AJGA alumna Emilia Migliaccio, a standout golfer at Wake Forest, played her way to the top at the 120th North & South Women's Amateur this past weekend. Played on Pinehurst No. 2 and No. 4, a lot of golf was played with the format being 36-holes of stroke-play followed by five rounds of match-play.
The 23-year-old played her first round on Pinehurst No. 2. After recording two pars on the first two holes, Migliaccio made birdies on the par-4 No. 3 and the par-5 No. 5. She recorded her first bogey of the tournament on the par-4 No. 5 and made two pars on the remaining holes on the front nine. After another birdie on the par-3 No. 12, Emilia made two more bogeys on the par-4 No. 13 and par-3 No. 15. Her round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 No. 3 to finish her round at 2-under-par 70. Emilia's second round was played on Pinehurst No. 4. Migliaccio made a bogey on the par-4 No. 1 to open her round. She bounced back after making a birdie on the par-4 No. 5 and another on the par-5 No. 5. After making the turn at 1-under-par, Migliaccio recorded two more bogeys on the par-3 No. 11 and the par-3 No. 14. The rest of her round was made up of pars and she finished the day with a 1-over-par 73. Emilia tied for 12th place and was seeded at No. 16 for match play.
Emilia's first match was against the 17th seed, Kary Hollenbaugh. Emilia won the first hole with a birdie on the par-4 No. 1. Hollenbaugh responded with three straight wins on the par-4 No. 2, par-4 No. 3 and par-4 No. 4. After being 2-down, Migliaccio responded by winning three of the next five holes on the front nine. Starting the back nine at 1-up, Emilia only lost one hole to Hollenbaugh, on the par-4 No. 12. Emilia continued to win several holes, the par-4 No. 11, par-4 No. 14 and par-5 No. 16 to win the match 3&2. Migliaccio then faced the No. 1 seed, Hannah Lexi. This match tested Emilia's patience. After winning the par-4 No. 1 for the second match in a row, Migliaccio's opponent answered with two wins on the par- 4 No. 2 and par-4 No. 3. Lexi and Migliaccio battled back and forth through the par- 5 No. 5, but Emilia was left 1-down for the remainder of the match. For 10 holes straight, neither person won or loss a hole until the par-5 No. 16. Migliaccio made a birdie there, to bring the match to all-squared with two remaining holes. After two pars on the par-3 No. 17, the pressure was on at the par-4 No. 18. Migliaccio was able to make it out of there with a par while Lexi recorded her first bogey on the back nine to lose the match. Emilia moved on from the match 1-up.
At the quarterfinals match, Emilia played against the 9th seed, Justice Bosio. After going 1-down through two holes, Migliaccio won the par-4 No. 4, Par-3 No. 6, Par-4 No. 12 and par-4 No. 13. Emilia was 3-up at this point, but Bosio won the par-4 No. 14 and par-3 No. 17 to cut her deficit to just 1-down heading into the last hole. Both girls made par, with Emilia securing her third match play win at 1-up. In the semi-final match, Emilia played against the 12th seed, Anna Morgan. All it took was for Emilia to win five holes on the front nine, and the match ended on the the par-3 No. 17, 2&1.
In the championship match, Emilia faced Megan Schofill. This wasn't the first time the two decorated AJGA alumni met in match play. Migliaccio outlasted Schofill in a 22-hole match in the 2020 US Womens Amateur quarterfinals match. Both players had made deep advancements in the past at the Women's North and South Amateur with both hungry for their first win there. After tying the first three holes, Migliaccio and Schofill went back and forth on the par-4 No. 4 and par-5 No. 5 to keep the match tied through five. Schofill then won her second hole of the match on the par-4 No. 7 with a bogey to turn the match in her favor. It wasn't until the par-4 No. 11 that Migliaccio tied the match back, and proceeded to win four out of the next six holes on the back nine. With Schofill only winning two of those six holes, Emilia was able to edge out Megan by winning the match 2&1. The North Carolina native found herself taking home the Putter Boy trophy for the first time after seven rounds of golf.
Migliaccio is no stranger to the winner's circle. During her time at the AJGA, she won multiple tournaments and had many runner-up finishes. Most notably, she won the 2017 AJGA Girls Junior at Disney, 2015 Davis Love III Junior Open and the 2014 Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy Junior Championship. Emilia was a member of the 2016 Junior Ryder Cup Team, 2017 Wyndham Cup East Team and 2017 PING Junior Solheim Cup. She was also a four-time Rolex Junior All-American.