Chiara Horder watched Leonie Harm and Aline Krauter win the Women’s Amateur Championship in 2018 and 2020, and wanted to follow in the footsteps of her fellow Germans.
She did just that in dominating fashion in 2023.
Horder, 20, won the 120th Women’s Amateur Championship on Sunday at Prince’s Golf Club in Sandwich, United Kingdom, topping Annabelle Pancake 7 and 6 to claim the title. She’s the third German to hoist the trophy in six years, and it’s a signature win on her resume.
“I feel amazing. I’m so happy,” Horder, “I am so fortunate to win this big championship. I mean, it’s one of the biggest amateur championships, so I’m super, super happy, and I honestly cannot believe it right now, so yeah.”
Horder, who transferred to Mississippi State from Texas Tech this summer, will be a junior in the fall. She’s ranked 273rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, but her biggest victory came in the semifinals, when she knocked off No. 1 Ingrid Lindblad to advance to the finals.
Annabelle Pancake (left) and Chiara Horder after the final match of the 2023 Women’s Amateur Championship. (Photo: R&A)
Horder earned exemptions for the Amundi Evian Championship and AIG Women’s British Open later this summer, and next year, she’ll tee it up at the Chevron Championship and US Women’s Open. She will also have an invitation to the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
“I cannot believe that I will be teeing it up there,” Horder said “I mean, it’s definitely a dream. It’s definitely a goal just to compete in these majors.
“Competing in the AIG Women’s Open is just amazing. It’s definitely a dream.”
Leading by three at the halfway mark, Horder cruised in the afternoon session thanks to four birdies on par 3s and precision off the tee.
Pancake, 21, was bidding to be the first winner from the United States since Kelli Kuehne in 1996. The senior at Clemson was cheered on by her dad, Tony, who arrived on Father’s Day after an overnight flight from Indiana helped by funds from members at Crooked Stick Golf Club.
“Yes, it was so cool,” Pancake said. “He told me that he might be able to make it, so I wasn’t for sure, but when I saw him, it was such a special thing.”
Horder become the third player to win the Women’s Amateur at Prince’s. The course had a field of 144 players representing 36 countries, including 12 players ranked inside the top 50 on the WAGR.
Portmarnock will host the 121st Women’s Amateur Championship, June 24-29, 2024.
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