Staff WriterThe Women’s Amateur Golf Championship has its final pairing, and Muirfield has done its best to make sure France’s Valentine Delon and Spain’s Andrea Revuelta arrive there properly sandblasted, rain-rinsed and emotionally wrung out.
After a day of thunderstorms, wind, wet waterproofs and the sort of golf that makes caddies question their career choices, Delon and Revuelta came through two rounds of match play to reach the Final of the 123rd Women’s Amateur Championship at the East Lothian venue.
Delon beat Sweden’s Matilda Bjorkman in the quarter-finals before seeing off Belgium’s Savannah De Bock in the afternoon. Revuelta first edged fellow Spaniard Cayetana Fernandez, then outlasted Farah O’Keefe in a semi-final of considerable nerve, patience and stubborn excellence.
Tomorrow, one of them will lift one of amateur golf’s most coveted trophies. The other will have to console herself with the knowledge that getting to a Women’s Amateur Golf Championship final at Muirfield in weather like this is not so much a sporting achievement as a controlled act of defiance.
Muirfield Turns Foul, Then Fascinating
The day began with a warning from above, which at Muirfield usually means either weather or a committee decision. Thunderstorms suspended morning play for 45 minutes before the championship resumed at 10.30am.
Then came the wind.
By the afternoon, the course had become a stern examination of flight, nerve and imagination. Pars became precious. Birdies became minor miracles. Anything struck too high risked returning with a note of apology.
Yet Delon looked entirely at home in the unpleasantness. Across 36 holes, she was never behind. That is not easy in match play, and certainly not at Muirfield when the weather has decided to take personal offence.
Delon Finds Her Favourite Place At 16
Delon’s quarter-final against Bjorkman was a tight, absorbing contest, but the decisive moment arrived at the par-3 16th. Her tee shot there was the sort that makes a player look calm even when the rest of us would be mentally packing for the airport. It helped seal a 2&1 victory.
Against De Bock in the semi-final, Delon took the lead immediately when the Belgian bogeyed the first. Back-to-back bogeys on the 3rd and 4th checked her progress, but a birdie at the 5th restored the advantage and she was three up by the 11th.
De Bock, who had already produced one fightback in the morning, threatened another. Two holes later, Delon’s lead was down to one. This was precisely the moment when match play starts to breathe down the collar.
Delon did not flinch. Again, the 16th came to her rescue. Again, she found the shot. Again, she moved closer to the Women’s Amateur Golf Championship final.
“I’m really happy. It’s nice (to never be behind). My coach texted me last night and told me to put in a lot of intensity, starting on the first hole. It’s what I tried to do and I did it so I’m really happy. I practise every day to be in this situation.
“On the 16th hole yesterday, I won my match. This morning and this afternoon, again two amazing shots. Yes, this 16th hole is something I will remember. Five-wood really low yesterday and today two hybrids in exactly the same place.
“My parents, Leticia and Antoine, surprised me this morning so it was really nice. I didn’t know they would be here. They usually come at a good moment and in good tournaments.
“Two weeks ago, the French team selected six players and we came together to play 36 holes. So it was nice, really useful. Tomorrow, one more day, one more person to beat and I will try my best to do it. It would mean a lot.”
There are worse omens than parents arriving unannounced and a par-3 suddenly behaving like an old friend.
Revuelta Wins A Spanish Battle, Then A Classic
Revuelta’s route was less serene but no less impressive. Her quarter-final against Cayetana Fernandez went to the 18th, where a half was enough for Revuelta to win by one hole.
That secured a semi-final against Farah O’Keefe, runner-up in last year’s Final at Nairn and the standout figure in the USA’s recent Curtis Cup victory. O’Keefe had reached the last four with a 2&1 win over compatriot Morgan Ketchum, sealed in spirit by a long birdie at the 16th.
Her match with Revuelta was the day’s heavyweight contest. Not noisy. Not theatrical. Just high-grade match play in miserable conditions, with each player refusing to go away.
They traded pars and birdies in weather that made both feel like acts of civil disobedience. The match never moved beyond one-up or one-down. Then Revuelta struck on the 17th, making birdie to take control. A half at the last was enough to win by one hole.
“I feel like I kept trusting myself until the last putt. Farah’s a great, great player and I knew it was going to take my all to win this. So that’s what I did. I’m so tired. I gave it my all out there today.
“The golf course is playing so hard. Pars win holes, but not in the semi-final match against Farah. She played great and I played great too. It’s just a tough course and this wind is crazy. You really need to think every shot through.
“Making birdie on 17 was very key to just giving myself a chance on 18. It was such a tight match all the way. The match never went beyond one-up or one-down, it was an incredible match.
“It’s such a big tournament. I didn’t play last year and I saw it on TV. I was like I really want to be here next year and have a chance at that trophy.”
De Bock’s Fightback Falls Short
Savannah De Bock had earlier beaten France’s Camille Min Gaultier in the quarter-finals, and not without drama. The Belgian was two down at the 5th and did not lead until the 13th, before closing out a 3&2 win on the 16th when Min Gaultier found trouble in the rough.
It was another display of resilience from De Bock, but Delon gave her little room in the afternoon. At this level, one good comeback is impressive. Two in the same day, in that weather, begins to feel like asking the gods for an extension.
A Final With Serious Stakes
The prize awaiting the champion is substantial. The winner of this year’s Championship gains entry to the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes, the US Women’s Open presented by Ally, The Amundi Evian Championship and the Chevron Championship. By tradition, the champion will also earn an invitation to compete at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
That is the beauty and brutality of the Women’s Amateur Golf Championship. One week can redraw a player’s calendar. One match can open the door to the biggest stages in the sport.
For Delon, the path to the final has been built on control, intensity and a remarkable relationship with the 16th hole. For Revuelta, it has been about endurance, belief and finding birdie at precisely the moment when one was most needed.
How To Watch The Final
Spectators are welcome at Muirfield for tomorrow’s Final and can attend free of charge.
The R&A will provide live stream coverage of the Final, plus highlights, on R&ATV and The R&A’s YouTube channel. Coverage will also be broadcast by Sky Sports.
Scoring from The Women’s Amateur Championship is available via www.randa.org.
Muirfield Gets The Final It Deserves
Muirfield has stripped this championship down to its essentials: shot-making, patience, nerve and the ability to keep thinking clearly when the wind is behaving like a committee with a grudge.
Delon has been front-foot, composed and quietly ruthless. Revuelta has been resilient, resourceful and brave when the match was at its tightest. Both have earned their place.
Tomorrow’s final is France against Spain, Delon against Revuelta, precision against persistence, and one more walk through Muirfield’s magnificent discomfort. Somewhere out there, the 16th is already waiting.
