Sidney Yermish was the best high school player in Pennsylvania during their four years at Lower Merion.
The Michigan freshman prefers to be referred to pronoun-wise as they/their/them and I’ve noticed the Michigan website is doing so.
Yermish won three District One Class AAA individual titles and two PIAA Class AAA crowns and was playing terrific golf in 2020 when their scholastic postseason was taken away while Central League schools debated whether it was safe to play high school sports in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
For a variety of reasons, again the pandemic being one of the villains, Yermish didn’t make much of a mark on the national scene as a junior player. When they finally got through a qualifier to earn a trip to last summer’s U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship, Yermish made a run to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo. before falling to Leigh Chien of Irvine, Calif.
Yermish’s mother Dana was a co-chair of Rolling Green Golf Club’s effort to stage the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2016. Dana Yermish’s daughter looked at the young women playing at a high level – at least four of whom now own major championships as pros – and wanted to get that good.
Sidney Yermish is getting there.
As a freshman at Michigan Yermish has been in the lineup for a talented group of Wolverines in every one of their tournaments in the wraparound 2023-2024 season.
Yermish continued what has been a solid freshman season as they finished among a group of players tied for 13th place with a 2-over 212 total in a strong field in the Gators Invitational, which wrapped up Saturday.
Yermish closed with a 1-under-par 69 over the 6,002-yard, par-70 Mark Bostick Golf Course to help Michigan, a Big Ten representative, end up in a tie for sixth place with Atlantic Coast Conference entry North Carolina with a 22-over 862 total.
Michigan struggled a little in the opening round with an 18-over 298, but bounced back with a 7-over 287 in the second round before matching the low team round of the tournament in the final round with a 3-under 277.
Yermish had opened with a 3-over 73 before matching par in the second round with a 70.
Yermish has been a nice addition to a Michigan team that finished in a tie for sixth place in last spring’s Big Ten Championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club in suburban Pittsburgh. The Wolverines failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as an eight seed in the NCAA’s Westfield Regional.
Hailey Borja, a fifth-year player from Lake Forest, Calif., and Monet Chun, a senior from Canada and No. 71 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), are the key holdovers from last year’s team.
Borja finished among a group of three players tied for eighth place in the Gators Invitational with an even-par 210 total. Borja contributed a sparkling 3-under 67 to Michigan’s final-round surge. She had opened with a 3-over 73 before matching par in the second round with a 70.
Chun, who reached the final of the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2022 at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. before falling to Japanese teen Saki Baba, finished in the group tied for 22nd place in the Gators Invitational with a 4-over 214 total. Chun recorded back-to-back 2-over 72s in the first two rounds before matching par in the final round with a 70.
If you’re a Yermish fan, it will be a short road trip from the Philadelphia area to see them play when the Big Ten Championship tees off April 19th at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md. The Pete Dye design was the home of the LPGA Championship, the predecessor to the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and a major championship on the LPGA Tour in either case, from 2005 to 2009.
The team title in the Gators Invitational went to Pac-12 invader Arizona, which got it in under par in all three rounds as the Mark Bostick Golf Course for an impressive 8-under 832 total that gave the Wildcats a 16-shot margin of victory over reigning ACC champion Clemson.
Arizona has been running into weather issues everywhere it’s been this spring and the Gators Invitational was no exception.
The Wildcats ran into an atmospheric river in Southern California with the Therese Hession Regional Challenge shifting to a match-play format in order to work around rain delays. On the Big Island in Hawaii, there was rain and wind to contend with in the Pac-12 Preview.
The Gators Invitational was scheduled to be 54 holes Saturday and Sunday with a practice round Friday. With Sunday looking like a washout, the practice round turned into a double round that teams didn’t quite complete. The remainder of the second round and the final round were completed Saturday.
Arizona shrugged and played great, consistent team golf, opening with a 2-under 278 and matching the low team round of the tournament in each of the final two rounds with a pair of 3-under 277s.
The Wildcats were paced by Nena Wongthanavimok, a sophomore from Thailand who shared medalist honors with another Thai, UCF sophomore Pimpisa “Sandwich” Sisutham, each landing on 6-under 204.
Wongthanavimok carded back-to-back 1-under 69s in the first two rounds and trailed Sisutham by two shots going into Saturday’s final round. But Wongthanavimok ripped off a sparkling 4-under 66 in the final round to catch Sisutham and record Wongthanavimok’s first collegiate victory.
Arizona captured the team crown as a five seed in the NCAA’s Raleigh Regional last spring and finished just three shots out of the eighth and final spot in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz. Wongthanavimok finished in a tie for seventh place in the individual standings at Grayhawk as a freshman.
After opening with a 4-over 284 in the Gators Invitational, Clemson signed for back-to-back 2-over 282s in the final two rounds for an 8-over 848 total that gave the Tigers a runnerup finish.
Clemson was led by Chloe Holder, a junior from Anderson, S.C. who finished in a tie for third place in the individual standings with Florida’s Maisie Filler, a senior from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. and No. 42 in the Women’s WAGR, each landing on 3-under 207, three shots behind the top two.
