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Medalist Probst Advances; Defending Champion Marsh Elliott Does Not

Knoxville, Tenn. - The medalist and four former champions advanced to second round match play Sunday in the 18 th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur at Holston Hills Country Club. However, last year's winner, Amber Marsh Elliott, 35, of Greensboro, N.C., won't be repeating.

Kathy Hartwiger, studying a green Sunday, cruised in her first-round match. (John Mummert/USGA)

Medalist Tobi Probst, 26, of Pensacola, Fla., dispatched 36-year-old Leslie Folsom of Renton, Wash., 3 and 2, although she had been down one through 10 holes.

In the former champions category, Virginia Derby Grimes, 40, of Montgomery, Ala.; Kathy Hartwiger, 38, of Birmingham, Ala.; 55-year-old Carol Semple Thompson of Sewickley, Pa.; and 42-year-old Ellen Port all advanced with little problem.

The same couldn't be said of Marsh Elliott, who lost to 41-year-old Julie Massa of Holt, Mich., 1 up. In the nip-and-tuck battle, the largest lead was never more than 1 up. And Marsh Elliott never held an advantage after the fifth hole.

While holding a 1-up lead, Massa credited the 13 th hole as the key moment. Massa drained a 15-footer to save par. On No. 17, the 515-yard par 5, Massa stuck her approach shot within 8 feet of the hole before carding a birdie. Marsh Elliott would register a double bogey.

"Putting has been going really well for me lately," said Massa. "Amber is a fine player; I can see why she is the defending champion."

Said Marsh Elliott, who came into the championship struggling with her swing: "I just couldn't get any momentum. Sure, it's disappointing. You always want to do better, and you always want to go far in match play."

In the lead match on the humid and hazy day, Probst fell behind for the first time on the ninth hole when Folsom had a 20-yard chip-in.

Before going 1 up on No. 12, Probst pulled even on No. 11, a 187-yard par 3, because of a tremendous drive that ultimately led to a par. The ball stopped 6 feet left of the hole. In the meantime, Folsom looked at an uphill 20-footer after getting on the green in two shots.

Two holes later, Probst went 2 up after sticking another drive close to the hole on par-3 14 th . She nailed the 5-footer for birdie while Folsom could only two-putt from 40 feet below the hole. The University of Missouri grad won No. 15 with a par to put a stranglehold on the match. She sensed early in the match that she was wearing a proverbial bulls-eye on her back.

"I was talking to Matt [Herron, her boyfriend and caddie] today walking down nine," said Probst. "And I said, 'When you're the top seed, people are trying to knock you off.'"

Semple Thompson added to her own mark of most matches won in the championship, increasing it to 48 with her 5-and-4 victory over Lee Ann Fairlie, 41, of Oklahoma City, Okla. A two-time champion, Semple Thompson got things rolling with an eagle on the 327-yard, par-4 sixth hole. Using a wedge from 100 yards out, her ball landed 10 feet short of the hole and skipped in. It was the first of five straight holes she would win.

"I hit it at the flagstick," she said of the eagle. "I don't see that well, but I was just hoping it would go in."

Hartwiger and three-time champion Port won their matches easily. Hartwiger beat 48-year-old Kate Grace of San Diego, Calif., 9 and 7. It was the second-best margin of victory in the championship's history, trailing only Port's 9 and 8 defeat of Sue Churchich in the first round of the 2001 Women's Mid-Am.

Grace's undoing came in the form of posting seven bogeys and two doubles, leading to eight lost holes.

"She was making a lot of bogeys and that calmed me down," said Hartwiger.

Port's 6-and-4 win over Shelley Anderson, 31, of Clarksville, Tenn., set up a rematch of the 2002 final with Hartwiger, which Hartwiger won 2 up at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.

Down after the first hole, Port took a lead she'd never relinquish on No. 3.

On paper the victory looked convincing, but Port felt she struggled most of the match.

"I haven't peaked yet. I'm a little inconsistent," she said.

Both Hartwiger and Port brushed off the upcoming meeting, respecting one another's skill. Port said it wasn't a case of revenge.

"No, no," said Port. "I think you've been around the golf course long enough to know that it's you against the golf course."

Said Hartwiger: "I think it's going to be a great match. She's such a competitor, but so am I."

In a couple of other interesting matches, 42-year-old Kareen Markle of Meridian, Idaho, upended Cecilia Fournil, 30, of Columbia, S.C., 2 and 1 despite carrying her own bag after sustaining a broken toe Saturday night; last year's runner-up Shannon Ogg, 27, of Seattle, Wash., rode the momentum of a 35-footer for birdie on the 15 th hole to oust Anna Schultz, 49, of Richardson, Texas, 4 and 2.

The day's longest match featured Andrea Kraus, 43, of Baltimore, Md., defeating Mary Jane Hiestand in 22 holes.

Second- and third-round matches will be played Monday, with the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds on Tuesday. The 18-hole fine is scheduled for Wednesday.

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.

