Illinois-Indiana Pair Take Medalist Honors at Women’s Four-ball Qualifier

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PRIOR LAKE, Minn. - Sometimes, leaderboards at golf tournaments change so quickly that even electronic scoring can’t keep up. That was sort of the case Monday, during the final holes of the U.S Women’s Amateur four-ball qualifying event at The Wilds Golf Club in Prior Lake.

At stake was a berth in the 2025 U.S. Women’s Four-ball Championship, scheduled for May 10-14 at Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club, Nichols Hills, Oklahoma.

The end result was that Kennedy Gutierrez of Valparaiso, Indiana, and Alli Wiertel of Oswego, Illinois, earned the automatic qualifying spot by shooting a 2-under 70 on the 6,200-yard Wilds layout. Isabelle Lynch, Bloomington, and Nicole Reineke, Chaska, shot even-par 72 and earned the first alternate position in a playoff over defending medalists Samantha Sommers, Richmond, and Olivia Herrick, Hugo, who claimed the second alternate spot available.

On the strength of an eagle two on the short par-four fourth, Sommers and Herrick were at or near the lead through the middle of the back nine at 2-under. Wiertel and Gutierrez had three birdies to offset two bogies on the front, then strung together five pars to start the back nine to reach the 15th tee at one-under, one behind Herrick and Sommers. At about the same time Lynch and Reineke were two back as they finished 13.
 
Wiertel-Gutierrez’s birdie at 15 pulled their team into a front-running tie at -2, then a bogie at 16 erased that. Playing one hole behind, Sommers and Herrick parred 16 to maintain their one-shot lead over two teams, which at that point included Lynch and Reineke, who had birdied 15.

About the time that Sommers and Herrick were heading up the 17th fairway, Wiertel calmly drained a 6-foot birdie putt on the 17th green to pull their team into a tie. A short time later, Sommers and Herrick wound up bogeying 17 to fall back by one, while Lynch and Reineke birdied 15 to stand one off the lead as well.

Gutierrez and Wiertel knew they were one ahead before Wiertel assessed a long downhill breaking birdie putt on 18. To add drama, she left the putt well short. Knowing she needed to make the putt to preserve the lead, or at least two-putt to drop back into a tie, she rolled in the 20-footer for par.

Then the short waiting game began. Sommers and Herrick needed a birdie at 18 to tie, but instead came in with a bogey to fall two back. Lynch and Reineke had bogeyed 16 to also fall two back, and two pars to finish got them into a playoff to determine the alternate seeding.

Wiertel, age 15, and Gutierrez, age 14, have been competitors and playing partners for years. In 2023, they tied for 6th in a U.S. Women’s Four-Ball qualifier in Indiana. “We knew that we had the ability to qualify going into this tournament,” Wiertel said, adding that she and Kennedy were “pretty aware” of where they were at the last couple of holes.

“I think it’s more of an edge when I know what I need to do,” she said.

“I felt like we had a good attitude the whole way through,” Gutierrez added. “We were excited!”