The Porch: U.S. Women's Amateur Golf Championship Enters Match Play In Tulsa

Match play has begun at the U.S. Women's Amateur.

The championship is being played at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa through Sunday, August 11. It is the first time since 1946 the event has been at this golf course.

Farah O'Keefe, 19, a player from the University of Texas who earned Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in 2024 is one of the 64 female golfers that qualified beyond stroke play.

"I always had the drive down deep that I wanted to play in tournaments like this, and I wanted to win tournaments like this," she said.

Growing up, O'Keefe would spend hours on the golf course with her dad.

"When I was two years old he cut down a club for me, handed it to me, and the story goes I just picked it up, lined up, and hit it 20 yards in the air and he was like you are playing golf," she said.

It is a sport that Ryan Craft, owner of FC Tulsa, hopes he too can share with his daughters Elizabeth, Anna, and Lucy.

"Elizabeth took some golf lessons last week, so we thought it would be a good opportunity to motivate her and let her know what she could become," he added.

All along the course are little girls just like them who look up to these women.

Norah French, 9, said there are no golf courses like this near where she lives in Springdale, Arkansas, so her family made the trip to Tulsa.

"It is a big opportunity to meet these players and have a bunch of fun here," she said.

With a little souvenir in hand, French is making sure the week is memorable.

"This is a pin flag," she continued saying, "I have been going around and getting their autographs on it."

Players this young golfer can look up to.

"I look up to them for inspiration for when I am older," French said. "I really want golfing to be one of my hobbies."

O'Keefe remembers being that same little girl and understands the responsibility she now holds.

"To be somebody like that for a young girl who maybe wants to get in the game, it is huge because you are being a role model for generations to come," she said.

The U.S. Women's Amateur is free to attend and open to the public. For the full schedule of play, click here.