Pairings | Results
July 26, 2025
UC Irvine sophomore Katelyn Kong has captured the Golden State's biggest amateur prize.
Kong won the 59th California Women's Amateur Championship on Saturday, defeating Darae Chung, 4 and 3, in Saturday's 18-hole final at Santa Ana Country Club.
With the win, Kong joins LPGA Hall of Famers Juli Inkster and Patty Sheehan as winners of the historic event. She also earned an automatic exemption into this year's U.S. Women's Amateur, set for Aug. 4-10 at Bandon Dunes.
The No.24 seed, Kong yet again took control early and never looked back. She quickly grabbed a 2-up with a pair of par wins on holes Nos. 2 and 5. Chung, a junior at the University of Oregon and the No.2 seed, cut the lead to 1-up with a par win of her own on No.7.
After the two made the turn, however, Kong again took over. She'd win No.10 with a par and No.12 with a par to go 3-up. Three holes and two tied holes later, on the par-5 15th Kong made birdie to close out the victory.
During match play, Kong was nearly unstoppable. Over the total of her five matches, she only trailed a total of two holes.
July 25, 2025
It'll be an all-collegiate final at this week's annual California Women's Amateur Championship at Santa Ana CC.
Ducks vs. Anteater style.
No.2 seed Darae Chung, a junior at University of Oregon, and No.24 Katelyn Kong, a sophomore at UC Irvine, earned spots in Saturday's 18-final after advancing through both the quarterfinals and semifinals on a long Friday.
Chung, originally from New Zealand, defeated No.27 Taylor Riley, 2-up, in a semifinal thriller that went the distance. Chung looked to be in total control after taking a 3-up lead with a par win on the 13th hole. Riley, who plays at LSU, did not, however, cave in.
Riley won both the 15th and 16th holes with pars to close the gap back to just 1-up. After the two tied the 17th, it was on to No. 18. There, Chung made a birdie to close things out.
Kong, an All-Big West Honorable Mention last season, had an easier path, eliminating No.5 Fay Jia, 4 and 3. Up a hole after 12, Kong caught fire, making three straight birdies on holes Nos. 13, 14 and 15 to put the match away.
Jia had led 1-up after the first hole. It marked the first time that Kong trailed in any of her four matches. Over her four matches, Kong has only trailed a total of two holes.
In the morning quarterfinals, Kong knocked out No. 17 Ava Cepeda, 5 and 4. Through the first nine, Kong only held a 1-up lead.
She'd win four of the next five holes, in part thanks to back-to-back birdies on holes Nos. 13 and 14, to take a commanding 5-up lead.
Chung in her quarterfinals match trailed by two holes through four, but rallied to come back. After eventually tying the match with a birdie on the 13th, Chung won 15 with a birdie and No.17 with a par to move on.
The big quarterfinals upset was Riley eliminating No.3 Aubrey Lee, 3 and 2. Tied through the front-nine, Riley won No.10 with an eagle and No.11 with a birdie to quickly go 2-up. The two tied the next four holes, with Riley winning the 16th with another birdie to seal the match.
Lee, still just 12 years old and an 8th grader, had been hoping to join Mina Harigae as the youngest player to win the championship.
Fay Jia had the toughest route to the semis, having to get past No.4 Alyson Sor with a birdie on the 20th hole.
July 24, 2025
A day after all top four seeds advanced through the brackets, there was a major upset.
No.1 seed Nicola Kaminski got bumped out of this week's California Women's Amateur on Thursday, falling, 1-up, to No. 17 Ava Cepeda in the Round of 16 at Santa Ana Country Club. Tied through 17 holes, on the par-5 18th Cepeda made birdie while Kaminski made bogey.
The match was tight all the way, with neither player ever holding more than a 1-up lead.
The other top three seeds moved on.
No.2 seed Darae Chung, a junior at the University of Oregon, advanced with a solid 4 and 3 victory over No.18 Leigh Chien. Originally from New Zealand, Chung built a 3-up lead over the front-nine thanks to three birdies. She later birdied holes Nos. 12 and 13 to take a commanding 5-up lead.
Aubrey Lee, the No.3 seed, punched her ticket to the quarterfinals with a 2 and 1 win over No.14 Taylor Baker. Still just an 8th grader, Lee made birdie on the 16th hole to take a 2-up lead. The two tied the 17th, ending the match.
A junior at UC Irvine and the No.4 seed, Alyson Sor moved on with a 5 and 4 win over No. 20 Jin Yoo. Sor was on fire, playing her 14 holes at 6-under par.
Looking ahead to Friday's quarterfinals, Chung will next take on No.10 Ashley Yun , a junior at Northwestern.
Another quarterfinals match will see Lee taking on No.27 Taylor Riley. Riley, of San Diego, had to go to the 20th hole before finally beating No.22 Vani Karimanal.
Cepeda will next face No. 24 Katelyn Kong, a sophomore at UC Irvine in Friday's quarterfinals. Kong defeated No.8 Katherine Gerbing, 3 and 2. Sor will next take on No.5 Fay Jia, who moved on with a 4 and 3 win over No.12 Kylie Chong. Jia, of Murrietta, is still just a high school sophomore.
