CHULA, VISTA, Calif. – Playing solid golf from start to finish, Albane Valenzuela defeated Robynn Ree 4 and 3 on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the 117th U.S. Women's Amateur Championship at San Diego Country Club.
A rising sophomore from Geneva, Switzerland, Valenzuela will play Lilia Khata-Tu Vu of Fountain Grove, California on Saturday at 8 a.m. PT. The winner moves to the 36-hole final on Sunday.
Valenzuela, No. 3 in the World Amateur Ranking, lost the first hole to a birdie against Ree, a rising junior at USC. But she equalized with a par at the second hole, won the third with a birdie, and didn't trail again.
Valenzuela took control of the match by winning the ninth, 10th and 11th holes with pars. She finished 1-under for 15 holes.
Vu, a rising junior at UCLA, defeated Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California, 4 and 3.
In the other semifinal match, Chia Ten Wu of Chinese Tapei will face Sophia Schubert of Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Wu defeated Lauren Stephenson on the 30th hole.
For live scoring, visit GoStanford.com. The matches will be televised by FS1 from 4-7 p.m. PT.