Rocio Tejedo Has Final Holes Rally To Win Round Of 32 Match in US Am
Rocio Tejedo plays her shot on the 13th hole during the round of 32 of the 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)
BATON ROUGE – LSU freshman golfer Rocio Tejedo made one of the biggest comebacks possible to win her round of 32 match Thursday morning in the 124th United States Golf Association Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Tejedo would rally from four down on the back nine to advance to the round of 16 over Melanie Green of Medina, New York. She plays college golf for USF.
The Spanish golfer, who had her sister, former LSU star Carla Tejedo as caddy, was 5-over on her front nine in the match, winning just two holes with pars. Green won four of the first seven holes to go 3UP after eight and 2UP at the turn.
A birdie on the par 4 10th and a par on the par 3 11th hole moved Green’s lead to 4UP with just six holes to play.
But for the No. 36 ranked amateur, it proved to be a margin not too much to overcome.
After a half on the 12th hole in pars, Tejedo won the 13th with a birdie 5, the 14th with a birdie 2 and then the 15th hole with par 4 to suddenly find herself just 1Down with three to go.
The pair tied the 16th hole with par 5s before a par 4 on the 17th hole tied the match for the first time since the second hole.
Then on the 18th hole, a 414-yard par 4, a par was good enough for Rocio Tejedo to advance to the round of 16.
Tejedo was 1-over for her card on the back nine, but more importantly 2-under over the last six holes.
Tejedo could not extend the success, falling in the round of 16 later on Thursday, 7&6, to Kendall Todd of Arkansas.
Earlier in the day, Catherine Rao of Princeton and Camarillo, California defeated former LSU star and 2023 U.S. Women’s Am finalist, Latanna Stone of Riverview, Florida, 1Up.
Stone was never able to get the match swung her way but on two difference occasions brought the match back to event. Down 2 holes through 15, Stone got a par on the par 5 16th to cut the margin in half, but was unable to square the match over the last two holes as the players traded par 4s on 17 and 18.