Steady play from Bugg at the Tennessee Women’s Amateur earns her spot at Southern Hills

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Before becoming the 92nd champion of the Tennessee Women’s Amateur, Bella Bugg had her work cut out for her. Bugg faced a tough field on a challenging course at the Donald Ross-designed Belle Meade Country Club. Over the course of the tournament, there were only seven rounds under par from the championship division, three of those belonging to Bugg.

Bugg shot a 3-under-par 213 (71-71-71) over the three days and was the only player in the field to shoot under par every round. After the first round, Bugg was tied with reigning back-to-back Tennessee Women’s Amateur champion Lynn Lim of Vanderbilt, but she entered Thursday with a three-shot lead, which came with extra pressure.

“From the walk off the course yesterday to the first tee, I mean, every thought possible went through my head: winning, losing, topping off the first tee,” Bugg said. “I've never felt that pressure before, but it's really nice to know that I can capitalize and I have the game for it.”

While she didn’t top her drive on the first tee, Bugg was 1-over-par on the front nine Thursday afternoon. Meanwhile, Lim was working on a bogey-free, 3-under front nine which earned her the outright lead through the first nine holes of the final round.

After a birdie on the par 3, 10th hole, and a bogey on 13, Bugg still trailed by one stroke with only five holes to play. The Florida State Seminole just needed to get to her comfort zone on the course. In the previous two rounds, Bugg had birdied 14 and 15 and she continued that trend on Thursday while adding a birdie on 16 to take a two-stroke lead over Lim headed to the final two holes. 

On 18, Thompson Station’s Bugg still held a two-stroke lead giving her a little breathing room to secure the championship. A bogey on 18 was still enough to earn Bugg the victory, hoist the Scott Probasco Trophy and punch her ticket into the 124th U.S. Women’s Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

“I kind of tried to not think about it like it's a two-in-one tournament at this point and I really struggle with those [USGA] qualifiers,” Bugg said. “So it's a nice blessing to be able to get both.”

A three-way tie at 1-over-par after the second round between Lim, Sophie Linder and Lexanne Halama added some drama to the final day. Lim shot the lowest round of the tournament, a 3-under 69 on the final day, to earn the runner-up spot at the 2024 Tennessee Women’s Amateur.

Halama, a collegiate golfer for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini, played consistent golf throughout the championship, ending at a 1-over-par 217 (72-73-72) to round out the podium with a third-place finish. 

Despite an opening round 7-over-par, Kynadie Adams battled back over the next two days. The Gallatin native shot a 2-under-par 70 on the second day and followed that with a round at even-par on Thursday to claim a solo finish in fourth place.

2023 Tennessee Women’s Match Play champion and Ole Miss golfer Sophie Linder finished the championship at 222 (72-73-77) to round out the top five on the leaderboard. 

In the flighted division, Addisyn Newman successfully defended her title, marking three-straight wins in the first flight at the Women’s Amateur, beating runner-up Elizabeth McCann by double-digit strokes. In the second flight, Julie Marr claimed victory over Elizabeth Bowman by two strokes. Emery Mitchell took home the trophy for the third flight, winning by a narrow one-stroke margin over runner-up Elizabeth Lemons. Kimberley Ames recovered from a tricky first round to be crowned champion of the fourth flight, edging runner-up Joanne Walker by three strokes.