Houston’s Robin Burke Bids For Medalist Honors At U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur

Hilton Head, S.C. – Robin Burke, 41, of Houston, Texas, shot a 1-over-par 72 Sunday for a 36-hole total of even-par 142, making her the favorite to take medalist honors for the stroke play portion of the U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at Long Cove Club. Half of the 132-player field has not finished play for its second round, but among those finished, Burke led by eight strokes.

The next lowest finisher so far is Rebecca Halpern, 25, of Chicago, Ill., who played in the same group as Burke.

For Burke, the 1997 Women's Amateur runner-up and the wife of 1956 Masters champion Jackie Burke Jr., it was a solid way to follow-up a 1-under-par 70, which tied for the low round of the championship.

“Yesterday, I had good ball-striking and my putter saved me today,” said Burke, whose best Mid-Amateur finish was reaching the semifinals in 1998. “If I can get the combination going, that would be nice. But you never know. Match play is a different game.”

Burke will likely lead the top 64 finishers into the match play portion of the Championship Monday. The championship final match is scheduled for Thursday.

Burke 's nearest challenger for medalist honors appears to be Virginia Grimes, 39, of Montgomery, Ala., who also shot 1-under-par 70 on Saturday. Grimes, who won the 1998 Women's Mid-Amateur, has a late tee time on Saturday and will finish late in the day. Grimes is playing her first nationally competitive round since having back surgery a year ago.

Past champions Ellen Port , 42, of St. Louis , Mo. , and Carol Semple Thompson, 54, of Sewickley, Pa., also played late Sunday and were comfortably in with 74s after 18 holes.  Defending champion Kathy Hartwiger, 37, of Birmingham, Ala., had 71 in her first round.

Local favorite Karen Feree, 53, who is a member at Long Cove and the former head golf professional there in the 1980s, rallied to finish 1-over-par on her last nine holes for a total of 160 (83-77), a score that might be good enough to sneak into match play.

“After I made double bogey on nine, I was stuck. I couldn't make a mistake from there on in,” said Ferree, who is married to golf professional Jim Ferree . “We'll see what happens; maybe it's a playoff.

“But if I were to qualify for a USGA championship and have my son (15-year-old Randy ) caddie for me, that's a dream. I love this place,” she concluded, her voice trailing off through tears.

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.