Kathy Hartwiger And Three-Time Champion Ellen Port Reach Semifinals At U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur.

Eugene, Ore. – Kathy Hartwiger’s golf game seems to be getting better with each passing year. She reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur in 1998. But Wednesday morning, the 36-year-old Hartwiger, from Birmingham, Ala., broke new ground by advancing to the semifinal round of the Women’s Mid-Amateur at Eugene Country Club.

Hartrwiger won three of the first four holes on her way to beating Susan Romano of Chesterland, Ohio, 5 and 3.

“I was a bit shaky in my qualifying rounds, but I have been playing better with each day,” said Hartwiger, a three-time state champion who works part-time for the United States Golf Association and her husband, Chris, a staff agronomist with the USGA.

Hartwiger will face Lyn Nelson, 43, of Half Moon Bay, Calif., in one semifinal match Wednesday afternoon. Nelson fought back from being 3 holes down to oust last year’s runner-up Mina Hardin of Ft. Worth, Texas, on the second extra hole.

“I just didn’t want to embarrass myself,” said Nelson, who reached match play for the first time in three tries at the Women’s Mid-Amateur. “I told myself to just do things a little slower and have patience. I was swinging like a hummingbird out there.”

Other semifinal match has three-time champion Ellen Port, 41, of St. Louis, Mo., versus Lisa Desimone, 29, of Carmel, Calif. Port won the Mid-Amateur title in 1995, 1996 and 2000.

Port outlasted Toni Wiesner of Ft. Worth, Texas, 1 up; and Desimone beat Sally Krueger of Coronado, Calif., 2 and 1.
The championship final match is set for Thursday morning.

The Women’s Mid-Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.


Eugene, Ore. – Results of Wednesday’s quarterfinal round of match play at the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur, played at the 6,159-yard, par 72 Eugene Country Club:

Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. (160) def. Susan Romano, Chesterland, Ohio (157), 5 and 3.
Lyn Nelson, Half Moon Bay, Calif. (160) dedf. Mina Hardin, Ft. Worth, Texas (151), 20 holes
Lisa Desimone, Carmel, Calif. (160) def. Sally Krueger, Coronado, Calif. (154), 2 and 1.
Ellen Port, St. Louis, Mo. (150) def. Toni Wiesner, Ft. Worth, Texas (159), 1 up.

Semifinal Round
Hartwiger vs. Nelson
Desimone vs. Port