AURORA, Ill. (June 23, 2021) – On a windy day when birdies were scarce, Shannyn Vogler made a series of critical pars to post a second-round 77 and claim medalist honors at the 94th Women’s Western Junior at Aurora Country Club on Wednesday.
Vogler, of Moline, Illinois, had to take a penalty after her tee shot on the 11th hole came to rest against a fence. She shook off the resulting double bogey to close with seven consecutive pars. Her two-day score of 149 was one stroke better than Nicole Gal, of Oakville, Ontario, Canada; Abigail Sutherland, of Glenview, Kentucky; and Sophie Zhang-Murphy, of Saratoga, California.
“Off the tee was a little better than yesterday,” said Vogler, who led by two after an even-par 72 on Tuesday. “I didn’t have any close shots today, so I didn’t make as many birdies today as yesterday.”
After the second round of stroke play on Wednesday, the field was cut from 78 players to the top 16 for match play.
Gal followed an opening-round 77 with a 1-over 73 on Wednesday to tie for second. The rising senior and Ole Miss commit made match play with ease but said she wasn’t taking any chances.
“It’s hard when there’s a cut. I feel like you don’t know how everyone else is doing, so I just kept going,” Gal said. “After my round yesterday I went to the range and found my tempo and tried to stick to that today.”
Zhang-Murphy, a rising senior who plans to attend Princeton, and Sutherland tied Gal for second place at 6 over. Sutherland led briefly while shooting a front-nine 34 on Wednesday and made the cut even after dropping a few strokes on her final nine.
“I started off well, and then the wind started picking up,” Sutherland said. “Overall I felt like I hit some good shots, especially with how fast the greens are.”
Sisters Katie and Kelli Scheck, of Greensboro, Georgia, both made match play. Katie Scheck, who will attend Penn State this fall, shot 77-74 to finish 7 over in a tie for fifth. Kelli Scheck followed an opening 74 with an 80 on Wednesday to grab one of the final match play spots.
McKenzie Mages, of Marietta, Georgia, posted the low round of the day, shooting an even-par 72 to finish in a tie for eighth after an opening-round 80. Mages made a birdie on her first hole and added two more on the front nine to help secure her match play spot.
Mara Janess (Barrington, Illinois) – a rising senior and Michigan commit – and Addison Klonowski (Naples, Florida) finished at 7 over to tie for fifth. Kaitlyn Hanna (Omaha, Nebraska) and Caroline McConnell (South Fayette, Pennsylvania) joined Mages at 8 over to tie for eighth.
Kathryn VanArragon (Blaine, Minnesota) finished alone in 11th at 9 over. Audrey Tir (Winnetka, Illinois), Elizabeth Tucci (New Market, Maryland), Ella Weber (Burlington, Ontario, Canada) and Montgomery Ferreira (Tacoma, Washington) posted 10 over to grab the final match play spots.
Four rounds of match play will determine the Women’s Western Junior champion. The Round of 16 and Quarterfinal matches will be played on Thursday. The Semifinals will be played Friday morning, and the Final will be played Friday afternoon.
The complete leaderboard can be found here. Match play pairings can be found here. The first match begins at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday.
The Women’s Western Junior Championship is a testing ground for the stars of the future. Past champions include Candie Kung (1998), Christie Kerr (1994), Grace Park (1993), and Nancy Lopez (1972, 1973, 1974).
Attendance and parking for the Women’s Western Junior are free. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @WWGAGolf.