Weather delay can’t stop Colorado sisters Lauren and Katelyn Lehigh from advancing to Sweet 16 at U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball
By Gary Baines – 5/13/2024
The initial match played by Lauren and Katelyn Lehigh at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball lasted eight hours from first shot to last. But don’t get the impression that the stroke-play co-medalists — sisters from Loveland — were particularly hard-pressed in the round of 32 in San Antonio.
Actually, the Lehighs posted a rather routine victory on Monday, considering they earned the top seed for match play and tied the 36-hole USWAFB record doing it. They defeated the 32nd seeds, junior golfers Grace Ridenour and Emerson Dever of North Carolina, 5 and 3, at Oak Hills Country Club.
So what delayed matters? Heavy rain and hail that lasted from the morning to mid-afternoon — four hours in all.
With that, the Lehighs set up a Tuesday round-of-16 matchup with 16th-seeded Rina Kawasaki and Clairey Lin of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., two more junior golfers — each 14 years old, making them the youngest team in the field. Whoever wins that match will tee it up in the quarterfinals on Tuesday afternoon.
Lauren Lehigh, who just completed her college career at the University of New Mexico, and Katelyn, who just wrapped up her sophomore season at Fresno State, each won two girls 5A state high school individual titles in Colorado. This season, Lauren established the UNM women’s single-season scoring record, while Katelyn claimed her first individual college title. Lauren advanced to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2022.
The Lehighs are competing in the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball for the first time, though Lauren qualified for the 2016 national championship but pulled out because of a scheduling conflict. The Lehigh sisters first tried to qualify together for the USWAFB in 2016, falling just short of earning a berth in the 2017 championship.
On Monday, the Lehighs led 1 up through four holes when play was halted by the weather. And when action resumed hours later, they won the eighth and ninth, and 14th and 15th holes — all with birdies — to close out their opponents. The Coloradans didn’t lose a hole all day and they finished a better-ball 4 under par for 15 holes.
The Lehighs are attempting to become the second twosome with strong Colorado ties to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball. Then-Colorado State University golfers Katrina Prendergast and Ellen Secor earned the national title in 2018.
Results of teams with strong Colorado connections competing in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball in San Antonio:
MATCH PLAY ROUND OF 32 ON MONDAY
Lauren Lehigh and Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland, def. Grace Ridenour and Emerson Dever, North Carolina, 5 and 3
STROKE PLAY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY
Advance to Match Play Round of 64
T1. Lauren Lehigh and Katelyn Lehigh, Loveland 66-62–128
Failed to Advance to Match Play
Hadley Ashton and Logan Hale, Erie 67-73—140
CU teammates Morgan Miller and Maria Eidhagen Harrouch 72-69–141
For all the results, CLICK HERE
About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com