 140 to win the weather-plagued Ladies National Golf Association Amateur Championship on Thursday at Lake Forest Country Club in Lake St. Louis, Missouri.
The soon-to-be Cardinal freshman swept three trophies at the event. Xu earned the George III Amateur Trophy for overall first place, the Dorothy Pease Junior Trophy for the best score among those 18 years old or younger and the Howell Team Trophy. Xu partnered with future Stanford teammate Sadie Englemann to reach a winning score of 6-under 282 in the team portion of the event.
“I had a lot of close shots, a lot of looks at birdie, so I felt really good and had a really good mindset,” Xu said. “Today I had only eight holes left to play, so it was harder to get into the groove of things, but it was fun.”
Due to rain, the 92nd playing of the LNGA Am had to be shortened to 36 holes rather than its typical 54 holes. It ended up being a tight contest as incoming Arkansas freshman Reagan Zibilski and Kentucky senior Marissa Wenzler tied for second, one stroke behind Xu. Englemann, Victoria Gailey, Caitlin Peirce, Kirsten Rudgeley and Bentley Cotton shared fourth place at 2-under 142.
Xu, who won the 7-9 age title at the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt at Augusta National in 2014, will be joining Megha Ganne as Stanford freshmen looking to make a difference early in their careers. Xu is a first-team AJGA Rolex All-American and won the Southern California Golf Association’s Player of the Year award in 2021 on the strength of winning the SCGA Women’s Amateur. Xu registered six birdies and two bogeys this past week during rounds of 68-72.
Playing time will be difficult to find at Stanford as the team returns Rachel Heck, Rose Zhang and a host of other top players from its national-champion squad.
RESULTS
Paul Mitzel of Quincy, Washington, defeated Colt Sherrell, 3 and 2, in a 36-hole final to capture the 120th Pacific Northwest Amateur on Saturday at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington.
Mitzel opened with a 1-under 141 in the stroke-play portion before the 64-player match-play bracket commenced. After winning his first match by a 6-and-5 score, Mitzel faced a few tight matches. He won his last hole to beat Krando Nishiba, 1 up, and then he rallied from 1 down with five to play to get past Matthew Kress, 1 up. Mitzel then beat Tyler Fitchett, 2 and 1, in the quarterfinals after winning the 17th hole.
After an easier semifinals victory over Johnny Carey, Mitzel never trailed against Sherrell. He opened a 3-up lead through the first six holes before Sherrell rallied back to tie the match through 15 holes. Mitzel took a 1-up lead into lunch and wouldn’t lose the lead again, although he was threatened.
After getting to 3 up with the final nine remaining, Mitzel lost the first two holes of the back nine to see his advantage cut to 1 up. Sherrell then hit a rough patch and Mitzel capitalized, winning three consecutive holes to effectively salt away the match.
“I’m speechless,” said Mitzel, a 32-year-old former Washington State player. “I don’t know what to say or how to feel, and I think eventually it will hit me. It was really nice having my brother, my fiancée and my family out here because they made it all easy. I never felt pressure.”
Mitzel is one of the oldest champions of the tournament in recent years. Sherrell is a fifth-year senior at the University of Idaho, so the final match was a battle of mid-am going against a college player.
“Colt has a really bright future ahead of him,” Mitzel said. “If you look at our scorecard, we were up and down the entire day. It could have gone both ways today.”
Mitzel finished second at the recent Washington Mid-Am. Earlier this year, he won the Washington Men’s Four-Ball Championship with Carey as his partner.
Sean Fairholm