Friday's play will consist of both the quarterfinals and semifinals. The 18-hole final will take place Saturday.
July 23, 2025
All four top seeds made it through Wednesday's Round of 32 of match play to earn spots in Thursday's Round of 16 at this week's California Women's Amateur Championship at Santa Ana CC.
No.1 seed Nicola Kaminski, No.2 Darae Chung, No.3 Aubrey Lee and No.4 Alyson Sor all escaped potential early upsets to move on.
Kaminski, winner of the 2024 NCGA Women's Amateur Stroke Play Championship, defeated No.32 Alegra Gurian, 2 and 1. With Kaminski holding a 2-up lead, Gurian won the 16th hole to make things interesting.
On the ensuing 17th, however, Kaminski carded a birdie to end the match. Kaminski would shoot a 62 over the 17 holes.
Chung, a junior at the University of Oregon, was tied with No.31 seed Kristina Xu through the first nine holes. Then Chung turned on the afterburners, going 3-under over the next five holes to walk away with a convincing 5 and 3 victory.
Thirteen-year-old Aubrey Lee of Stevenson RaSor wnch, still just an 8th grader and the No.3 seed, needed all 18 holes to get past No.30 Anna Song, 1-up. In a see-saw match where neither player ever held more than a 1-up lead, the two were tied after 17 holes. On the pivotal 18th, Lee won with a par after Song made bogey.
Sor, a junior at UC Irvine, knocked out Sarah Lim, 2 and 1. The two were tied when on the 16th, Lim, the winner of this year's NCGA Women's Stroke Play, made bogey. Lim then lost the 17th hole after making double-bogey, sealing the win for Sor.
Kaminski next will take on No.17 Ava Cepeda, who'll begin playing at the University of New Mexico this fall, while Chung will face No.18 Leigh Chien. Chien is a sophomore on the Stanford women's squad.
Lee will next take on No.14 Taylor Baker, a freshman-to-be at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Sor will face No.20 Jin Yoo.
Thursday's action will consist only of the Round of 16.
Friday's play will see both the quarterfinals and semifinals. The 18-hole final will be held Saturday.
July 22, 2025
Nicola Kaminski bagged one of NorCal's biggest prizes in 2024 when she won the annual NCGA Women's Stroke Play Championship.
Now, she's got her sights on winning the Golden State's biggest amateur women's event.
Kaminski, who played last year at San Jose State, will be the No.1 seed for match play at this week's California Women's Amateur Championship at Santa Ana CC after earning stroke play qualifying medalist honors with a two-day score of 9-under 138. A day after opening with a 69, Kaminski took it a shot lower, posting a 68 that featured five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 10th to go against just two bogeys.
Over her 36 holes of stroke play qualifying, Kaminski only carded three bogeys.
The No.2 seed will be University of Oregon junior Darae Chung. A native of New Zealand, Chung began the second round with a first-round 74 in tow, leaving her as a longshot to make the 32-player match play brackets.
Chung rose to the occasion, posting a solid day-low 9-under that featured nine birdies and nine pars. The score moved her 45 spots up the leaderboard.
The No.3 seed in the brackets will be 13-year-old Aubrey Lee of Stevenson Ranch. Lee, who'll be entering the 8th grade this fall, finished stroke play qualifying at 7-under after rounds of 69-70.
Defending champion Natalie Vo, who played at UCLA, earned a spot in the brackets after coming in at 2-under 144 (69-75).
The cutline to advance to match play came at 1-under 146. The course is playing as a par-73, with six par-5s.
Wednesday's action will consist of the Round of 32, with the Round of 16 on Thursday. Friday's play will see both the quarterfinals and semifinals. The 18-hole final will be held Saturday.
In the North-South Challenge, the SCGA defeated the NCGA, 342-346.
The Challenge takes the lowest five scores from the NCGA and SCGA and combines them into a team score.
The shot of the day went to Lisa Shimmon of Fresno:
July 21, 2025
A trio of SoCal players are atop the leaderboard after opening day of this week's annual California Women's Amateur Championship.
Fay Jia of Murrieta, Alyson Sor of Long Beach and Meghan Royal of Carlsbad all shot scores of 5-under 68 in Monday's first round of stroke play qualifying at Santa Ana CC.
Jia is still just a sophomore in high school. Sor is a junior at UC Irvine and Royal is a senior at UCLA.
Eight players opened with matching scores of 4-under 69, including 2024 NCGA Women's Amateur Stroke Play champ Nicola Kaminski, 2025 NCGA Women's Am Stroke Play winner Sarah Lim and CWAC defending champion Natalie Vo. Vo won the title last year at Peninsula G&CC.
Lim is a USGA champion, having won the 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball crown with then-partner Asterisk Talley.
Following Tuesday's second round of stroke play qualifying, a cut will be made with the low 32 advancing to match play.
Wednesday's action will consist of the Round of 32, with the Round of 16 on Thursday. Friday's play will see both the quarterfinals and semifinals. The 18-hole final will be held Saturday.
The last player to repeat as champion was Annika Borrelli in 2021-22.
In the North-South Challenge, the SCGA holds a 342-346 lead over the NCGA.
The Challenge takes the lowest five scores from the NCGA and SCGA and combines them into a team score.