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119th Utah Women’s State Amateur: Meet the Quarterfinalists

Kelsey Chugg had just completed her Weber State career in 2013 when she came to Wasatch Mountain Golf Course and repeated as the winner of the Utah Women’s State Amateur Championship.

A dozen years later, Chugg is now a six-time champion and is back in the quarterfinals. Considering this is her 13th berth in this stage of the tournament in 14 attempts, that’s hardly an unexpected development. Less likely? Having two Weber State golfers join her in the quarterfinals.

The achievements of Rachel Lillywhite and Adley Nelson were especially notable in Tuesday’s round of 16, considering the credentials of their opponents. Lillywhite topped Faith Vui, a 2024 semifinalist, and Nelson eliminated 2020 champion Grace Summerhays, another semifinalist from last July.

Half of the day’s 24 matches were upsets, according to seeding.

Wednesday’s quarterfinal pairings: Ashley Lam vs. Lillywhite, Kate Walker vs. Nelson, Berlin Long vs. Arden Louchheim and Chugg vs. Aadyn Long.

With some overlapping, the remaining field includes three Lone Peak High School graduates, three players seeded No. 21 or higher and two sisters. A look at the quarterfinalists:

Ashley Lam 

A Skyline High School graduate, Lam is coming off a strong freshman year for Westminster University’s NCAA Division II program. Winning the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference individual title was “definitely a super-good achievement,” she said. “Honestly, it helped my confidence a lot.”

In the round of 16, Lam was a 3-and-1 winner over stroke-play medalist Whitney Banz, who played golf and basketball for Westminster before transferring to BYU and focusing on golf.

Rachel Lillywhite

One of six Lillywhite children who have played boys or girls golf for Timpview High School in Provo, Rachel recently won the Idaho Women’s Match Play title. She advanced with two wins Tuesday as the No. 24 seed.

Lillywhite never trailed in a 1-up win over Vui, who missed a short par putt on No.18 that could have forced extra holes.

Kate Walker 

In June, Walker won the Girls 15-18 division of the Utah Junior Golf Association’s annual match-play tournament in Park City (Lam was the 2024 champion). That success “definitely brings me some confidence,” said Walker, a senior at Crimson Cliffs High School in St. George.

Based on seeding, No. 29 Walker staged the day’s biggest upset in the round of 32 with a 1-up win over No. 4 Natalie Mclane. That pairing resulted from Walker’s 78 in Monday’s qualifying round, creating a “super stressful” afternoon as she awaited other scores. She made match play with a shot to spare, though, and figured out her driving issues Tuesday.

Adley Nelson

On her way to Weber State, Nelson teamed with Aadyn Long and other talented players in Lone Peak’s historic success in the Class 6A state tournament in May.

Nelson acknowledged that playing Summerhays was “a little intimidating,” considering the recent Arizona State graduate went into the round of 16 with a 16-5 record in Women’s State Am match play. Yet Nelson never trailed, while eventually winning Nos. 15 and 16 with routine pars in a 2-and-1 victory.

Berlin Long 

In 2021, Berlin and Aadyn Long became the first pair of sisters to reach the quarterfinals in the State Am’s two match-play eras. They could meet in Wednesday afternoon’s semifinals, although each faces a tough test in the morning.

Asked if she had checked her sister’s spot in the bracket, Berlin Long said, “Not just Aadyn, a lot of my friends I grew up playing with.” Arden Louchheim is one of them; the No. 2-seeded Long will meet the University of Nebraska golfer from Rowland Hall in the quarterfinals.

Arden Louchheim

Louchheim was one of Tuesday’s most dominant players, needing only 15 holes to win each match.

A daughter of Utah Jazz broadcaster David Locke, she lost to Chugg in the round of 16 last summer in her first Women’s State Am appearance. This time, Louchheim was a 4-and-3 winner over Steph Belnap, a two-time champion and the only senior golfer in the match-play field.

Kelsey Chugg 

Chugg improved to 40-7 in Women’s State Am matches, after playing a total of 30 holes Tuesday. Wasatch Mountain GC is the only venue where she won the title as a defending champion, so the vibes are good in Midway. Chugg may end up drawing both Long sisters Wednesday; Berlin upset her in the 2021 semifinals.

With a seventh championship, Chugg would become solo No. 2 all-time, trailing only Bev Nelson’s eight titles.

Aadyn Long

About to join her sister in BYU’s program, Aadyn Long was the runner-up last year in the 1st UGA Utah Girls’ Junior State Amateur at Wasatch Mountain, a match-play event.

Brynnley Bischoff threatened to give Weber State a fourth quarterfinalist, extending Long to No. 18 in Tuesday’s last match. But Long steadied herself with a solid par, adding to her 2021 quarterfinals appearance as a 14-year-old golfer.

Click here for the Utah Women’s State Amateur match play scoring brackets.

 

Recap of the match play rounds of 32 & 26 written by Fairways Media senior writer Kurt Kragthorpe. Photos by Fairways Media/Randy Dodson.