Sidney Yermish, a two-time PIAA Class AAA champion at Lower Merion, continued their solid freshman season at Michigan as they finished among a group of six players tied for eighth place in the individual standings to help the Wolverines land in a tie for second in the Valspar Augusta Invitational last weekend at Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.
Yermish prefers is to be identified pronoun-wise as they/them/their, so I’ll attempt to do just that.
It was a really solid showing for Michigan, a Big Ten representative, in a 17-team field that included some of the top teams in the nation. One big drawing card at the Valspar was a chance for some of the top individual players to tee it up in Augusta, since many of them will be back in the neighborhood when the Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship tees off April 3rd at Champions Retreat Golf Club.
Yermish isn’t quite there yet, but they opened with a 4-under-par 68 over the 6,261-yard, par-72 Forest Hills layout, added a 2-over 74 in a second round that started March 9 and concluded March 10 and then matched par in the final round later that day with a 72 to join the group at 3-under 213.
Yermish started their opening round at the 13th hole and was 4-over for their round after making a bogey at the first hole. Yermish made a birdie at the third hole and then their tee shot at the par-3 fourth hole found the bottom of the cup for a hole-in-one. Yermish then rattled off three straight birdies at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes before making an eagle at the par-5 ninth to complete a breathtaking stretch of 8-under golf over seven holes.
Yermish had shown signs they might be ready for the next level last summer, particularly when they made a run to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship at the U.S. Air Force Academy Eisenhower Golf Club’s Blue Course in Colorado Springs, Colo.
It seems like weather has been an issue everywhere this spring and it shook up the schedule again at Forest Hills. Originally scheduled to be a double round March 8 followed by a single round March 10, players got in a round March 8 in anticipation of wet weather. The field got in 10 to 12 holes March 9 before the anticipated rain arrived.
Players completed their second round early March 10 before playing their final round in tough conditions as the golf course was drenched by overnight rains.
Mississippi, a Southeastern Conference power, got the jump on the field by opening with the best team round of the tournament, a sparkling 12-under 276, and then held on as the conditions deteriorated. The Rebels added a 5-under 283 in a second round played over two days and closed with a 9-over 297 for an 8-under 856 total.
Ole Miss was led by three players who finished among the top six in the individual standings as Natacha Host Husted, a junior from Denmark, landed in a tie for second place, Caitlyn Macnab, a junior from South Africa and No. 20 in the Women’s World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), ended up alone in fifth, and Sophie Linder, a freshman from Carthage, Tenn., got a share of sixth.
South Carolina, an SEC rival of Ole Miss, and Yermish and Michigan finished three shots behind the Rebels in a tie for second place, each landing on 5-under 859. Ole Miss, South Carolina and Michigan were the only three teams to finish under par.
South Carolina was never too far behind Ole Miss as the Gamecocks put together back-to-back 5-under 283s in the first two rounds before closing with a 5-over 293 to finish at 5-under.
South Carolina was led by Hannah Darling, a junior from Scotland and No. 14 in the Women’s WAGR who joined Ole Miss’ Host Husted and Georgia’s LoraLie Cowart, a junior from Carrollton, Ga., in the tie for second place in the individual standings, two shots behind the individual champion, Florida State’s Mirabel Ting, a sophomore from Malaysia and No. 17 in the Women’s WAGR.
Darling got into contention with a 5-under 67 in the second round after she had opened with a 2-under 70. She finished up with a 2-over 74 to get a share of second place at 5-under.
Darling had earned co-medalist honors in the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate at the Long Cove Club on Hilton Head Island, S.C., which had wrapped up just two days before the Valspar teed off. Darling led the host Gamecocks to a fourth-place finish in the Darius Rucker.
Looks like Host Husted had the individual lead when the second round was finally completed the morning after it started as she had opened with a sparkling 6-under 66 before adding 3-under 69 in the second round. Host Husted finished up with a 4-over 76 to fall back into the tie for second place at 5-under.
Macnab, who transferred to Ole Miss from TCU, was consistent throughout, carding back-to-back 1-under 71s in the first two rounds before closing with a 2-under 70 that left her alone in fifth place with a 4-under 212 total, a shot behind the trio tied for second.
Linder gave Ole Miss a big spark in the opening round as she matched Host Husted’s 6-under 66. Linder then matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 3-over 75 that left her in a tie for sixth place with Auburn’s Megan Schofill, a fifth-year player from Monticello, Fla. and No. 8 in the Women’s WAGR at 3-under 213.
Florida State’s Ting seemed unbothered by the tough conditions during the final round as she finished up with a 5-under 67, the best total of the final round, to jump past a host of contenders and claim the individual crown with a 7-under 209 total. Ting had opened with a 4-under 68 before adding a 2-over 74 in the second round. It was Ting’s second career individual win.
