July 18, 2012

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina women’s golf signee Sarah Schmelzel qualified for the 2012 U.S. Women’s Amateur by shooting a 71 (-1) on Wednesday at the Country Club at DC Ranch in Scottsdale, Ariz.

A native of Phoenix, Ariz., Schmelzel will begin play at the 112th U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship on Aug. 6. The event runs through Aug. 12 at The Country Club in Cleveland, Ohio. The field of 156 golfers will play two rounds of stroke play before being cut down to 64 individuals for match play.

Schmelzel completed a stellar high school career in the fall as she won medalist honors at the 2011 Arizona State High School Championship and led Xavier Prep to its third team state title in four years. She carded rounds of 71-66 at the state championship to tie the Arizona state high school scoring record with Amanda Blumenhurst, who was a three-time national collegiate player of the year at Duke.