Results

Knoxville, Tenn. - Results after the first round of match play Sunday at the 2004 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at the 6,228-yard, par 72 Holston Hills Country Club:

Upper Bracket

Tobi Probst, Pensacola, Fla. (1) def. Leslie Folsom, Renton, Wash. (64), 3 and 2

Sally Krueger, San Francisco, Calif. (33) def. Maggie Leef, Brookfield, Wis. (32), 3 and 1

Sherry Herman, Marlboro, N.J. (16) def. Lea Bagwell-Venable, Greenville, S.C. (49), 20 holes

Pat Milton, Akron, Ohio (17) def. Leslie Green, The Woodlands, Texas (48), 4 and 2

Marilyn Hardy, Houston, Texas (8) def. Maricel Manguinao, Philipines (57), 3 and 1

Carol Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. (40) def. Lee Ann Fairlie, Oklahoma City, Okla. (25), 5 and 4

Thuhashini Selvaratnam, Sri Lanka (9) def. Alicia Kapheim, Pennington, N.J. (56), 8 and 7

Brenda Williams, Minnetrista, Minn. (41) def. Leigh Klasse, St Anthony, Minn. (24), 1 up

Shannon Ogg, Seattle, Wash. (4) def. Anna Schultz, Richardson, Texas (61), 4 and 2

Andrea Kraus, Baltimore, Md. (36) def. Mary Jane Hiestand, Naples, Fla. (29), 22 holes

Joan Garety, Rockford, Mich. (13) def. Martha Lang, Mandeville, La. (52), 4 and 3

Corey Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif. (20) def. Susan Romano, Chesterland, Ohio (45), 1 up

Claudia Pilot, Austin, Minn. (5) def. Marsha Butler, San Diego, Calif. (60), 3 and 2

Patricia Cornett, Mill Valley, Calif. (28) def. Gail Flanagan, Rye, N.Y. (37), 6 and 5

Kareen Markle, Boise, Idaho (53) def. Cecilia Fournil, Columbia, S.C. (12), 2 and 1

Patty Moore, Charlotte, N.C. (44) def. Laura Coble, Augusta, Ga. (21), 3 and 2

Lower Bracket

Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. (2) def. Kate Grace, San Diego, Calif. (63), 9 and 7

Ellen Port, St Louis, Mo. (31) def. Shelley Anderson, Clarksville, Tenn. (34), 6 and 4

Julie Garner, Winter Park, Fla. (50) def. Martha Leach, Hebron, Ky. (15), 4 and 3

Julie Massa, Holt, Mich. (47) def. Amber Marsh Elliott, Greensboro, N.C. (18), 1 up

Mina Hardin, Ft. Worth, Texas (58) def. Susan Roh, Denver, Colo. (7), 3 and 1

Debbie Adams, Biltmore Forest, N.C. (26) def. Desiree Ting, Wailuku, Hawaii (39), 2 and 1

Dawn Woodard, Cartersville, Ga. (10) def. Lyn Nelson, Half Moon Bay, Calif. (55), 21 holes

Marianne Towersey, Newport Beach, Calif. (23) def. Sandra Nakagaki, Culver, Calif. (42), 2 and 1

Kerry Postillion, Burr Ridge, Ill. (3) def. Char McLear, Mchenry, Ill. (62), 5 and 4

Julie Carmichael, Indianapolis, Ind. (35) def. Toni Wiesner, Ft. Worth, Texas (30), 19 holes

Natalie McNicholas, Tulsa, Okla. (51) def. Kathy Crumley, Dallas, Texas (14), 1 up

Virginia Grimes, Montgomery, Ala. (19) def. Akemi Khaiat, Huntington Beach, Calif. (46), 6 and 5

Sandy Jocoy, Agoura, Calif. (59) def. Susan Marchese, Omaha, Neb. (6), 2 and 1

Lisa Anderson, Stoneham, Mass. (27) def. Sarah Phillips-Durst, Tallahassee, Fla. (38), 3 and 2

Lisa De Simone, Carmel, Calif. (11) def. Brooke Cooper, New York, N.Y. (54), 2 and 1

Jessica Soltes, Rancho Mirage, Calif. (22) def. Daria Cummings, Monroe, Conn. (43), 5 and 4

Pairings

Knoxville, Tenn. - Pairings for the second round of match play Monday at the 2004 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at the 6,228-yard, par-72 Holston Hills Country Club course:

Upper Bracket

8 a.m. Tobi Probst (146) vs. Sally Krueger (156)

8:08 a.m Sherry Herman (153) vs. Pat Milton (154)

8:16 a.m. Marilyn Hardy (151) vs. Carol Semple Thompson (158)

8:24 a.m. Thuhashini Selvaratnam (151) vs. Brenda Williams (158)

8:32 a.m. Shannon Ogg (149) vs. Andrea Kraus (156)

8:40 a.m. Joan Garety (152) vs. Corey Weworski (155)

8:48 a.m. Claudia Pilot (150) vs. Patricia Cornett (155)

8:56 a.m. Kareen Markle (160) vs. Patty Moore (159)

Lower Bracket

9:04 a.m. Kathy Hartwiger (147) vs. Ellen Port (156)

9:12 a.m. Julie Garner (160) vs. Julie Massa (159)