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Royal/Varma and Bryan/Summerhays Qualify for 2021 U.S. Women’s Four-Ball
By Brianna Gianiorio
MESA, Ariz. – The duos of Meghan Royal and Anika Varma and Sydney Bryan and Grace Summerhays punched tickets to the 6th U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship, advancing out of a qualifier at Longbow Golf Club in Mesa on Tuesday.
“We complimented each other a lot, we kind of just had one of us make par and the other just go for it and play aggressive and see if we could make birdie,” said Royal, a junior at Carlsbad High School.
“We played according to each other, which helped us a lot just because we knew when a person was confident and wasn’t,” Varma said.
USGA qualifying is officially back in action after COVID-19 forced golf associations to postpone, and in some cases cancel, qualifiers in 2020. 2021 U.S. Four-Ball Championship qualifiers are the first to resume, where a total of 64 teams across 29 states will advance to the 2021 women’s championship, which will be held April 24-28, 2021, at Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Tex.
Danielle Chipchase and Naomi Ramirez, along with Abbey Schutte and Kendall Todd, will serve as first and second alternates.
Both 16-year-old girls hailing from California, Royal and Varma combined to card a 10-under 62 and clear the field by four shots for medalist honors. With consistent play over 18 holes, the pair pieced together their impressive round with eight birdies and an eagle.
Varma, a Junior at Granite Bay High School in Roseville, qualified for her third USGA Championship. As a top-225 amateur in the world and No. 1 ranked amateur in India, Varma became the first Indian golfer to play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship this past August, and is looking forward to playing in her first four-ball championship.
“I feel like it’s going to be really interesting because it’s going to be completely different than how you generally play,” said Varma. “We’re going to be playing for each other and that’s going to motivate us more than playing for yourself. It should be fun.”
Bryan and Summerhays birdied four of their last six holes to finish with a 6-under 66, and advance to a five-for-one sudden death playoff. A birdie on the first playoff hole proved to be the deciding moment the team picked up the second and final qualifying spot.
“We got off to a kind of a slow start, but once we made the turn, we kind of just built off each other’s enthusiasm,” said the 17-year-old Bryan, a UNLV commit. “It was kind of insane, the back nine. We made ridiculous putts. I think we are a little shocked.”
“Our adrenaline was definitely going on the last couple of holes,” said the 16-year-old Summerhays, who will play in her third USGA Championship. “It was not looking too good on the front nine so we are more in shock. We’re excited.
For Full Qualifying Results: Click Here