Rachel Heck (born October 22, 2001) is an American amateur golfer.

Early life and amateur career

Heck, a native of

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

started playing golf with her two sisters almost as soon as she could walk, competing in friendly competitions for ice cream. Her older sister, Abby, played collegiate golf at

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac (known simply as Notre Dame; ; ND) is a Private university, private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1842 by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, a Cathol ...

and younger sister, Anna, who is committed to play golf at the University of Notre Dame, competed in the 2021

U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball The U.S. Women's Amateur Four-Ball is a women's amateur team golf tournament conducted by the United States Golf Association (USGA). It was first played in 2015 and replaced the U.S. Women's Amateur Public Links, an individual tournament that was pl ...

. A golf prodigy, Heck was a five-time AJGA All-American. She was the youngest competitor in the 2017 U.S. Women's Open, tied for 33rd. She also made the cut at the

2018 Evian Championship The 2018 Evian Championship was played 13–16 September at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France. It was the 25th Evian Championship (the first 20 played as the Evian Masters), and the sixth as a major championship on the LPGA ...

, tied for 44th. She was a member of the 2018 U.S.

Junior Ryder Cup The Junior Ryder Cup is a team golf competition between Europe and the United States for junior golfers aged 18 and under. It is based on the men's Ryder Cup and is run by the same organisations, the PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe. The 2018 ...

team, sinking the putt that clinched the title for the U.S. She was named USA Today's High School Golfer of the Year in 2017 and 2018. Heck was a member of the 2019 U.S.

Junior Solheim Cup The Junior Solheim Cup is a version of the Solheim Cup for girls aged 12 to 18. It was inaugurated in 2002. It is currently officially called the Ping (golf), PING Junior Solheim Cup. The Junior Solheim Cup follows a similar format to The Solheim ...

team, going 2–1 over three rounds of match play. She also competed in the

U.S. Women's Amateur The U.S. Women's Amateur, also known as the United States Women's Amateur Golf Championship, is the leading golf tournament in the United States for female amateur golfers. It is played annually and is one of the 13 United States national golf ch ...

and finished T8 in the Girl's Junior PGA Championship. She also earned one of four amateur spots at the

2019 ANA Inspiration The 2019 ANA Inspiration was the 48th ANA Inspiration LPGA golf tournament, held April 4–7 at the Dinah Shore Tournament Course of Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. It was its 37th year as a major championship, and Golf C ...

. Along with later fellow Stanford Cardinal Sadie Englemann, she advanced to the semifinals of the 2019

. In 2020, Heck was the stroke-play medalist in the

, shooting 4-under-par across two rounds. She advanced to the round of 16 before falling, 1 down, to eventual champion

Rose Zhang Rose Zhang ( born May 24, 2003) is an American professional golfer. She won the 2020 U.S. Women's Amateur, and both the 2022 and NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championships, 2023 NCAA Division I Championships, becoming the first woman to win the i ...

. She was also a quarterfinalist in the 2020

North and South Women's Amateur The North and South Women's Amateur Golf Championship is an annual golf tournament held since 1903 at the Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, North Carolina. An invitational tournament, participants are chosen based upon their performance in national ama ...

. Heck enrolled at

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

in 2021 to play golf with the Stanford Cardinal women's golf team. In her freshman year, she recorded six individual collegiate wins. She became the third player in college history to sweep conference (

Pac-12 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

), regional (Stanford Regional) and national titles ( NCAAs), joining USC's

Annie Park Annie Park (born April 9, 1995) is an American professional golfer who plays on the LPGA Tour. Park has one win on that tour, at the 2018 ShopRite LPGA Classic, and competed in the 2019 Solheim Cup. Previously, she was the 2013 NCAA individua ...

and Arizona's Marisa Baena. Heck became the first Stanford woman to win an NCAA title, and the ninth freshman to achieve the feat. Her 69.72 scoring average over 25 rounds was, at the time, the lowest in NCAA women's golf history. Heck claimed medalist honors in the qualifier for the 2021 U.S. Women's Open in Novato, California, with a 36-hole total of 8-under 136. She finished 3rd at the

Augusta National Women's Amateur The Augusta National Women's Amateur (ANWA) is a golf tournament in Georgia, held at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta and Champions Retreat Golf Club in nearby Evans. stroke play event debuted The tournament is split between the two v ...

and won

The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship is a biennial amateur golf tournament which takes place in alternating years with the World Amateur Team Championships. The competition consists 20 countries represented by teams of four (two men a ...

with Team USA. Heck was the 2021

Honda Sports Award The Honda Sports Award is an annual award in the United States, given to the best collegiate female athlete in each of twelve sports. There are four nominees for each sport, and the twelve winners of the Honda Sports Award are automatically in t ...

recipient and the Annika Award recipient for being the top collegiate golfer. A bout of

mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

kept Heck out for part of her sophomore season; however, she would still win twice, sign

Nike Golf Nike, Inc. (stylized as ''NIKE'') is an American athletic footwear and apparel corporation headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. It is the world's largest supplier of athletic shoes and apparel and a major manufacturer of sports equipment, wi ...

's first ever NIL deal and help Stanford to the NCAA team championship. She would also win her second

Curtis Cup The Curtis Cup is the best known team trophy for women amateur golfers, awarded in the biennial Curtis Cup Match. It is co-organised by the United States Golf Association and The R&A and is contested by teams representing the United States and " ...

. At the beginning of Heck's junior season, she began experiencing severe pain in her arm and shoulder and was diagnosed with

thoracic outlet syndrome Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a condition in which there is compression of the nerves, arteries, or veins in the superior thoracic aperture, the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit, also known as the thoracic outlet. There are t ...

; the resulting physical therapy and surgery, which involved losing one of her ribs, caused her to miss most of the season. In her first significant tournament post-surgery, the 2023

, Heck would advance to the semi-finals, but lost to Latanna Stone. In her senior season, Heck made the decision to remain an amateur once her college career finished instead of pursuing a professional golf career. She would win the NCAA Cle Elum regional by four strokes, then help Stanford to another NCAA team championship, defeating

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

's Kate Villegas by a score of 4 and 3 to win the deciding match. After her graduation from Stanford, Heck now works for

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...

, while also serving as a Second lieutenant in the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

Amateur wins

*2016 Bubba Conlee Tournament *2017 Rolex Girls Junior Championship *2018 Polo Golf Junior Classic, Kathy Whitworth Invitational *2021 The Gunrock Invitational, Fresno State Classic, Pac-12 Women's Championship, NCAA Stanford Regional,

NCAA Championship The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

*2022 Lamkin San Diego Invitational, The Gunrock Invitational *2024 NCAA DI Cle Elum Regional Source:

Results in LPGA majors

''Results not in chronological order before 2019 or in 2020.'' CUT = missed the half-way cut
NT = no tournament
T = tied

U.S. national team appearances

Amateur *

: 2018 (winners) *

: 2017 (winners), 2019 (winners) *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

(winners),

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

(winners) *

: 2021 (winners) *

Arnold Palmer Cup The Arnold Palmer Cup is an annual team golf competition for college/university golfers. It is named for Arnold Palmer. From 2018 it has been contested between a United States team and an International team representing the rest of the world. The ...

Espirito Santo Trophy The Espirito Santo Trophy (World Women's Amateur Team Championships) is a biennial world amateur team golf championship for women organised by the International Golf Federation. The inaugural event was held in 1964. It was instituted by the Fren ...

Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heck, Rachel American female golfers Stanford Cardinal women's golfers Golfers at the 2023 Pan American Games Golfers from Memphis, Tennessee 2001 births Living people 21st-century American sportswomen