Holder got off to a good start with a 3-under 67 in the opening round and added a 69 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 71 in the final round.
Clemson advanced to the NCAA Championship last spring with a runnerup finish as a four seed in the Pullman Regional, but was unable to make it into the match-play bracket at Grayhawk.
Behind Filler, the host Gators, out of the ultra-competitive Southeastern Conference, finished four shots behind Clemson in third place with a 12-over 852 total. Florida sandwiched a 2-under 282 in the second round with a pair of 5-over 285s.
Filler started 2024 by winning the Ione D. Jones/Doherty Women’s Amateur Championship, the match-play event on the unofficial Orange Blossom Tour at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and just keeps piling up solid round after solid round.
Filler closed with a 4-under 66 on her home course to get her share of third place with Holder. Filler matched par in the opening round with a 70 before adding a 1-over 71 in the second round.
Florida failed to advance to the NCAA Championship as a four seed in the Raleigh Regional last spring.
Florida’s SEC rival Mississippi finished a shot behind the Gators in fourth place with a 13-over 853 total. Ole Miss registered back-to-back 5-over 285s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 3-over 283.
The Rebels advanced to the NCAA Championship last spring by finishing in fourth place as a three seed in the Athens Regional, but were unable to earn a spot in the match-play bracket at Grayhawk.
Behind Sisutham, UCF finished two shots behind Ole Miss in fifth place with a 15-over 855 total. The Knights, out of the American Athletic Conference, opened with a solid 2-over 282 and struggled a little in the second round with a 293 before matching par in the final round with a 280.
Sisutham opened with a 5-under 65, the low individual round of the tournament, and added a 1-over 71 in the second round before closing with a 2-under 68 to earn co-medalist honors with Wongthanavimok at 6-under.
UCF failed to advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk as a four seed in the Palm Beach Regional.
North Carolina, another ACC entry, bounced back from an opening-round 291 with a 2-over 282 before closing with a 9-over 289 to share sixth place with Michigan in a tough 14-team field with a 22-over total.
The Tar Heels failed to advance to the NCAA Championship at Grayhawk last spring as an eight seed in the Pullman Regional.
Backing up Wongthanavimok for Arizona were Carolina Melgrati, a junior from Italy who finished alone in fifth place in the individual standings with a 2-under 208 total, and Gile Bite Starkute, a fifth-year player from Lithuania who was another shot behind Melgrati in a tie for sixth place with Mississippi’s Catlyn Macnab, a junior from South Africa and No. 18 in the Women’s WAGR, at 1-under 209.
Melgrati sandwiched a 2-under 68 in the second round with a pair of even-par 70s. Bite Starkute got off to a strong start with a 3-under 67 in the opening round before adding back-to-back 1-over 71s in the final two rounds.
Rounding out the Arizona lineup were Julia Misemer, a sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., and Charlotte Back, a freshman from Germany, both of whom were among the group tied for 15th place at 3-over 213.
Misemer led the Wildcats to their team crown in the Raleigh Regional last spring by finishing in a tie for second place in the individual standings as a freshman and she has earned a spot in the match-play bracket in each of the last two U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships.
Misemer’s 3-over 73 in the opening round was the highest Arizona score of the weekend. That’s how good the Wildcats were. Misemer bounced back with a 1-under 69 in the second round before closing with a 1-over 71.
Back added a 1-over 71 in the second round to her opening round of 72 before matching par in the final round with a 70.
Macnab transferred to Ole Miss from TCU and, as her lofty perch in the Women’s WAGR would indicate, she can play. Macnab opened with a sparkling 4-under 66 and matched par in the second round with a 70 before falling back a little in the final round with a 3-over 73 to get a share of sixth place with Arizona’s Bite Starkute at 1-under.
Joining Michigan’s Borja in the tie for eighth place at even par were Filler’s Florida teammate Paula Francisco, a freshman from Spain, and Miami’s Sara Byrne, a senior from Ireland and No. 94 in the Women’s WAGR.
Francisco was the picture of consistency over the Mark Bostick layout, matching par in each round with three straight 70s. Byrne, who is coming off a strong fall campaign for the Hurricanes, got off to a fast start with a 4-under 66 and added a 1-over 71 in the second round before closing with a 73.
Macnab’s Ole Miss teammate Justine Fournand, a senior from France, and North Carolina’s Megan Streicher, a sophomore from South Africa, finished in a tie for 11th place, each landing on 1-over 211.
Fournand is at her third stop on a college tour that started at Florida Atlantic and continued at SEC power South Carolina before landing at Ole Miss. Fournand finished strong with a 3-under 67 after recording back-to-back 2-over 72s in the first two rounds.
Streicher, who finished in a tie for fourth place while leading the Tar Heels to the team crown in last month’s UCF Challenge, carded a solid 2-under 68 in the second round after opening with a 1-over 71 and finished up with a 72.
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