Booth Loses in Quarterfinals of U.S. Women’s Amateur

Kellee Booth’s run at the U.S. Women’s Amateur title ended Thursday when she lost in the quarterfinal round at the Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Va.

Booth, from Coto de Caza, was eliminated, 2 and 1, by Andrea Baxter, a 19-year-old Stanford sophomore from Eagle, Idaho. Booth will play for Arizona State this fall.

Booth needed 19 holes Thursday morning to defeat Angela Buzminski of Canada in the round of 16.

Baxter plays Wendy Ward of San Antonio in one semifinal today. Ward, who is from Arizona State, was the runner-up in the NCAA tournament.

The other semifinal is between defending champion Jill McGill, who plans to turn pro after this event and Emilee Klein, the 1994 NCAA champion. Klein also plans to turn pro this summer.

McGill had 10 birdies and two eagles in the 31 holes she needed to win two matches Thursday.

“You don’t really think about winning the tournament when it’s Monday and there’s 147 players here,” she said. “But when you get down to the last 16 or so, it’s hard not to. You just get more pumped up the deeper you get into the tournament.”

McGill, who recently finished her college career at USC, had six birdies and an eagle in a 2-and-1 victory over England’s Lisa Walton in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, McGill had four birdies and an eagle on the way to a 5-and-4 triumph over Joellyn Erdmann of Little Chute, Wis.