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U.S. SENIOR WOMEN'S AMATEUR

Five USGA Champs Advance to Senior Women's Am Round of 32

By Scott Lipsky, USGA

| Oct 8, 2018 | Vero Beach, Fla.

Corey Weworski, the 2004 Women's Mid-Amateur champion, was one of five USGA champions to win in the Round of 64. (USGA/Fred Vuich)

57th U.S. Senior Women's Amateur |#USSeniorWomensAm 
Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club, Vero Beach, Fla.
Round of 64: Par 72, 5,670 yards | Hole Locations 
Championship History | Media Center

What Happened

The top seven seeds were all victorious on Monday, highlighted by a dominant performance from the medalist and a marathon victory from the reigning champion on a windy day at Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club. And at the end of the day, five USGA champions advanced.

Pamela Kuong, 57, of Wellesley Hills, Mass., earned the top seed in match play thanks to a leading score of 1-under 143 during the stroke-play portion of the championship, and she never trailed in her 5-and-4 victory over 2009 Senior Women’s Amateur champion Sherry Herman, 60, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Kuong, the 2015 runner-up was all square through two holes before winning six of the next eight holes. She halved the last three holes to close out the match.

The first day of match play wasn’t nearly as easy for defending champion Judith Kyrinis, 54, of Canada, who prevailed in a back-and-forth match against Andrea Kraus, 58, of Baltimore, Md., and exacted a little bit of revenge in the process. Kyrinis, the No. 3 seed, jumped out to a 2-up lead when Kraus stumbled with back-to-back bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes, she made double bogey on the par-3 15th hole and then watched as Kraus birdied the par-4 17th hole to even the match. The duo would play on until the 22nd hole, where Kyrinis rolled in a 15-foot putt for birdie to finally advance. The duo had battled for 21 holes in the quarterfinals in 2016 at Wellesley (Mass.) Country Club, with Kraus ultimately coming out on top.

Kyrinis will face 2011 Senior Women’s Amateur champion Terri Frohnmayer, 62, of Salem, Ore., in the Round of 32 on Tuesday morning. Frohnmayer defeated Annette Gaiotti, 65, of Park City, Utah, 1 up on Monday.

Corey Weworski, the No. 2 seed, moved on to the Round of 32, as well, after a 3-and-2 victory over Ginny Burkey. Weworski, 56, of Carlsbad, Calif., lost the first hole of her match, but won the next four to take a 3-up lead. The 2004 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion was 2 up through 13 holes when she curled in a downhill putt from about 13 feet for birdie on No. 14 to move back to 3 up. She will face Adrienne MacLean, 53, of Tequesta, Fla., the wife of retired professional hockey player and current assistant coach for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, John MacLean, in the Round of 32.

Three-time Senior Women’s Amateur champion Ellen Port, 57, of St. Louis, Mo., defeated championship rookie Fay Chen, 3 and 1, after building a 4-up lead through 12 holes. Chen won holes 13 through 15 to cut Port’s lead to 1 up before she made an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 16 to move to 2 up with two holes to play and closed out the match on No. 17.

The biggest upsets in the draw were produced by Lea Anne Brown and Julie Harrison, the 56 and 57 seeds, respectively. Brown, 59, of Mount Pleasant, S.C., defeated the No. 9 seed, 2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Martha Leach, 56, of Hebron, Ky., 3 and 2. Harrison, in the biggest upset of the day, defeated 2005 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Mary Ann Hayward, 1 up.

What's Next

The Round of 32 begins at 8 a.m. EDT Tuesday, followed by the Round of 16 in the afternoon as the field is cut to the quarterfinalists. 

