OLTEWAH, Tenn. – For Rachel Heck, Thursday’s 1-up victory over Anna Davis at the 2026 U.S. Women’s Amateur was about more than advancing to the next round.
This week marks Heck’s third competitive event of the year, but it wasn’t until her match against Davis, the 2022 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion — which came down to the final hole — that she felt something she’d been missing for a long time.
“So much excitement,” Heck said after winning her match, “It was so fun to feel those emotions again, the adrenaline and the nerves. I haven’t felt that in a long time.”
The win marked Heck’s first match-play victory at the U.S. Women’s Amateur since her quarterfinal run in 2023, a meaningful milestone as she makes her return to competitive golf.
A former NCAA individual champion and two-time Curtis Cup competitor, Heck showed flickers of the form that made her one of the game’s most recognizable amateurs, answering every challenge from Davis before closing out the match on the 18th green.
But it wasn’t just the thought of winning that had Heck experiencing a familiar wave of emotions. It was also the intensity and pressure that comes with battling out a close match, and it wasn’t until she was in the heat of battle that she realized it was the very thing she had been lacking.
“This is the feeling I really wanted when I decided to get back into amateur golf and play some more,” she said. “I wanted the opportunity to come down the stretch in a match and have my heart racing.”
You can follow Women’s Amateur live scoring — including Heck’s next match — here.
