Midlands golfer makes history, wins prestigious US Women’s Amateur
Jensen Castle began the U.S. Women’s Amateur this week without much fanfare.
Sunday, Castle was hoisting the championship trophy. The West Columbia native defeated Arizona’s Vivian Hou, 2-and-1, to win the 36-hole final at Westchester Country Club in New York.
“It was just another match, fairways and greens. That’s all I thought of and here I am holding this heavy trophy,” Castle said on the Golf Channel. “I didn’t even think I would make the cut, didn’t pack enough clothes and here I am re-wearing the same outfit and making it to the final day,”
Castle is the second player from South Carolina to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Charleston native and Hall of Famer Beth Daniel won the U.S. Women’s Amateur twice, in 1975 and 1977.
Castle, who will be a junior at the University of Kentucky this fall, won a qualifier in Ohio on July 14 to make the field, but hasn’t played much golf since because of a rib injury. She talked about her injury after winning her quarterfinal match Friday.
“The doctors didn’t even really want me to play in this. I was just like, ‘I don’t really see myself giving this opportunity up.’ I qualified, so it is what it is,” Castle told reporters. “And as soon as this is over, I’ll probably sit out for two or three weeks until the season starts. So, I came here not packing enough clothes, golf balls, neither, but it’s been great. ... Making it this far without a lot of expectations has been fun.”
Castle said she got about two hours of sleep heading into the championship match but will get some rest Sunday night before heading back to South Carolina on Monday morning. She has to be back at her work at her job at Columbia Country Club in Blythewood on Tuesday and also works at Indian River Club in Lexington.
Columbia Country Club held a watch party Sunday for Castle’s championship appearance.
Castle was seeded No. 63 out of 64 golfers after 36-hole stroke play going into match play Wednesday. She had to make a birdie on the final hole of stroke play to get into a playoff for one of the final two spots in match play.
The two-time S.C. High School League champion at White Knoll and Gray Collegiate knocked off No. 2 seed Kennedy Pedigo, 3-and-2, in her first match to get her going before cruising to the semifinals.
In Saturday’s semifinal match, Castle was down two holes with three to play, but rallied to win 1 up in 19 holes over Rachel Heck.
In the championship match, Castle was two holes down after the first 18, but she won three of the first four holes in the afternoon session to lead by one. The lead grew to three on the back nine of the second round, but Hou won two straight holes to cut the deficit to one.
Castle hit a solid drive on the 15th hole and won the hole to go back ahead by two with three to play. Hou made a long birdie putt on 16 to get back within one with two to play.
But Castle drilled an eight-foot putt on the 17th hole — the pair’s 35th of the day — to win the match.
“It was a shaky start, shaky first 18. I was swinging in fear of where it could end up, if it was bad or not. And then I came in, registered, and I was like, All right, you got nothing to lose. You’re two back. Go after it,” Castle said. “Whatever happens is supposed to happen for a reason. I came out swinging. Three or four birdies right out of the gate and I was just hitting it well. Had a ton of confidence, and told one of the little boys on 15 when I didn’t make the birdie, I was like, ‘They’ll fall eventually.’ Everything equals out at the end of the day.”
With the win, Castle receives an exemption to play in the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur Championship and 2022 U.S. Women’s Open, and spot on the 2021 Curtis Cup team. It will be her second U.S. Women’s Open appearance.
“Still hasn’t registered. I mean, it feels like just another tournament, but then I step back and I’m like, this is a USGA event with so much history, and I just can’t imagine,” Castle said. “And all the exemptions I didn’t even realize. It was just another tournament and I was just lucky I could play.”
This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 5:20 PM.