Notable

  • Leigh Klasse’s 8-and-7 win over Kim Eaton tied the largest margin of victory in the championship’s history, and was the eighth time in U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur history that a match ended with an 8-and-7 result.
  • Marianne Towersey, 67, of Pebble Beach, Calif., is the oldest remaining player. She is competing in her 16th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, advancing to the semifinals in 2003 and the quarterfinals on four other occasions.
  • USGA champions were 5-5 in their Round-of-64 matches. Terri Frohnmayer (2011), Judith Kyrinis (2017), and Ellen Port (2012, 2013, 2016) are the three U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champions to advance to the Round of 32.
  • 2009 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Sherry Herman earned the last spot in match play on Monday morning when she birdied the par-4 16th hole, the second hole of a 7-for-1 playoff.
  • Terrill Samuel will face a fellow Canadian in a U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur match for the third consecutive time on Tuesday. She fell to countrywoman Judith Kyrinis in the championship match last year, and defeated Rhonda Orr on Monday, 7 and 5. On Tuesday she will face Helene Chartrand.

Quotable

Judith Kyrinis, of Canada (defeated Andrea Kraus in 22 holes) on her victory: “We both played solid golf considering the conditions. Andrea and I have had a little bit of a history going extra holes. I knew she was going to be a tough cookie. She’s a very good player, a strong player. I did not look at what number seed she was at all. I just told myself, ‘You don’t want to go home yet.’”

Pamela Kuong, of, Wellesley Hills, Mass. (defeated Sherry Herman, 5 and 4), on playing in the wind and on trying to close out her match: “With the exception of one hole, I think I hit every fairway. Again, my distance control and my approach shots were really solid. I’m still attributing a lot of it to the fact that I went to Scotland a couple weeks ago, just learning how to figure out how to navigate the wind. It was crazy out there and swirling. I feel like it helped me a lot.”

“Because it’s (2009 champion) Sherry Herman, you never think any lead is good enough. You could tell that from No. 10 on, she was just really dialed in. No lead is safe when you’re going up against a past champion.”

Leigh Klasse, of, Cumberland, Wis. (defeated Kim Eaton, 8 and 7) on her big margin of victory: “I made a lot of really nice putts for par and birdies. I really could do no wrong when it came to the greens. The first birdie (on No. 1) was big. It got me off to the right start and kind of set the tone. That was a big one to get rid of the nerves. I felt bad because we’re such great friends. But I was really focused on trying to play the course and hit the best shots I could into the greens and not worry at all what Kim was doing.”

Mary Jane Hiestand, of Naples Fla. (defeated Mary Cabriele, 3 and 2), on how she played down the stretch on Monday: “I didn’t really hit committed shots for a while. I started out on Nos. 10 and 11 just fine – made par, birdie. Then, all of a sudden, bogey, bogey, bogey. The wind kind of got me a little bit. I got to 3 up. I was just trying to finish.”

Maryanne Towersey, of Pebble Beach, Calif. (defeated Jen Holland, 3 and 2), on her run so far this week: “I tried to keep myself positive. One of my son’s friends was actually here in the gallery, and he kind of kept me pumped. That was helpful, too. It’s a joyful experience to be here. I think this is my 16th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, and I’m going to give it my all. But I’ve been given my money’s worth this week already.”

Ellen Port, of St. Louis, Mo. (defeated Fay Chen, 3 and 1), on having to battle down the stretch: “I was even par on the front and 2 up, then I built a 4-up lead. Then I made a couple of errant drives. She made a couple of good putts. It was a really good test to see my lead dwindle from four to I believe 1 up going into 16. I ended up sticking my approach shot to about 8 feet and she was about 12 feet. She just missed, and I made it. I went dormie there, and it was great to come back. I did good just playing the golf course and not think about a lead dwindling.”

Corey Weworski, of Carlsbad, Calif. (defeated Ginny Burkey, 3 and 2), on how she played Monday and on the windy conditions: “It was a good match. I played really consistent. I missed two greens. After that it was greens and two-putts. The thing I like about the wind is that it’s the same every day. It’s no surprises. Now if it starts switching on me, then I’ll have an issue. It’s the same so it’s the same shots.”

Scott Lipsky is the senior manager of content for the USGA. Email him at slipsky@usga.org.

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