After briefly trailing on the front nine, Erica Shepherd and partner Megan Furtney used a mid-round surge to get past Momoka Kobori and Hira Naveed, 2 and 1, in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Tuesday evening at El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, California.
Thirteenth-seeded Shepherd and Furtney, committed to play together in the future at Duke University, will play a semifinal match today with the championship round to follow if they advance.
Shepherd is looking to add another USGA crown after the Center Grove junior claimed the U.S. Girls Junior title last summer.
On Tuesday, Shepherd and Furtney went down a hole on the fifth before going on a run, winning four of the next five holes to go three up through the 10th. Kobori and Naveed crept back to within one after 13, but a birdie on the 14th gave Shepherd and Furtney a two-hole margin that held up the rest of the way.
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Earlier in the day, Shepherd and Furtney earned their way into the round of eight by topping Haley Moore and Gigi Stoll, 2 and 1. The two future Blue Devils never trailed but were never able to get more than two holes up. They went ahead to stay by winning the 12th and 13th holes, then closed the match out when Shepherd eagled the 17th.
