Emilia Migliaccio is a damn good golfer. She took home multiple gold medals at the Pan American Games back in 2019, was a member of the 2023 Wake Forest squad that won a national championship and has teed off in quite a few majors. And yet, all of that pales in comparison to this improbable toss.

Highlight of my career right here? https://t.co/W4MAHWT4Y9

— Emilia Migliaccio (@emiliamigliacc1) August 14, 2023

As an on-course reporter for the US Women’s Amateur, Migliaccio wanted to show how the greens were playing at Bel-Air Country Club and accidentally highlighted her athletic prowess. She even went on to tweet that this NBC Golf clip was the “Highlight of my career right here.”

“You don’t need to fire at the flag,” she began, tossing a ball into the bank on Sunday. “You can really use that slope.”

As the ball started tracking for the hole, she wondered aloud, “Oh, did I do it?” When it eventually sunk, she exclaimed, “Oh my gosh. Hahahahahahaha. That was awesome.”

You can hear the shock and excitement from those back in the studio. And, apparently, the off-camera crew was just as impressed. Golf Channel veteran Brandt Packer even went so far as to say that there was bedlam in the control room after this throw.

“This was LIVE and on [Emilia Migliaccio’s] first attempt too!!!!! We all jumped in the control room and went crazy.”

You can tell that Migliaccio is a pro because if one of us rubes sunk this toss, we’d still be sprinting around the course celebrating. Migliaccio tried to keep her analysis going and only stopped after her fellow on-air talents’ interruption. What a “shot.” We hope the US Women’s Amateur competitors were paying attention.

The post US Women’s Amateur reporter tosses ball to test green on live TV, unexpectedly sinks it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

On Wednesday, the governing body announced what it characterised as the most significant changes to its amateur championship qualifying model in more than 20 years. Starting next year, the US Amateur, US Women’s Amateur, US Junior and US Girls’ Junior will adjust the number of players exempt directly into the championships as well as expand exemption categories and adjust how it conducts qualifiers to fill out the championship fields.

The biggest structural changes will occur with the US Amateur, which boasts a field of 312 each year. That number will remain the same but starting in 2024, there will be two stages of qualifying for the championship: an 18-hole local qualifier at 45 sites followed by an 18-hole final qualifier at 19 sites. Previously golfers have been competing in one 36-hole qualifier to try to earn their way in. The US Amateur first employed qualifying events for the championship in 1931.

While adding another qualifier makes it a bit more onerous for some players trying to get into the field, top-ranked amateurs will have more direct access as the USGA will increase the number of players fully exempt off the World Amateur Golf Ranking from 50 to 100. Additionally, the top 600 players off the WAGR will be exempt from the local qualifying.

The USGA also will create still-to-be-determined exemptions for state, Allied Golf Association, regional and national amateur champions.

The post The USGA is making big changes to qualifying for its premier amateur events. Here’s what you need to know appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.