Medalist Robin Burke And Defending Champion Kathy Hartwiger Advance At U.S. Womens Mid-AmateurHilton Head, S.C. Medalist Robin Burke, 41, of Houston, Texas, and defending champion Kathy Hartwiger, 37, of Birmingham, Ala., were easy winners in the first round of match play Monday at the U.S, Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at Long Cove Club.
Among the other 30 winners to advance to the second round of match play were past champions Carol Semple Thompson, 53, of Sewickley, Pa., Ellen Port, 42, of St. Louis, Mo., and Virginia Grimes, 39, of Birmingham, Ala. Burke, the 1997 U.S. Women's Amateur runner-up and wife of 1956 Masters champion Jackie Burke Jr., never trailed in ousting her good friend Lecia Alexander, of Stafford, Texas, 6 and 4. Hartwiger had the most lopsided match of the day, beating Donna Benford, of Linden, Mich., 8 and 6. Semple Thompson, the winner in 1990 and 1997, beat Long Cove member and former head golf professional Karen Ferre, of Hilton Head, S.C., in the most interesting match of the day, 1 up. Port, a three-time Women's Mid-Amateur champion (1995, 1996 and 2000) built a 2-up lead and hung on to edge Ellen Dempsey, of St. Simons Island, Ga., in 19 holes. Grimes, the 1998 champion, defeated Suzi Spotleson, of Canton, Ohio, 2 up. Play continues in this age 25-and-older championship Tuesday with the second and third rounds of match play. The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be played Wednesday, and the championship's final match is set for Thursday. You always have one round where you are going to not play your best, said Burke, who headed for the practice range after winning three straight holes to close the match. I had an advantage because of my length, but I was lucky Lecia's putter wasn't working today. Hartwiger closed strong as well, taking four consecutive holes to gain a win after just 12 holes. In contrast, the oldest golfer to advance, 56-year-old Toni Wiesner of Ft. Worth, Texas, needed a birdie on the 22 nd hole to edge Leeann Fairlie of Oklahoma City, Okla. Semple Thompson was pleased to move on, but not thrilled with her play. She took control of the match when Ferree bogeyed the 17th hole. I had too many bogeys, said the eight-time USGA champion. I knew Karen would putt well. I just tried to out-last her, and that's what happened. Ferree putted well for the most part, but a few key misses stuck with her after the loss. I had my chances, I just didn't capitalize on them, said Ferree, wife of professional golfer Jim Ferree . I missed key putts at holes 8, 16 and 17. If I make that birdie at 16, I get the lead. But, I hit a lot of good shots. Any time you get to play Carol, wow, that's a treat. 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.
Story written by Craig Smith, USGA. Email him at csmith@usga.org with questions or comments
Hilton Head, S.C. Results of Monday's first round of match play at the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship, at the par 36-3571, 6,029-yard Long Cove Club:
First Round Upper Bracket Robin Burke, Houston, Texas (142) def. Lecia Alexander, Stafford, Texas (161), 6 and 4. Andrea Kraus, Pikesville, Md. (156) def. Adrienne Maclean, Verona, N.J. (156), 20 holes. Thuhashini Selvaratnam, Sri Lanka (153) def. Martha Leach, Hebron, Ky. (158), 2 up. Susan Romano, Chesterland, Ohio (153) def. Lisa Schlesinger, Laytonsville, Md. (158), 1 up. Anna Schultz, Richardson, Texas (151) def. Amy Dickison, Danvers, Mass. (160), 4 and 2. Leigh Klasse, Saint Anthony, Minn. (155) def. Karen Richardson, Georgetown, Mass. (157), 7 and 5. Carol Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. (151) def. Karen Ferree, Hilton Head, S.C. (160), 1 up. Alicia Kapheim, Pennington, N.J. (158) def. Judith Allan-Kyrinis, Canada (155), 2 up. Virginia Grimes, Montgomery, Ala. (148) def. Suzi Spotleson, Canton, Ohio (160), 3 and 2 Sally Krueger, San Francisco, Calif. (155) def. Joanne Catlin, Ashburnham, Mass. (156), 4 and 3. Amy Ellertson, Charlottesville, Va. (153) def. Kareen Markle, Meridian, Idaho (159), 8 and 6. Marilyn Hardy, Houston, Texas (153) def. Patricia Cornett, Mill Valley, Calif. (158), 3 and 1. Amber Marsh, Greensboro, N.C. (150) def. Tobi Probst, Columbus, Ind. (160), 2 and 1. Desiree Ting, Wailuku, Hawaii (155) def. Carolyn Creekmore, Dallas, Texas (157), 19 holes. Laura Waits, Tyler, Texas (159) def. Ann Pohira, Winter Park, Fla. (153), 1 up. Cecilia Barksdale, Columbia, S.C. (158) def. Claudia Pilot, Austin, Minn. (154), 6 and 5.
