Donning a throwback light blue Atlanta Braves cap, Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City, Georgia, hoisted the Mildred Gardinor Prunaret Trophy on Thursday after winning the 39th U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.
Shepherd, 26, cruised by Catherine McEvoy 5 and 4 in the final match Thursday to capture her first USGA title at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, New Jersey.
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“It’s incredible,” said Shepherd after her win. “It feels pretty good to finally get through the week. Yeah, it’s pretty surreal. I don’t quite know exactly what I’m feeling, but I’m very excited and very grateful.”
Ivy Shepherd poses with the Mildred Gardinor Prunaret trophy after winning the 2026 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur at Montclair Golf Club in West Orange, N.J.
Shepherd won the title in her first USGA event. She defeated Vanessa Wang 2 up and Julia Potter-Bobb 1 up during the marathon day on Wednesday consisting of her quarterfinal and semifinal matches.
With the win, Shepherd now earns a spot in the 2027 U.S. Women’s Open at Inverness Club.
In the championship match, after things were all square after two holes, Shepherd won Nos. 3 and 7 with pars. She then birdied the ninth to go 3 up. Three straight pars to start the second nine were followed by an eagle on the par-4 13th hole. The clinching hole came on No. 14, where Shepherd made par to McEvoy’s bogey.
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Shepherd recently left a position as the assistant coach for the women’s golf team at Indiana University. She played in the U.S. Girls’ Junior twice, in 2017 and 2018, and two U.S. Women’s Amateur in in 2018 and 2020. In 2020, she won medalist honors at the 2020 North & South Amateur and later played in the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
In the time since, Shepherd said she fell “flat on her face” in an effort to start her pro career.
“It’s kind of hard without getting a little emotional about it,” said Shepherd before the final. “But the people who know me have kind of known my golf journey, kind of hitting the top and honestly falling like flat on your face and kind of losing your dreams and not getting to turn pro and all those kinds of hardships. It means a ton to be able to just kind of put it together and really enjoy competing again.”
Todd Kelly is an assistant managing editor at Golfweek.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Ivy Shepherd dominates final match to win 2026 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
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