Amanda Doherty’s Breakout Week in Cincinnati: A Top-5 at the Kroger Queen City Championship

Amanda Doherty walked off the 18th green at Maketewah Country Club on Sunday with the kind of week that changes the conversation around a player. A tie for fifth at the 2026 Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G — finishing at 7-under — is more than a strong LPGA result. It is the clearest signal yet that the work Amanda has been putting in is showing up on Sundays, against the best fields in women’s golf.

How the Week Unfolded

Amanda set the tone early in Cincinnati with a 67 in the opening round, then matched the lead through 36 holes with a 4-under 66 on Friday alongside 15-time LPGA winner Jin Young Ko. She entered the weekend at 7-under and, after a steady third-round 69, found herself in solo second place — the final pairing on Sunday, walking inside the ropes with eventual champion Lottie Woad.

That is the kind of pressure-cooker spot that defines careers. The final group at an LPGA event is its own classroom, and Amanda earned her seat in it.

A few stats worth noting from the week:

• T5 finish at -7 in a field that included Nelly Korda, Jeeno Thitikul, Lydia Ko, Jin Young Ko, and the eventual winner Lottie Woad
• Solo second through 54 holes — Amanda’s highest 54-hole position of the 2026 season
• Final-round pairing with the champion, in front of a national broadcast audience
• $75,126 earned, a meaningful season payday at a $2 million purse event

The Mindset Behind the Finish

After Friday’s round, Amanda summed up what most golfers spend a career chasing in one quiet sentence: she felt she had been working on the right things, and everything was moving in the right direction. That is the language of a player who is no longer searching — she knows what is working, and she trusts it.

You could see it on Sunday. The final pairing on a windy day at a tight, demanding golf course is where most players reveal where they actually are. Amanda was steady, present, and competitive on every hole. She was not there by accident, and the way she handled the moment suggests she will not be a stranger to that pairing going forward.

What This Means Going Forward

A few things are true after a week like Cincinnati:

The first LPGA win is no longer a hypothetical conversation — it is a matter of time and reps. Amanda has now demonstrated she can play her way into a final pairing on a major Sunday and hold her own. That is the hardest part. The closing is what comes next, and she has the game and the temperament to get there.

Beyond the leaderboard, weeks like this matter for the long arc of a professional career. They build the body of work that gets a player noticed by sponsors, broadcasters, and tournament committees. They build the confidence that translates to the next event, and the one after that. They build the conviction — quiet, internal — that says I belong here on Sunday.

A Word on the FSG Family

Fellow FSG client Anne Chen also made the cut in Cincinnati and competed all four rounds, finishing T47 at +2. It was a meaningful week of representation for the Fidelity Sports Group roster on the LPGA Tour — two players on the weekend, one in the final pairing, and a clear reminder of why we believe so deeply in the women we work with.

The Bigger Picture

When we talk about what makes an FSG client different, this is exactly what we mean. Amanda is not a name on a list. She is a player our team has watched develop, week in and week out, and what happened at Maketewah Country Club is the result of patience, preparation, and a relentless commitment to the work.

Cincinnati was not the finish line. It was a marker — proof of what is coming.

Congratulations, Amanda. We will see you in the next final pairing.

Fidelity Sports Group represents Amanda Doherty on the LPGA Tour, along with a select roster of professional golfers across the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions, LPGA, Epson Tour, Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR Americas, and the Ladies European Tour.