Michigan, behind Yermish’s opening-round 68, got off to a solid start with a 1-under 287. The Wolverines added a 5-under 283 in the second round before battling the difficult conditions to a 1-over 289 in the final round that enabled them to get a share of runnerup honors with South Carolina at 5-under.
Another SEC power, Auburn, behind Schofill, the reigning U.S. Women’s Amateur champion, finished six shots behind South Carolina and Michigan in fourth place with a 1-over 865 total. The Tigers, coming off a third-place finish in the Darius Rucker at Hilton Head, opened with a 3-under 285 and added a 1-under 287 in the second round before finishing up with a 5-over 293.
Schofill opened with a 4-under 68 and added a 2-over 74 in the second round before closing with a solid 1-under 71 to join Linder at 3-under.
Behind Ting, Florida State, out of the Atlantic Coast Conference, had the best round of the final round with a 5-under 283 to finish two shots behind Auburn in fifth place with a 3-over 867 total. The Seminoles had opened with a 3-over 291 before adding a 5-over 293 in the second round.
Georgia, behind Cowart, finished four shots behind Florida State in sixth place with a 7-over 871 total. Another SEC power, the Bulldogs matched par in the second round with a 288 after opening with a 3-under 285 and then finished up with a 10-over 298.
Cowart was only a shot behind Ole Miss’ Host Husted in the individual chase going into the final round after adding a 5-under 67 in the second round to her opening-round 69. Cowart closed with a 3-over 75 to join Host Husted and South Carolina’s Darling in the tie for second place at 5-under.
Reigning ACC champion Clemson finished three shots behind Georgia in seventh place with a 10-over 874 total. The Tigers opened with a solid 2-under 286 and added a 3-over 291 in the second round before closing with a 9-over 297.
Backing up the top three for Ole Miss was senior Andrea Lignell, a senior from Sweden and No. 53 in the Women’s WAGR as she finished in the group tied for 52nd place with an 8-over 224 total. Lignell added a solid 1-under 71 in the second round to her opening round of 3-over 75 before struggling to a 78 in the final round.
As a sophomore in 2021, Lignell went 3-0 in match play, including a huge victory over current professional Katyln Papp of Texas in 22 holes in the quarterfinals, to help Ole Miss capture the first national championship in program history at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Rounding out the Ole Miss lineup was Justine Fournand, a senior from France who finished in the group tied for 62nd place with a 10-over 226 total. Fournand’s opening round of 1-over 73 was a counter for the Rebels as was her final-round 76. She registered a 5-over 77 in the second round.
This is the third stop on Fournand’s college golf journey as she began her career at Florida Atlantic and was at South Carolina before arriving in Oxford, Miss.
Yermish wasn’t the only Wolverine in the group of six players tied for eighth place at 2-under, a shot behind Schofill and Linder, as Yermish’s teammate Hailey Borja, a fifth-year player from Lake Forest, Calif., also got it to 2-under. After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Borja ripped off a sparkling 5-under 67 in the second round before closing with a 3 -over 75.
Mia Sandtorv Lussand, a sophomore from Norway, gave South Carolina another finisher inside the top 10 as she joined the group at 2-under. Santorv Lussand posted back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 2-over 74.
A couple of Georgia Southern players, Abby Newton, a senior from Statesboro, Ga., and Louise Reau, a freshman from France, were part of the group at 2-under.
Newton matched Santorv Lussand’s splits, carding back-to-back 2-under 70s in the first two rounds before closing with a 2-over 74. Reau opened with a solid 4-under 68 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before finishing up with a 2-over 74.
Rounding out the group tied for eighth place was Augusta’s Napabhach Boon-In, a graduate student from Thailand who opened with a solid 3-under 69 and matched par in the second round with a 72 before closing with a 1-over 73
Backing up Yermish and Borja for Michigan was Monet Chun, a senior from Canada and No. 75 in the Women’s WAGR who finished among the group tied for 17th place with an even-par 216 total. After opening with a 2-over 74, Chun signed for a solid 3-under 69 before finishing up with a 1-over 73.
It was Chun who fired a 5-under 66 in the final round of the Big Ten Championship at Fox Chapel Golf Club in suburban Pittsburgh two years ago to claim the individual crown and lead the Wolverines to the first conference title in the history of the program.
Later that summer, Chun reached the final of the U.S. Women’s Amateur at Chambers Bay in University Place, Wash. before falling to Japanese teen Saki Baba.
It’s starting to look like Michigan will be a contender when this year’s Big Ten Championship tees off April 19th at Bulle Rock Golf Course in Havre de Grace, Md.
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