PALM HARBOR, Fla. – After a long week of golf, it was Chloe Kovelesky who raised the Women’s Amateur trophy at the end of the day. Kovelesky defeated Victoria Zheng, 4 and 3, on Saturday at Innisbrook Golf Resort to win the 94th Women’s Amateur Championship.
"I’m so grateful to have won the 94th Women’s Amateur. I’ve been working so hard the past couple years and I’m really glad to see the hard work pay off,” Kovelesky said.
Kovelesky, 16 years old, becomes the youngest player to win the Women’s Amateur Championship. She also becomes just the second junior golfer to win the Women’s Amateur in the championship’s 94-year history, after 17-year-old Bailey Shoemaker won in 2022.
This is the second FSGA championship victory for Kovelesky, who won the Women’s Four-Ball Championship with Gabriella Albert in 2022.
The morning saw Kovelesky and Agustina Gomez Cisterna go to the 18th hole, with Kovelesky, winning, 1 up, while Zheng defeated Kelli Pry, 3 and 2. Kovelesky and Zheng, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, advanced to the Final in the afternoon.
“My mindset coming into the day was the same as it was during the other matches to just keep playing my game. I’m really confident right now with my swing, and I’m putting really well right now.”
In the Final match, Kovelesky took an early lead, hitting her second shot to 6 feet and rolling in the putt for birdie to go 1 up. The Boca Raton native hit her second shot over the green on the third hole but chipped it to 2 feet. Zheng missed her putt for par, giving Kovelesky a 2-up lead through three holes.
On the par-3 fourth hole, Zheng hit her tee shot to three feet and rolled it in for birdie. Kovalevsky was left with a long putt for birdie that slid by the hole to move her to 1 up against Zheng. But Kovalevsky quickly took back a 2-up lead with a birdie on the fifth.
Kovelesky and Zheng traded holes on the seventh and eighth, with Koveleskly winning the seventh hole after Zheng’s second shot found the greenside bunker and Zheng winning the eighth after Kovelesky finished with a bogey.
Making the turn to the back side, Kovelesky extended her lead to 4 up, winning back-to-back holes on the 10th and 11th. On the par-5 11th hole, Kovelesky went for the green in two, landing it on the edge of the green and left with a 60-foot putt for birdie. She nestled it up to 6 feet, while Zheng hit her third shot over the green and missed the putt for par.
“I think winning the 10th and 11th with birdies put some more pressure on her and really helped me take control of the match.”
Zheng cut Kovelesky’s lead to 3 up on the 12th hole, rolling in a 5-foot putt for par, while Kovelesky’s putt lipped out. But Kovelesky quickly took back her 4-up lead with a birdie on the par-3 13th hole.
Kovelesky secured the Women’s Amateur title on the 15th hole with a par to defeat Zheng, 4 and 3.
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