Defending champion goes down among highlights from 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur Round of 64

TULSA, Okla. — There will be a new champion at the U.S. Women's Amateur this year.

The championship moved from stroke play to match play on Wednesday, and the Round of 64 is now in the books. As is the case with match play, there was no shortage of excitement on another hot day in Tulsa, where temperatures reached 98 degrees in the afternoon.

One of those matches included the defending champion going down, meaning a new player will hoist the Robert Cox Trophy come Sunday. However, plenty of top players in the field moved on, setting up an exciting Thursday that features both the Round of 32 and the Round of 16.

U.S. Women's Amateur: Photos

Here's everything you need to know from the Round of 64 at the 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur, including best Round of 32 matchups and TV information for Thursday.

Catherine Rao takes down defending champion

Catherine Rao has had plenty of success at the U.S. Women's Amateur. She made the quarterfinals last year.

But her biggest achievement in the competition came Wednesday: she took down the defending champion.

Rao knocked off Megan Schofill 2 and 1 Wednesday afternoon to ensure there is no chance of the first repeat champion since Danielle Kang in 2010-11. Rao was 2 down thru 12 and then won four straight holes and closed out the match with a par on the 17th.

"Since stroke play, I've been kind of struggling," Rao, a rising junior at Princeton, said. "Haven't been making many putts. So it was just a matter of time until putts started dropping."

Schofill, who earned the 14th seed after stroke play, birdied the 13th hole but lost when Rao made eagle on the par 5. Then, the putter took over, and Rao is again on to the Round of 32.

Reigning national champions move on

It was a solid Wednesday for a pair of defending national champions.

Adela Cernousek, who won the Division I individual national title in May for Texas A&M, held on for a 1-up win against Vanderbilt's Sara Im. And the Division II national champion, Findlay's Gabby Woods, knocked off No. 15 seed Catherine Park 1 up to advance.

Cernousek, who got into the championship this week via her win at NCAAs, was 3 up thru 9, but Im fought back and tied the match after the 13th hole.

"I wasn't really hitting the fairways or greens on those holes," Cernousek said. "I just tried to get back to the basics because I was making bogeys."

With Texas A&M coach Gerrod Chadwell on the bag, Cernousek retook the lead on the par-4 17th with a birdie, and even with a bogey on the closing 18th, she was able to close out the match.

For Woods, she drove over the creek on the 18th hole and had a wedge into the difficult elevated green. Park was unable to knock in her par putt, and Woods tapped in to knock off the USC star.

Race for the Curtis Cup

Five spots remain up for grabs for the United States Curtis Cup team, and there are numerous players who are hoping to play their way onto the team at the U.S. Women's Amateur.

One of them is Rachel Kuehn, who was in the first match off Wednesday and dominated en route to a 7-and-5 victory. She'll play the top overall seed Maria Jose Marin on Thursday morning. Kuehn had the clinching point in the 2022 Curtis Cup and is the highest-ranked American not on the team.

Then there's LSU graduate Latanna Stone, the runner-up from 2023 at the U.S. Women's Amateur who won her match Wednesday, too. As did Auburn sophomore Anna Davis and Oregon sophomore Kiara Romero and Texas sophomore Farah O'Keefe. USC sophomore Bailey Shoemaker knocked off the top-ranked player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, No. 4 Zoe Campos, on the 18th hole.

And you can't forget about Gianna Clemente or Asterisk Talley, two juniors who won their opening matches, as well.

Notice a trend? There's plenty of younger players hoping to earn their way onto the team with a win or deep run this week. However, there are a few veterans hoping for one final chance at playing on the Curtis Cup.

One of those is Schofill. Another is Amanda Sambach, a rising senior at Virginia who lost to Talley in the Round of 64. Then there's British Women's Amateur winner Melanie Green and former Furman standout Anna Morgan, who each advanced to the Round of 32.

There are more than 10 players who have a shot to make the team and only five spots available. The winner, if American, of the U.S. Women's Amateur gets an automatic spot on the team. For any of the players listed, a deep run could do the trick for Meghan Stasi to pick them.

The picture will become more clear after Thursday's two rounds of competition, but even after the first three days at Southern Hills, numerous players remain in contention.

Best Round of 32 matchups

No. 1 Maria Jose Marin vs. No. 32 Rachel Kuehn, 8:15 a.m. ET

No. 8 Kiara Romero vs. No. 25 Anna Morgan, 8:35 a.m. ET

No. 7 Farah O'Keefe vs. No. 39 Gianna Clemente, 9:55 a.m. ET

No. 10 Kelly Xu vs. No. 23 Laney Frye, 10:05 a.m. ET

No. 51 Catherine Rao vs. No. 19 Latanna Stone, 10:25 a.m. ET

TV information

All times ET

Thursday, Aug. 8: 3-6 p.m., PeacockFriday, Aug. 9: 3-6 p.m., PeacockSaturday, Aug. 10: 3-6 p.m., Golf ChannelSunday, Aug. 11: 3-6 p.m., Golf Channel

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Defending champion goes down among highlights from 2024 U.S. Women's Amateur Round of 64