Blakesly Brock hasn’t seen a U.S. Golf Association championship field for nine years. Back in 2012, she was just a 17-year-old competing in the 2012 U.S. Girls’ Junior. Now, in a whole new age bracket when it comes to USGA events, Brock is a USGA champion.
The 25-year-old from Chattanooga, Tennessee, won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur on Thursday in her first start in the championship. She took down another tournament first-timer, Aliea Clark by a 5-and-4 margin in the final match at Berkeley Hall Club in Bluffton, South Carolina.
“I’m speechless,” Brock said. “This has been an absolute dream week for me. I’m so happy.”
Brock isn’t ranked in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, but she just won the Tennessee Women’s Mid-Amateur on Sept. 22, which set her up well for re-entering the world of USGA championships.
Scoring: U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur
“I just had a feeling it was going to be my week,” she said. “I played great at the Tennessee Mid-Am, and I knew I was good enough to win this golf tournament. I came in not really expecting to win but knowing that I could, and that gave me a lot of confidence.”
Over the course of the week, Brock won three matches that went to extra holes – including over Megan Buck in the Round of 32, over 2019 runner-up Talia Campbell in the Round of 16 and over Clare Connelly in the quarterfinals.
Brock lamented letting go of a big lead in some of those matches but was proud of herself for dealing with what she called “the most pressure I’ve ever felt ever on a golf course.”
“It feels absolutely incredible. I’m so happy right now. I’m still in shock.”
~ 2021 @USGA U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion @BlakeslyBrock pic.twitter.com/egtYvQHlIL
— Tennessee Golf Association (@TNgolf) September 30, 2021
Against Clark in Thursday’s final match, Brock won the first hole with a par but lost the second to Clark’s birdie. She caught fire a few holes later, winning Nos. 7 through 12 to build an insurmountable 5-up lead. The two players tied Nos. 13 and 14 with pars but Clark eventually ran out of holes.
Among the spoils of a U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur title is a spot in the following year’s U.S. Women’s Open. Brock will appear in the field in 2022 at Pine Needles in Southern Pines, North Carolina.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” she said when asked who she’d like to play a practice round with that week. “This is still kind of kicking in.”
A life-changing week for sure.