TULSA, Okla. — Emerie Schartz was enrolling in classes for her junior year at Andover High School when her mother’s phone rang Monday morning.
It was her father, and Schartz’s mom didn’t answer because they were with the counselor. The phone then rang a second time. And then he called once more.
“I think you should pick up,” Schartz remembers telling her mom. “It’s probably important.”
It was a call that changed the course of her entire day. Schartz, from Wichita, Kansas, had gotten in the field as an alternate at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Amateur in Tulsa. She had roughly three hours to make the journey to Southern Hills Country Club to be on time for her 1:39 p.m. CT tee time.
“We just up and left the high school,” Schartz said. “We went home, grabbed my clubs then drove straight here.”
U.S. Women’s Amateur: Photos
Schartz, 16, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the U.S. Women’s Amateur but was added to the alternate list. When Megha Ganne withdrew Monday morning because of an illness, it left a spot open, but there were no alternates on site.
The USGA went down its list in order, trying to find someone who could make it to Southern Hills before the afternoon tee time. After making a few calls, Schartz, who is a member of the United States National Junior Team, was in, and the race to Tulsa was on.
“My dad was at work and got the call at 10:38 a.m.,” Schartz said. “I didn’t have any practice rounds. I had never played here.”
Emerie Schartz was informed of her place in the U.S. Women’s Amateur field THIS MORNING.
After driving three hours to get to Southern Hills, she made it to her tee time with FOURTEEN minutes to spare!
pic.twitter.com/DHAStXt6Kw
— USGA (@USGA) August 5, 2024
Schartz said during the drive, she pulled up YouTube and started watching videos of past tournaments at Southern Hills and others about how to play the course.
“I don’t really know if it was the best course to not have any practice on,” she said. “Got out of position a couple of times and just didn’t work out how we would’ve wanted it to.”
Schartz planned to practice at her home course Monday afternoon, continuing preparation before traveling to Europe on Friday to compete next week in the British Girls’ Junior. But last week, while competing in the Junior PGA Championship, she noticed one of the players in front of her on the alternate list got into the field, giving her hope for a chance to play at Southern Hills.
On Monday, she finally got the call.
“It was hard (not getting in), but I had set that aside and just started preparing for Europe,” Schartz said.
She arrived at the course with 14 minutes to spare, going straight to the first tee. She didn’t hit a single warm-up shot or putt. And her first tee shot was striped.
She opened with an 8-over 79 and matched that Tuesday morning, a score that will result in a missed cut. While making match play would’ve been an incredible opportunity and story for the rising star, the adversity Schartz overcame this week just to make her tee time is something that’ll benefit her down the road.
“The circumstances don’t really matter,” Schartz said. “I can just stick to my game, get the ball around and figure it out as we go.”