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Former Champions Grimes, Hartwiger Move Into Quarterfinals
Knoxville, Tenn. - Two former champions, both from Alabama, advanced to the quarterfinal round of match play at the 18th U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Monday at Holston Hills Country Club.
Forty-year-old Virginia Derby Grimes of Montgomery, the 1998 champion, defeated Julie Carmichael, 40, of Indianapolis, 7 and 5, in the third round. And Kathy Hartwiger, 38, of Birmingham eliminated Julie Massa, 41, of Holt, Mich., 5 and 4, to continue her run toward another title to go with the one she earned in 2001.
All didn't go former champions' way, however. Two-time victor Carol Semple Thompson, 55, of Sewickley, Pa., fell prey to the red-hot Thuhashini Selvaratnam, 28, of Tempe, Ariz., 4 and 2. Through three rounds, Semple Thompson has been the only one to take Selvaratnam past the 12th hole.
Selvaratnam, part of three NCAA title-winning teams at Arizona State University in the mid-1990s , won her morning match against 44-year-old Brenda Williams of Minnetrista, Minn., 9 and 8, tying Ellen Port's 2001 record for largest margin of victory in the championship.
"I just wanted to come out and play the best I could," said Selvaratnam. "I wasn't looking to set any records."
In the match against Semple Thompson, Selvaratnam lost the first hole but was 4 up through eight. On No. 8, she chipped in from the fringe, 15 feet away from the hole.
"I played well this morning," said Semple Thompson, who ousted Marilyn Hardy, 42, of Houston, Texas, 3 and 2, in the second round. "I thought I might be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm more encouraged heading into the Senior Women's Amateur."
When Selvaratnam saw the pairing for the afternoon, she tried blocking it out of her mind.
"I was not nervous - I was just trying to take it as it comes," said Selvaratnam. "She's a great player and I kept it in myself. . I wanted to get [past] the second round. That was my expectation."
In terms of expectations, Grimes was simply happy to be playing. After two back surgeries and a neck operation, she said in the last week she's finally feeling fully comfortable with her golf game. The second back surgery, in which doctors inserted titanium spaces filled with crushed bone between a disc, was performed in 2001. Prior to defending her title in 1999, the injury caused from genetics flared up for the first time.
"Whatever happens from here on out, I can't complain," said Grimes. "I'm glad to be where I am and to be approaching another match."
Also joining the quarterfinal round will be 44-year-old Mina Hardin of Fort Worth, Texas. Hardin, who was the runner-up in 2001, eked out a 1-up victory over Marianne Towersey of Newport Beach, Calif.
Hardin hit a clutch 10-footer on No. 18 to halve the hole after Towersey had cut the deficit to one with a par on the 17 th hole. Early in the match, on the ninth green, Hardin three-putted from 10 feet. She missed a 2-footer.
" I had birdies on 6, 7, 8 and that got me going," said Hardin. "I just have to not get ahead of myself; I need to play in the present."
In another entertaining match, Pat Milton, 51, of Munroe Falls, Ohio, came up short against 46-year-old Sally Krueger of San Francisco after draining a 12-foot putt to force extra holes. Krueger won on the 20 th hole.
Others to move into the quarterfinals were Corey Weworski, 42, of Carlsbad, Calif.; Patricia Cornett, 50, of Mill Valley, Calif.; and Lisa De Simone, 31, of Phoenix, Ariz.
The quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be conducted Tuesday, with the 18-hole final on 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 second and third rounds 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: Second Round Results (Round of 32) Upper Bracket Sally Krueger, San Francisco,
Calif. def. Tobi Probst, Pensacola, Fla. 4 and 3 Lower Bracket Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham,
Ala. def. Ellen Port, St Louis, Mo. 1 up Third Round Results (Round of 16) Upper Bracket Sally Krueger, San Francisco, Calif. def. Pat Milton, Akron, Ohio 20 holes Thuhashini Selvaratnam, Sri Lanka def. Carol Semple Thompson, Sewickley, Pa. 4 and 2 Corey Weworski, Carlsbad, Calif. def. Andrea Kraus, Baltimore, Md. 20 holes Patricia Cornett, Mill Valley, Calif. def. Patty Moore, Charlotte, N.C. 3 and 2 Lower Bracket Kathy Hartwiger, Birmingham, Ala. def. Julie Massa, Holt, Mich. 5 and 4 Mina Hardin, Ft. Worth, Texas def. Marianne Towersey, Newport Beach, Calif. 1 up Virginia Grimes, Montgomery, Ala. def. Julie Carmichael, Indianapolis, Ind. 7 and 5 Lisa DeSimone, Carmel, Calif. def. Sandy Jocoy, Agoura, Calif. 5 and 4 Pairings
Knoxville, Tenn. - Pairings for the quarterfinal round of match play Tuesday at the 2004 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship at the 6,228-yard, par-72 Holston Hills Country Club course: 8:15 a.m. Sally Krueger vs. Thuhashini Selvaratnam 8:30 a.m. Corey Weworski vs. Patricia Cornett 8:45 a.m. Kathy Hartwiger vs. Mina Hardin 9 a.m. Virginia Grimes vs. Lisa DeSimone |
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