Ina Kim-Schaad won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur last Thursday, defeating Hanley Long in 23 holes in the final at Monterey Peninsula Country Club in Pebble Beach, California. It was her second victory in the championship, the first having come in 2019 at Arizona’s Forest Highlands Golf Club.
“I’m overwhelmed with emotion, honestly,” Kim-Schaad said. “I truly love this place, and my husband and I got married in Carmel. To do it at such a special place, golf course, with my family here and my husband on the bag, his birthday week, and [winning] for a second time, it’s like there’s not even enough language to put around just all the feels that I’m feeling.”
A resident of Jupiter, Florida, Kim-Schaad is a 42-year-old mental performance coach at Fearless Golf, and her mental fortitude surely helped her take on the grueling week. In medal play, she shot 72-79 to qualify as the 45th seed.
Kim-Schaad faced former U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champions in the first two rounds of match play, defeating 2017 champion Kelsey Chugg in the round of 64 and 2021 champion Blakesly Brock in the round of 32. Kim-Schaad then beat Laura Bavaird, Jennifer Wang and co-medalist Katherine Zhu to reach the final.
The final match was a back-and-forth affair. Kim-Schaad never trailed in the match and was 2 up through nine holes, but Long battled back to square things up through 12. With the match tied through 18 holes, the competitors halved each of the first four playoff holes with pars before Kim-Schaad made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 23rd hole to win it.
By virtue of her victory, Kim-Schaad received an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open, the next 10 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs and the next two U.S. Women’s Amateurs.
As runner-up, Long received an exemption into the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the next two U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs.
Zhu and Jessica Spicer shared medalist honors at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, both shooting 3-under-par 141 (-3).
Zhu, a 25-year-old former University of California golfer making her debut in the championship, shot 67-74. Spicer, a Virginian playing in her third U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, shot 68-73. She was previously a co-medalist at the 2023 championship at Stonewall Links.
While Spicer lost to Kirsty Hodgkins-Redner in the round of 64, Zhu advanced to the semifinals before losing to Kim-Schaad.
Hana Ryskova, the 2024 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, failed to qualify for match play after she was eliminated in a 12-for-4 playoff to advance on Monday. The Czech golfer struggled during medal play, shooting 79-75. Ryskova was the first defending champion to miss match play at the Women’s Mid-Amateur since Martha Leach in 2010. Krissy Carman, the 2022 champion, also missed the cut.
Four senior amateur golfers made the cut: Lara Tennant, Judith Kyrinis, Shelly Stouffer and Dawn Woodard. All four are past U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champions.
Woodard, who survived the 12-for-4 playoff, has made the cut in all 22 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateurs in which she has competed.
Kyrinis, at 61, was the oldest player to make the cut. She also advanced farther than the rest of her senior amateur competitors, making it to the round of 16.
All three Monterey Peninsula Country Club members in the field made match play: Corinna Rees-Limbocker, Marissa Mar and Tennant. Rees-Limbocker had an impressive bounceback, following an opening 81 with a 71.
While Rees-Limbocker lost in the round of 64, both Mar and Tennant won their first matches before falling in the Round of 32.
In her round-of-32 match, Laura Bavaird made a hole-in-one on the par-3 fourth hole, using a 7-iron from 173 yards. It was the 10th known ace in U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur history.
SCORING
Everett Munez