Incoming Northwestern freshman Arianna Lau lost her quarterfinal match in the U.S. Women’s Amateur, falling 3 and 2 to recent Michigan State graduate Brooke Biermann on Friday at Bandon Dunes in Oregon.
Lau, a 17-year-old from Hong Kong, won her first three matches in the tournament — including a first-round upset of the defending champion and co-medalist. She eagled the par-5 ninth hole Friday for her first lead of the quarterfinal and held the 1-up advantage through No. 10, but Biermann won five of the next six holes to eliminate Lau.
Lau — who will join the reigning national champion Wildcats this fall — narrowly qualified for match play, finishing in a 15-way tie for 59th after 36 holes of stroke play. She was the last to advance from a playoff for the final six spots with a birdie on the sixth extra hole.
As the No. 64 seed, she then knocked off 2024 champion and this year’s stroke-play co-medalist Rianne Malixi of the Philippines with a final-hole eagle Wednesday.
Lau went on to win twice Thursday, defeating Golf Channel reporter Emilia Doran and Spain’s Carolina López-Chacarra, this year’s Inkster Award winner at Wake Forest as the NCAA’s highest-ranked senior.
Lau was the first No. 64 seed to reach the Women’s Amateur quarterfinals since 1984, according to the USGA, and a No. 64 seed never has won any USGA title.
“I was just hoping to get a spot in match play,” Lau said in a USGA news release. “I just really cherish this opportunity to play such a good event and just learn, just play, perform well. I’m really excited.”
She wouldn’t have been the first incoming Northwestern freshman to win a U.S. Amateur title before getting to campus. In 2013, Wildcats signee Matt Fitzpatrick of England won the Men’s Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Fitzpatrick spent only one quarter in Evanston before leaving school and turning pro. He has gone on to win 10 times on the European and PGA tours — including the 2022 U.S. Open, also at The Country Club — and has made three Ryder Cup teams.
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