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By Matty Madden
ROANOKE — After day 2 of the 95th VSGA Women’s Amateur Championship, four semifinalists are set to face off Thursday to determine the best amateur women’s golfer in Virginia.
Among the four to advance at Roanoke Country Club was top-seeded tournament medalist Julie Shin, who defeated Reagan McCoy 4 and 2 in the round of 16 and hometown golfer Kathryn Ha 2 and 1 in the quarterfinals to punch her ticket to the semifinals.
“I played with Kathryn Ha, who is the youngest in the field in the champions flight, and she gave me a run for my money. She’s really good,” said Shin.
Shin (VSGA Junior Golf Circuit) said her mindset contributed to her success, saying, “I think what really helped me today was my mental (game). I tried to keep my chin up whether I hit a bad shot or had a bad hole, and that kind of kept me going throughout the day.”
Shin will face Kendall Turner Thursday, the fourth seed and current member of the James Madison University women’s golf team. Turner (Greenbrier CC) defeated Isabel Bae 4 and 3 in the first round and bested Alexandra Austin 2 and 1 in a tight matchup in the quarterfinals.
“I made a lot of putts today, I made a lot of good shots, but my putting was really good today,” said Turner. Turner was a quarterfinalist last year, losing in the second round to fellow semifinalist Melanie Walker.
“My goal for this year was just to get out of the second round and I did that, so I kind of just want to see where it goes from here,” she said.
Walker (Springfield G&CC) made it to the semifinals by defeating 11th seed and 2019 finalist Mallory Hetzel in the first round 4 and 3 before outlasting Danielle Suh on the 18th hole for a 1-up victory.
“I was making a lot of putts and I’d like to just keep that going hot, and get my mental state a little bit stronger,” said Walker.
Also qualifying for the semifinals was second-seeded newcomer to the event, Tatum Walsh.
Walsh (Salisbury CC) narrowly defeated Sue Lee 2 and 1 in the first round, and then notched a stellar 6 and 5 win against Delaney McCoy in the quarterfinals.
“I just stayed calm and played like it was stroke play, just a normal match,” said Walsh. “With match play, you’re playing against the other person but still trying to keep your own game.” Walsh also said she hopes to keep playing the same game and hopefully will advance to the finals Thursday.
Matty Madden is a P.J. Boatwright intern for the VSGA.