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Medalist Defeated; Hartwiger Again Gets Better Of Port
Knoxville, Tenn. - In a rematch of the 2002 final, 42-year-old Ellen Port of St. Louis, Mo., could not exact revenge against Kathy Hartwiger, 38, of Birmingham, Ala., Monday in the second round of match play at the 18th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur.
Maybe better categorized as a champions duel, Hartwiger fended off the three-time winner, 1 up, on the 6,228-yard Holston Hills Country Club course designed by Donald Ross. Third-round matches will go off in the afternoon.
Continuing her domination, 28-year-old Thuhashini Selvaratnam of Tempe, Ariz., eliminated Brenda Williams, 44, of Minnetrista, Minn., 9 and 8, tying Port's 2001 record for largest margin of victory in the championship. In her first-round match, Selvaratnam, a native of Sri Lanka, routed 42-year-old Alicia Kapheim of Pennington, N.J., 8 and 7.
The only hole Williams halved came on No. 4 when she made a long downhill slider.
"I just wanted to come out and play the best I could," said Selvaratnam, who was a part of three NCAA title-winning teams at Arizona State University. "I wasn't looking to set any records.
"It was my goal to make it this far. I have never made it past the second round in a USGA event."
Selvaratnam will face two-time champion Carol Semple Thompson, 55, of Sewickley, Pa., in the afternoon. Semple Thompson knocked off Marilyn Hardy, 42, of Houston, Texas, 3 and 2, to win her 49th match in the history of the event, the most of any player.
Semple Thompson set the pace early, chipping in on No. 1 to go 1 up.
"I got off to a really good start," said Semple Thompson.
Not as lucky was medalist Tobi Probst, 26, of Pensacola, Fla., who fell to 46-year-old San Franciscan Sally Krueger, 4 and 3. Krueger grabbed the lead on No. 7 and never looked back. Probst faltered most on the greens, missing a number of putts within 5 feet. Still, she felt honored to leave as the medalist (2-over 146).
"It feels great to be the medalist especially with this caliber of competition," said Probst.
The marquee match of the morning, however, was the battle between Hartwiger and Port. All square through 16 holes, Hartwiger capitalized off a Port muff off the 17th fairway. Port tried pitching out to the fairway, but flubbed the chip; the ball scooted about 10 feet.
"I just got ahead of it and didn't get it out," said Port.
Hartwiger, though, needed a miraculous up and down to win the hole. With a tough lie on a mound just off the green, she chipped to 8 feet of the hole, knocked it close and picked up. When Port couldn't convert a 6-footer, slapping at her hip, Hartwiger secured the lead.
More impressive, Hartwiger had three par-saving putts to halve holes on 12, 14 and 16, buoyed by a tough downhill 12-footer on the last one.
"She made the putts and I didn't, and that was the difference," said Port.
Said Hartwiger: "It was a great match. She is such a great competitor and is such a nice person, too. We have a lot in common. . If we played 10 times, I think it'd be half and half."
In another close match, 43-year-old Andrea Kraus of Baltimore, Md., needed 19 holes to defeat 27-year-old Shannon Ogg of Seattle, Wash.. Ogg was last year's runner-up.
Andrea Kraus has now gone extra holes in six of her last seven matches in the Women's Mid-Amateur. Last year, she beat Adrienne MacLean in 20 holes, Susan Romano in 21 holes and lost to Carol Semple Thompson in the quarters in 21 holes. The other victory was a 1-up decision over medalist Robin Burke. 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 Ken Klavon, USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org .
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