Lower Bracket Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. (145) def. Donna Benford, Linden, Mich. (161), 8 and 6. Marianne Towersey, Newport Beach, Calif. (156) def. Lesley Stracks, Washington, D.C. (155), 3 and 2. Sara Offringa, Dallas, Texas (158) def. Mary Jane Hiestand, Naples, Fla. (153), 19 holes. Shannon Ogg, Charlotte, N.C. (153) def. Susan Marchese, Omaha, Neb. (158), 6 and 4. Maggie Leef, Brookfield, Wis. (160) def. Rebecca Halpern, Chicago, Ill. (150), 5 and 4. Mina Hardin, Ft. Worth, Texas (157) def. Lynne Cowan, Davis, Calif. (155), 1 up. Toni Wiesner, Fort Worth, Texas (152) def. Leeann Fairlie, Oklahoma City, Okla. (160), 22 holes. Ellen Port, St Louis, Mo. (158) def. Ellen Dempsey, St. Simons Island, Ga. (154), 19 holes. Marion Maney-McInerney, Dedham, Mass. (160) def. Tracy Welch, Winchester, Mass. (147), 1 up. Lyn Nelson, Half Moon Bay, Calif. (156) def. Cindy Lee, Tempe, Ariz. (155), 19 holes. Kathleen Prieve, Madison, Wis. (159) def. Sandy Jocoy, Agoura, Calif. (153), 1 up. Mary Ann Lapointe, Canada (153) def. Taffy Brower, Boynton Beach, Fla. (158), 4 and 3. Sydney Moore, Menominee, Mich. (150) def. Anna Morales, Austin, Texas (160), 3 and 2. Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Asheville, N.C. def. Lynn Thompson, Cincinnati, Ohio (155), 3 and 1. (157) Corey Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif. (152) def. Alissa Super, Minneaplis, Minn. (159), 4 and 3. Martha Lang, Mandeville, La. (158) def. Lisa McGill, Philadelphia, Pa. (154), 3 and 2.
Hilton Head, S.C. Pairings for Tuesday's second round of match play at the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship, at the par 36-3571, 6,029-yard Long Cove Club: (All times EDT ):
Second Round 8:00 a.m. -- Robin Burke, Houston, Texas (142) vs. Andrea Kraus, Pikesville, Md. (156) 8:08 a.m. Thuhashini Selvaratnam, Sri Lanka (153) vs. Susan Romano, Chesterland, Ohio (153) 8:16 a.m. Anna Schultz, Richardson, Texas (151) vs. Leigh Klasse, St. Anthony, Mich. (155) 8:24 a.m. Carol Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. (154) vs. Alicia Kapheim, Pennington, N.J. (158) 8:32 a.m. Virginia Grimes, Montgomery, Ala. (148) vs. Sally Krueger, San Francisco, Calif. (155) 8:40 a.m. Amy Ellertson, Charlottesville, Va. (153) vs. Marilyn Hardy, Houston, Texas (153) 8:48 a.m. Amber Marsh, Greensboro, N.C. (150) vs. Desiree Ting, Wailuku, Hawaii (155) 8:56 a.m. Laura Waits, Tyler, Texas (159) vs. Cecilia Barksdale, Columbia, S.C. (158)
Lower Bracket 9:04 a.m. Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. (145) vs. Marianne Towersey, Newport Beach, Calif. (156) 9:12 a.m. Sara Offringa, Dallas, Texas (158) vs. Shannon Ogg, Charlotte, N.C. (153) 9:20 a.m. Maggie Leef, Brookfield, Wis. (160) vs. Mina Hardin, Ft. Hardin (157) 9:28 a.m. Toni Wiesner, Ft. Worth, Texas (152) vs. Ellen Port, St. Louis, Mo. (158) 9:36 a.m. Marion Maney-McInerney, Dedham, Mass. (160) vs. Lyn Nelson, Half Moon Bay, Calif. (156) 9:44 a.m. Kathleen Prieve, Madison, Wis. (159) vs. Mary Ann LaPointe, Canada (153) 9:52 a.m. Sydney Moore, Menominee, Mich. (150) vs. Brenda Corrie Kuehn, Ashville, N.C. (155) 10:00 a.m. Corey Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif. (152) vs. Martha Lang, Mandeville, La. (158)
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