Latest news with #Galitsky
USA Today
05-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Eila Galitsky, 18, ties ANWA record with final round 66 at Augusta National
Eila Galitsky, 18, ties ANWA record with final round 66 at Augusta National What a finish for Eila Galitsky. The 18-year-old freshman at South Carolina had a stellar Saturday during the final round of the Augusta National Women's Amateur, shooting 6-under 66 to finish at 8 under for the week, giving her the clubhouse lead. The 66 she signed for in the final round tied the lowest round in ANWA history at Augusta National Golf Club, matching Bailey Shoemaker's round from 2024 that helped her finish runner-up to Lottie Woad. Last year, Shoemaker played with Galitsky when shooting 66 in the final round. Galitsky went birdie-birdie-eagle on Nos. 6-8 and turned in 5-under 31. On the back nine, Galitsky, from Thailand, bogeyed the 10th but made birdies on both par 5s, Nos. 13 and 15, then recorded three consecutive pars on her way to the house. When Galitsky finished her round, she was two shots behind Carla Bernat Escuder, who turned in 3 under and was leading by one shot at 11 under at the turn before a bogey at the 10th, and over Woad. Galitsky, who enrolled early this semester at South Carolina and beat Woad in her second collegiate start for her first win, had a putt for 65 on the 18th hole but missed it low. Nevertheless, a 66 is a stellar round at Augusta National.
USA Today
20-02-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
This mid-year enrollee beat the world's No. 1 amateur in a playoff for her first college victory
AI-assisted summary Eila Galitsky, an 18-year-old amateur golfer ranked 19th in the world, won her first college tournament at the Moon Golf Invitational. Galitsky, who enrolled early at the University of South Carolina, defeated the world's top-ranked amateur, Lottie Woad, with a birdie on the first playoff hole. Galitsky's victory marks a strong start to her college career, adding to her previous accomplishments, including low amateur honors at the 2023 Chevron Championship. Florida State University won the team title at the Moon Golf Invitational, with Wake Forest and South Carolina finishing second and third, respectively. If the name Eila Galitsky is familiar, it's probably from when she burst onto the golfing scene a couple years ago. The standout Thai junior won low amateur honors at the 2023 Chevron Championship and also won the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific. Ranked 19th in the Amateur World Golf Ranking, she's one of the game's best amateurs at just 18 years old. When Galitsky decided to enroll a semester early at South Carolina, it gave coach Kalen Anderson three top-20 players. Louise Rydqvist and Hannah Darling are standout seniors, but Galitsky is perhaps the Gamecocks' secret weapon this spring. Galitsky won her first college event in only her second start Tuesday, capturing the Moon Golf Invitational at Suntree Country Club in Melbourne, Florida. She did so by draining a 35-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to knock off the No. 1 amateur in the world, Florida State junior Lottie Woad. Galitsky shot 3-under 69 in the final round to get into the playoff, and now she has her first college victory in tow. Woad hasn't finished outside of the top 10 in almost two years in any amateur competition, and the reigning Smyth Salver winner and Augusta National Women's Amateur champ is one of the favorites to win the Annika Award this spring, given to college golf's most outstanding player. But Galitsky, who was 3 under in her final nine holes, chased down Woad to force a playoff, and then she buried the long birdie putt to emphasize her arrival to college golf. Florida State won the team title, finishing at 2 under, the only team under par. Wake Forest and South Carolina rounded out the top three.
NBC Sports
19-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
South Carolina's midseason arrival Eila Galitsky takes down world No. 1 Lottie Woad
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The new kid on the block isn't just impressing the world No. 1; she's making a habit of beating her, too. Eila Galitsky burst onto the scene two years ago by capturing the Women's Amateur Asia-Pacific and later earning low-amateur honors at the LPGA's Chevron Championship. Now 18 years old, the Thai standout early enrolled at the University of South Carolina last month, just days after she took down Lottie Woad, the world's top-ranked amateur, in singles at the Patsy Hankins Trophy, won convincingly by Galitsky's Asia-Pacific side, 21-11. In defeat, Woad recognized the talent of her opponent, calling Galitsky's driving ability – 270-plus yards of carry thanks to 105-plus mph swing speed – the best weapon she's witnessed from another amateur. On Tuesday, Galitsky and Woad met again, this time in a sudden-death playoff at the Moon Golf Invitational, one of the premier events of the spring with 11 top-25 teams in attendance. And for the second time in as many months, Galitsky got the better of the Florida State junior. While Florida State held off Wake Forest (led by its own midseason arrival, Chloe Kovelesky, who tied for sixth) and South Carolina for the three-shot team victory, Woad couldn't avoid the charging Gamecocks freshman, who led the field with 14 birdies. Down three with four holes to play, Galitsky drove the par-4 15th hole, which was playing shorter than its listed 383 yards and downwind, to set up the first of two consecutive birdies. Woad, meanwhile, bogeyed No. 15 and needed a birdie at the par-4 17th just to regain a share of the lead at 5 under. Neither player could birdie the par-5 18th in regulation, but in the playoff, Galitsky canned a 35-footer to steal the trophy from Woad, who technically still receives credit for the win as the NCAA doesn't officially recognize playoffs in regular-season competition. Woad, the reigning Augusta National Women's Amateur champion and low amateur at last summer's AIG Women's Open, still has not finished outside the top 10 in an amateur tournament since the 2023 European Ladies Amateur. Galitsky hopes to be starting her own such streak following a T-34 in her college debut earlier this month at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, California. Galitsky blew up that week with a second-round 78 in windy conditions, and in Sunday's first round at Suntree, she carded four bogeys and a double in 35 mph gusts, yet still grinded out an even-par 72. South Carolina head coach Kalen Anderson marvels at Galitsky's ability, though if the teen has anything to learn, it's better flighting her shots in the wind. Galitsky adds that she's had to adjust to less preparation at college tournaments and playing on a team, but otherwise, the transition has been seamless. 'It's been a good experience so far,' Galitsky said. 'My teammates have been great, and I've made some great friends.' A couple years ago, Galitsky never would've envisioned this chapter in her career, cramming academically last fall so she could become eligible for college golf this spring. 'After I won the Asia-Pacific, I totally thought I was going to turn pro,' Galitsky said. 'But I talked to a lot of players, and most of the ones that didn't go to college, wanted to go to college, and the ones that did go never regretted it, so I was like, might as well try it out. If I hate it, I'll go on tour, and if I love it, I'll stay. So far, it's been really good.' Galitsky's arrival gives the fourth-ranked Gamecocks a fearsome top trio, which also includes All-Americans Hannah Darling and Louise Rydqvist, who missed Moon Golf with a minor injury. All three players were in contention at last year's ANWA, where Galitsky trailed Darling by a shot after the first round before backing up with a 74 at Augusta National. This year, Galitsky plans to finally take a local caddie for the final round. To win the ANWA, she'll have to go through the defending champ. Luckily for Galitsky, that's not been a problem of late.
